Fashion does not only mean models walking the ramp with designer clothes put on them. Fashion is what people wear everyday. It affects every sphere of our lives. God clothes brings on the presentability factor, makes us confident..
Fashion is attached to every day of our life, be that college days, office days, parties, weddings, meetings, presentation so on and so forth. Fashion is a huge subject and so does its branches are varied. One of the most delicate and wonderful branch of fashion is wedding fashion. The Wedding Day when the bride and the bridegroom wants to put their best shoes forward in terms of looks dresses and everything. The bride’s beauty is enhanced by her smile on her face n the bridegroom’s pride. Keeping aside both what comes next is their attire. Every community in India has a specific wedding attire for the bride and the bridegroom. Saree is the most comman attire when it comes to India weddings. Some people consider red to be the auspicious color some consider white. So being a Bengali let’s start with Bengali wedding attire. Marriages in Bengal are grand and occurs over a span of several days. On the wedding day the bride is given a Benarasi saree preferably in red. Benarasi sarees are heavy silk sarees with a lot of embroidery with golden zari and intricate designs. The saree is accompanied by heavy gold jewellery where a ‘naakchabi’ or nose pin is a must. As a headgear the bride wears a ‘mukut’ or tiara. The jewellery consists of ‘sitahaar’ ‘chur’ ‘mangaltika’ ‘hathbicha’ and many more. On the contrary the bridegroom is only given a simple kurta with a ‘tusshar’ dhuti and as a headgear he wears a ‘topor’ which is made up of thermocol.
Now let’s move on to the western part of our country. What do Gujratis and Rajasthanis wear in their wedding?
Ethnicity is the key, when it comes to Gujarati wedding attire for the bride. Traditionally, saree has been the ideal ethnic dress for a bride, draped in a Gujarati style, coupled with traditional jewelry pieces, in a Gujarati wedding. Talking about traditional Gujarati saree, there are two basic types - the Panetar, a white sari with red bandhini border and the Gharchola, traditional red bandhini sari crisscrossed with woven gold squares, enclosing bandhini motifs. Though red is considered as the most auspicious color for the bride, with the changing times, contemporary color and designs have become hot favorite option. Traditional bandhini saris in old rose, jade green, peach etc. with zari borders are making way as the most picked bridal wear. Designer bridal lehangas available in different shades are gaining momentum as well. Stylish and chic looking, these lehangas are luring more and more girls into buying them for the special day of their lives.
- For Groom In a traditional Gujarati marriage, grooms opt for dhoti kurta. Cream, fawn and lemon yellow are the most preferred color choice for the groom. To spice up the look, he can also wear a red colored Bandhej dupatta around his neck. However, in the present times, traditional attire is giving way to the modern styled attire. The main effect of this is seen in metropolitan cities, wherein the traditional ethnic clothing has taken a little back stage. More and more men prefer exploring the western wear category. Formal suits have become the ideal choice of the town. As such, for the modern men, the fashion designers are coming up with designer Gujarati wedding bridegroom wear, such as indo western kurta pyjamas, so that traditional and ethnic wears continue to dominate the wedding scene.
Next what comes after Gujrati weddings is the grandeur is Punjabi wedding. There are whole lot of rituals in Punjabi weddings starting from Anand karaj to Vidaai…what comes next is the Punjabi wedding attire. The attire comprises of the traditional sikh bridal wear is the Punjabi suit that is a short Kurta with a Patiyala Salwar and also a dupatta which is heavily embellished. The main focus is normally given to the Dupatta, since it’s adorned on the head in the Gurudwara. Heavy gold jewelry is an integral feature of Sikh bridal attire. The colors that are most preferred are shades of red and pink. Maroon and Magenta are the two favorites. Now lets’s come to the bottom part of our country and that is south India. When compared to north Indian weddings south Indians weddings are subtle and so is their weddeing attire. On the wedding day the bride prefers to be in silk sarees which are often red or white in colour. The saree is draped in a very simple type but wat comes in a addition is the heavy gold jewellery worn in south Indian weddings. A ‘jadai’ is a must to waer in south Indian weddings. It is worn on the braid and is made of gold. Heavy necklaces and ‘kamarbands’ are also a necessity in south Indian weddings. The bridegroom as usual has a simple look with off white dhoti and a even simpler off-white kurta.
