A guide to creating unique yet cohesive wedding outfits
The wedding planning journey unfolds with daunting choices, and for brides, the quest for the perfect wedding wardrobe is a focal point. With multiple functions demanding distinct yet cohesive looks, the process can be overwhelming. Celebrity stylist Tanya Ghavri, renowned for dressing Bollywood stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Janhvi Kapoor tells Vogue the keys to navigating this intricate sartorial maze.
Planning your wedding wardrobe
A bride's personal style should be the guiding force for all the outfits she chooses for her wedding. Whether embracing minimalism or tradition, understanding your preferences is crucial. Surprisingly, she advises choosing jewelry before outfits to streamline the process. By curating a jewelry collection first, brides can effortlessly align their attire, ensuring a harmonious blend of colors and styles.
Setting the mood
Before delving into the shopping spree, Ghavri emphasizes the importance of setting the wedding mood. To avoid fashion clashes, brides should establish a common denominator that binds each outfit, creating a cohesive story. This goes beyond color coordination, involving a careful selection of designers whose aesthetics align seamlessly, ensuring a visually appealing narrative throughout the celebrations.
The sequence of outfit selection
The sequence of choosing outfits plays a pivotal role in achieving a balanced ensemble. Ghavri recommends starting with the wedding outfit, followed by selections for the sangeet, cocktail, and reception. Mehandi and haldi outfits, being more casual events, are chosen last. This strategic order ensures that each ensemble complements the others, creating a well-curated and harmonious bridal trousseau.
Haldi ceremony
For the vibrant haldi ceremony, Ghavri suggests outfits that blend simplicity, beauty, and comfort. Opting an inspiration from designers like Masaba, Rahul Mishra, and Sukriti & Aakriti, she recommends bright yellows, light blues, and pristine whites. Practicality is key, with outfits allowing easy movement. Isha Ambani's haldi lehenga serves as a noteworthy inspiration for this daytime event.
Mehandi celebration
Ghavri advises brides to prioritize practicality for the mehandi ceremony, recommending palazzo pants, skirts, or salwar suits. With a focus on short sleeves for seamless mehandi application, lively colors such as yellows, oranges, pinks, greens, blues, or reds are ideal choices. Pastels are not advised to avoid staining, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable mehandi celebration.
Sangeet night
The sangeet night calls for a departure from traditional silhouettes. Ghavri suggests experimenting with unconventional options like crop tops with embroidered palazzo pants, pre-draped saris, or lehengas with attached dupattas. Embracing glamour with chikankari, mukaish, and mirror work, brides can choose a palette complementary to their wedding outfit. Aqua blue, ivory, or jeweled tones like emerald are favored selections.
Wedding function
Ghavri's top color picks for the pheras include traditional red, dull gold, dusty pink, and pale blue. Stressing the timeless allure of red, she encourages at least one red outfit for every Indian bride. Monotoning the lehenga, akin to Priyanka Chopra Jonas's style, is recommended for a cohesive look. Elegant embroidery options encompass gota patti, mukaish work, mirror work, zardozi, and delicate thread work.
Reception bash
The reception marks an opportunity for contemporary silhouettes, such as gowns or lehengas with a Western cut. Ghavri suggests bold colors like deep blues or unconventional choices like greys and silvers for extravagant gowns. Maintaining elegance, a six-yard staple or a hybrid sari-gown offers a sophisticated option for the formal event, ensuring the bride stands out in her distinctive yet cohesive ensemble.
