India is a land of diverse cultures, where every region has a distinct taste of culture, while the exquisite nature which stands out is respected and loved around the nation.
Indian weddings are a perfect blend of tradition and modernity. Hence, the statement ‘Unity in Diversity’ stands true in every aspect. Weddings in India are a gala affair, which also serves as a treat to photographers for some amazing wedding pictures.
Indian weddings are a larger than life event and the bride and groom take vows to spend together the next seven births. So, here are a few distinguished bridal wedding dresses from some Indian communities.
Sikh Bride
The main attraction of a Sikh bride’s wedding attire is probably her chooda and kalire. Her bridal look can never be complete without the two. For the Anand Karaj ceremony, the bride chooses either a traditional lehenga or an Anarkali suit. She wears her dupatta covering her forehead throughout the entire ceremony.
In her chooda we can see a beautiful coordination of colours- pink, peach, white, red etc. It is usually presented to her by her maternal uncle and aunt. The kalire are small trinkets of mostly gold and very rare of silver. They are tied to the bride’s chooda as a form of blessing by her maternal uncle.
Muslim Bride
The eye-catching fact about a Muslim bride’s wedding attire from the bridal stores is her jhoomar. It is sure to stand out amongst all other jewellery that she wears. Another interesting thing to notice is the silk cloth around her wrist wrapping the gold or silver coin presented to her by her mother-in-law prior to the wedding.
A Muslim bride often wears floral garlands complementing the flower veil that she uses to cover her face. The bride wears a heavily designed traditional lehenga or a sharara. Also find here guide for best wedding venues in kolkata.
Punjabi bride
Usually, at weddings, brides are seen wearing red and maroon colours. However, nowadays our brides choose the colours of their wedding lehenga very seriously and have ended up with as many unconventional colours as possible. So is the case with our Punjabi brides. Apart from black and white, the Punjabi kudi prefers bright colours for her wedding.
The solah shringar of a Punjabi bride, comprising of nath, matha patti, kamarbandh along with other traditional jewellery forms an integral part of the bride’s attire.
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Rajasthani bride
The Rajasthani bride usually opts for a ghagra choli or a lehenga as her wedding attire. The interesting thing is her odhni or dupatta which she uses to cover her head like a short veil. Not only with lehenga or ghagra choli, but the odhni is often teamed up with a saree.
It serves as a mark of respect to one’s tradition and is treasured by every bride throughout her life.
Christian Bride
Christians are spread all over the world and depending on the region, their customs vary. Christian weddings do not exclusively imply brides walking down the aisle in white gowns with a bouquet in hand. In some places, Christian brides also choose bright coloured sarees.
Those who wear white gowns, follow certain rules. For instance, they have a trail along with their gowns, a veil covering their face supported by a tiara and a bouquet of white flowers in hand. And the bride is sure to look no less than a goddess.
Maharashtrian bride
The first thing that you notice in a Maharashtrian bride is her mundavalya or a string of flowers or pearls. A Marathi bride is seen wearing a two-toned silk paithani saree with a golden border in a dhoti style.
Her hair is tied up in a bun, decorated with mogra flowers. Among all other traditional pearl and gold jewellery that the bride wears, the crescent-shaped nath complimenting her crescent-shaped bindi with a red dot is what stands out.
Bengali Bride
Usually, Bengali women choose white or off-white sarees with a red border for religious ceremonies. But for a traditional Bengali wedding, the bride loves to flaunt red or maroon colours. She chooses a Benarasi silk saree with zari or buta work.
A major part of a Bengali bridal makeup is her ‘alta’ which is applied to her feet. She is seen wearing a matha patti along with a maang tikka and often the area above her eyebrows is painted with white and red dots of sandalwood paste.
Telugu bride
Telugu brides usually wear red silk sarees or colours that are similar to it. The main motive being, the bride should wear a bright colour to make her stand out from the crowd. There are to wedding customs that takes place in a Telugu wedding- the first is where the bride is brought in a tokri or a basket carried by her brother and maternal uncle. For this custom, the bride chooses a silk saree with traditional bridal jewellery and a kamarbandh.
For the other customs such as Jeelakarra Bellam and Madhuparka ceremonies, the bride wears a cotton saree with red blouse.
India- a vast subcontinent is a place where every other community leaves its mark. Talking about all the communities at one go is not possible, hence, here we have discussed just a few of them.