Now let’s come to the city of films and yes that Mumbai. Mumbai is mainly dominated by the Maharashtrian clans. The Maharashtrians are very simple people - so their wedding attire tends to be less bedazzled and ornamented than other Indian groups. However, Maharashtrians go all out when it comes to displaying their vibrant color preferences and gold jewelry! Common colors found on a Maharashtrian bride include gold, yellows, and green. However, the saree worn during the day of the wedding ceremony is marigold or yellow with green or orange borders. Paithani sarees, made of gold and silk, and are traditional attire for Maharashtrian brides. They can also be worn for major events. They have thick, oblique-square designs on the borders, with motifs of kaleidoscopes, peacocks, parrots in the pallu of the saree. Paithani silk sarees tend to be only one or a dual color with embellished golden borders. They can take a month to hand weave, and true Paitani saris comes from the city of Paitan. In ancient times brides wore nauvari sarees. This design has a trouser-like appearance, since the nine-yard-long saree (compared to the usual six yards) is wrapped around each leg to create a "pant" instead of the long skirt usually associated with a saree. Nauvari sarees are supposed to be more comfortable - and they don't require a petticoat either.
. Let’s now come to the jewellery section. ‘Tanmani is an absolute must for a Maharashtrian bride. It is a choker with 3-4 pearl lines that sit firmly onto it. The off-white pearls are accompanied by a few coloured pearls just to add to the beauty of the neckpiece. Maharashtrian bridal ‘chooda’ is very different than the red chooda. It has glass bangles in green, a symbol of fertility, new life and creativity. It is customary to wear these in odd numbers, and in different numbers in both hands. ‘Vaaki’ or armlet is an essential for the Maharashtrian bride. Ideally worn one on each arm, many brides these days wear just one vaaki. A traditional design is in flat, solid gold with precious stones in the centre. Just like the mundavalya and the tanmani, the nath makes a Maharashtrian bride different than the rest. This traditional nosepiece has pearls woven in a typical Paisley shape, and has a white stone in the centre. The more extravagant families are known to have a diamond for this white stone. Even though the designs have evolved and changed over the years, the meaning and importance of the mangasultra have not changed. It literally means mangal (holy) and sutra (thread). The black beads string end with two golden cups, each standing for the parents’ and the in-laws’ home. Jodvi or tow-rings, always in silver, are gifted by the mother-in-law and signify the bride’s entry in the new household. These are a must for every Maharashtrian bride. A Maharashtrian groom typically wears a dhoti kurta, which is the traditional male outfit for Hindu ceremonies. It consists of a long shirt (kurta) and loose-fitting dhoti. The outfit can be made of material ranging from cotton to silk, but Maharashtrians prefer a plain, cotton-blend that is embroidered with gold or silver designs.
The wedding dhoti however, is usually silk and in a brighter colour like purple, magenta, blue.
Compared to the to the intricate designs on a Paithani saree's border, the groom's kurta is less decorated - but still having similar motifs.The groom also adorns gold jewelry that is passed down from older generations of relatives. Gold rings are worn, as well as pearls around the head. The headpiece, unique to Maharashtrian wedding, is made of white flowers, golden string, and pearls. It is worn by both the bride and the groom during the wedding ceremony.
So we see that in India the basic wedding attire is sarees for the bride and dhoti’s for the bridegrooms. The sarees and dhoti remains the same bt the material to be worn, the colors changes from communities to communities. There must be changes in the regional level or the village level but the very essence of wedding and the very language of wedding that is love’ remains same throught………