Bride's Attire
Ceremony
A lehenga or a saree are both traditional Indian attire worn for wedding celebrations. In western wedding ceremonies, brides unusaly wear white, but in Indian, white is a symbol of mourning, so they generally opt for wearing bright colors. The colorful saree generally reflects their region of origin. Shades of red are commonly chosen colors because they represent happiness and good luck for the married couple. Although, some brides that are more modern and want to stand out may choose other colors like blue, pink, tangerine, green, or coral. These colorful lehengas are embroidered with intricate gold designs made from 24 karat gold thread and adorned with crystals. Usually the bride is draped with an extravagant head scarf and a large amount of jewelry, but a more modern bride may choose to forego the traditional headscarf.
Reception
Traditionally, the bride will wear a different saree for the reception. After the ceremony, she’ll usually change into another lehenga. If the bride wore the traditional red lehenga for the ceremony, she may choose a different color for her reception like pinks, golds, blues, oranges, and purples. Some Indian-American brides choose to wear a westernized wedding dress for their reception to incorporate both cultures into her wedding day. I do love to celebrate mutliple cultures!
