Traditional Indian Wedding Dresses

An Indian wedding is a color riot and the bridal dress forms a prime element in contributing to the congregation of shades. Traditional Indian wedding dresses are highly region specific and even within regions, religion and community specific. The commonly worn traditional Indian wedding dresses are, 'sarees' 'Ghagra Choli', 'Salwar kameez' and 'Lehengas'.

'Sarees' lend an elegant, yet traditional look as compared to other traditional Indian wedding dresses. 'Sarees' can incorporate a wide variety of sequence work, mirror work, pearl work and intricate embroidery. 'Lehenga' was brought to India by the Mughals and has stunningly evolved to blend into the Hindu traditions. The 'Salwar Kameez' evolved as a simple yet comfortable garment for women in Punjab and Kashmir. Today, it has gone on to becoming a rage amongst the maximum female population of India. The bridal 'Salwar Kameez' usually has extensive embroidery done with gold thread, called 'Zardosi' embroidery.

In northern parts of India, the color red is associated with wealth and fertility and hence, chosen as bridal wedding color. The Ghagra Choli and Lehengas have almost replaced the Saree as the traditional Indian wedding dress in the Northern parts of India. South Indian weddings usually have the bride dressed in white or cream colored sarees. Bridal Lehengas are usually crafted in silk and incorporate tie and dye work, 'salma' or 'naquashi' work and 'aari' work. Jaipur is the home to many Lehenga craftsmen who have been working for clients who include foreigners and the Jaipur royalty.

A notable trend among traditional Indian wedding dresses is the fusion of western styles with traditional themes, mixing cleaner lines with more elaborative style of previous designs. The new age woman prefers wedding dresses which are elegant and conspicuous, yet not too flashy. The idea is to render the dress wearable at semi formal, informal gatherings and even to work.