The Indian wedding tradition I’m most familiar with is
the Mehndi Ceremony that takes place before the wedding. If you’ve seen the
ornate henna tattoos worn by Indian brides, this is the ceremony in which they
are applied. It's a fun celebration that takes place the night before the
wedding and is celebrated by the bride’s side of the family. A professional
mehndi artist or relative applies henna in intricate designs on the hands and
feet of the bride as well as other women in the family. These designs signify
joy, beauty, spiritual awakening, and offering.
Indian brides traditionally wear red
The following day the Vivaah (marriage) takes place with much
grandeur, grace, color, and plenty of traditions. Yes, color is common for Indian
brides who traditionally wear red. Red symbolizes purity and is thought to be the most positive color
among Hindus. Traditionally, brides wear a red lehenga or sari, but the exact
style of dress often depends on where they come from regionally.
Bridal sari
The sari is widely thought to be a symbol of grace in
cultures of the Indian subcontinent, and in South India, it is the preferred
bridal dress. A sari (also saree or shari) is traditional Indian clothing
that’s unisex in nature. It a drape typically wrapped around the waist with one
end draped over the shoulder and leaving the midriff bare. Today women wear it
over an underskirt with a fitted upper garment generally called a blouse ravike in South India. The blouse has
short sleeves and is usually cropped baring the midriff.
Bridal Lehenga Choli
The bridal lehenga is an ornate two-piece outfit worn
by most Indian brides. The skirt-like bottom is paired
with a traditional fitted cropped blouse choli that’s
often embroidered or at least dressy, worn with a long scarf dupatta or long stole. The whole outfit
is known as the Bridal lehenga choli.
Today modern Indian brides who want to stand out choose
to forego the traditional red and wear colors like green, blue, gold, tangerine,
and coral.
