What is every girl’s most fantasized and well chalked out dream?
With a career in place, a wedding is the next most planned event in any girl’s life. She has the right to envision a magnificent wedding and out of the world outfits. With a string of rituals and events prior to any wedding, every would-be bride spends weeks and months pouring over her look and her trousseau. Magazines, Internet, friends, family and even the ubiquitous tailor pitches in with his or her suggestions and every waking moment is a trial session in her head.
Today’s bride is spoilt for choice. From perfect Anarkali, gorgeous bridal lehengas online, to saris and gowns the Indian engagement dress has come a complete circle. Engagement is one of the most important functions in wedding since the couple comes together to meet and greet well-wishers for the first time. There are little or no rituals, and hence it is open to experimentation. Check out new cuts, trends, colors, fabrics and even modify heirlooms.
Put together here are some traditional yet modern, trendy styles for a bride in the making who wants to know her choices and make an informed decision.
Read through and draw up your own made-to-measure customized outfit with your tailor or designer, select the color, fabric based on your budget, select the cut and the style or simply order online for an easy shopping experience.
The Lehenga
For some, the engagement is also very traditional affair. Hence, opt for lehengas, gowns, Anarkali or a traditional embroidered salwar suits in traditional colors with contrasting dupatta. Make the lehenga delicately elegant and different from the one you might wear during your wedding to avoid similar look at both the events. Try pastels like baby pink, sunset oranges, powder blues, pale sunshine yellow, earth browns, wine, blush, teal, mint greens or creamy white. Go for very subtle work on the outfit to keep it soft and easy to carry since you might have to be meeting a lot of guests. Try self-brocade lehenga, team it with a choli, crop top or a jacket with zari, applique or resham and thrown on a pretty silk or sheer dupatta. Experiment with the sleeves and motifs on the body of the outfit and if brave try on a sari or concept lehenga or even a gown lehenga. Try a lehenga with a corset for a fusion effect.
The Gown
If the wedding is ultra-traditional with little scope for making any changes to a traditional attire, try on a lush gown for a completely different effect. This is a new trend catching on for brides who want to step out of a particular framework of regional expectation and look different yet classy. Opt for pastels feminine colors and silhouettes. If the gown is set for a garden party, then try floral designs in dreamy light and sheer fabrics in lilacs, pinks, peaches, reds in chiffon silk, tulle or organza. Never wear a heavy gown since you tend to start looking tired lugging it all along. Minimalistic gowns are ideal day wear and can be carried with aplomb with some great accessories.
The Saree
There is no end to the range here. There is one for every occasion. From soft silks to printed to light zari, resham, embroidered chiffon, tulle or even very traditional silks from various parts of the country. It is said that every bride should have a collection of silk sarees. Select carefully for a lifetime of compliments and care for them with love and patience. Look at designer sarees online for an evening of the cocktail, garden party or an intimate family down dinner. Your wedding trousseau is your art palette so select beautiful contrasting combinations and add simple, elegant accessories. Try new shades like salmon pink, teal, sandalwood, oranges, midnight blue with some zardozi, silver or fine silk thread embroidery or even metal embellishments.
The Maxi Dress
Waves, sunsets, rings, and promises of walking into sunsets now come in colors of deep yellow, metal blues, bronze, fiery reds, peaches and violet-oranges. This outfit is also a great casual beach party wear. This can be teamed with jackets with pearl or embroidery work to make it subtler and to suit traditional sensibilities. Floor-length dresses have become a rage since they can transcend the world of western wear and Indian societal requirements effortlessly. Add on a stole in chiffon, jute or linen over a plain monochrome dress depending on the season to make it classier. The same, when worn in the daytime, would have a different color palette of sky-blue, blush, off whites, pale green, peach, lilacs or mauves.
The Cocktail Dress
A black-tie very formal night calls for severe dress code and cocktail dresses are a best and safest bet. To stand out the contrast with your fiancée’s tuxedo and wear colors that compliment your complexion. Burgundy, deep violets, Ruby Red, Sapphire blue, hues of the green emerald, sandstone tinges will look great. Opt for comfortable fabrics with some asymmetric cuts. You may also try a monochrome dress with some precious heirloom brooches or a simple strand of pearl or pretty earrings and strap on some divine heels for added effect.
The Party Wear
If the engagement calls for fun, games and yet is traditional ending late into the night, select metallic gold, gray, steel blues, shiny red or shimmery off white. The cut is important here, and asymmetric, sleeveless, strappy, off shoulders work wonders. Keep it comfortable in breathable fabrics. The budget is not a constraint as you can slip in and out of several outfits in the course of one evening and yet maintain the grace factor all along.
Don’t forget to speak to your photographer or videographer to click all the fun pictures of your engagement outfits in your best profiles for posterity.
Whichever the choice, plan out your complete wedding shopping, keep the look of each event different and comfortable to make a statement and aspire towards looking different from your wedding day but try and bring in elements of your personality too which is possible with some creativity.