Attending an Indian wedding is an absolute treat for all the senses. Indian weddings are often a large-scale celebration, a riot of colour and a wonderful opportunity to wear some beautiful, traditional clothing.
If you haven’t been to an Indian wedding before, you may be wondering what is appropriate to wear. Let’s have a look at how to dress for the occasion.
A range of celebrations
Indian weddings feature several distinct stages, and guests often choose to wear different outfits along the way. For example, a black tie event often opens the celebrations, while the Mehendi is the formal celebration of applying Henna to the bridal party’s hands and feet. The Haldi is one of the more religious elements of the wedding, and it is a tradition to wear lighter-coloured clothing, particularly yellows and oranges.
The final stage of the celebrations is the Phere, where the couple take their vows in front of family and friends, according to CulturalIndia.net. Since the bride will usually wear red for this stage, it is not acceptable for guests to wear red.
Indian clothes are particularly welcome: a saree is a classic and timeless garment, wrapped modestly around the wearer’s body. A lehenga is an alternative – a modest, long skirt which flatters all body shapes.
However, western styles of dresses for women will not be frowned upon – just keep styles modest – so don’t allow skirts to be too short and ideally, keep shoulders covered.
For a selection of wedding guest dresses, visit a specialist such as https://ohelloclothing.com/collections/wedding-guest-dresses.
Beautiful brights
With the exception of white, black and red, it is acceptable to wear any colour to an Indian wedding. Bright colours are popular and a touch of sparkle is generally welcomed at the Sangeet – this part of the wedding features music and dancing from both sides of the family.
For men, suits are perfectly fine, and you may be offered a Safa – a brightly coloured hat made from a woven scarf – to compliment the outfit.