Indian weddings are grand and exquisite, almost like a week long festival, and the nuptials varies from one region to another. What’s even more interesting is that the bridal looks also vary from region to region.
At any wedding, it’s a known fact that all eyes would be on the bride. Not just her would-be-husband but each and every guest present at the wedding waits patiently for that first glimpse of the bride, and rightly so.
A complete bridal look is a fine balance between the bridal lehenga, the jewellery and of course the bridal makeup. The right blend of these three elements is what will make the girl look her bridal best.
Different Types of Indian Brides:
From the beautiful Bengali bride to the mesmerizing Marathi Mulgi, the ravishing Lucknowi bride to the enchanting Marwari bride, lets explore some of the best Indian bridal looks and their variations based on different cultures.
1. The Punjabi Bride:
A Punjabi bride usually opts for bright colours in the shades of red, pink, orange and maroon. They are not restricted to lehangas alone but are open to wearing salwar suits and anarkalis too. A veil is kept over the bride’s head throughout the ceremony.
Her accessories comprise of the significant bridal chooda, the kalire, the mang tika and a nose ring (nath). Her hands and feet are adorned with henna designs.
Her makeup is loud and bright, at par with her glowing face.
Bollywood celebrity, Sonam Kapoor wedding had all the elements of a Punjabi wedding.
Source: instagram.com/rheakapoor
2. The Kashmiri Bride:
As beautiful as Kashmir is, the brides are even more gorgeous.
The bride wears a pheran, which is very similar to a salwar-kameez, in the shades of red, maroon and rust or orange, and takes a veil on her head. The pheran is heavily embellished and is quite glitzy.
Her accessories include a headgear known as the kalpush, over which Zoojh, a white colored cloth is wrapped in layers and together this entire piece is called Tarang, heavy necklaces, ornamental bangles and anklets. Just like the mangalsutra in other Indian cultures, the Kashmiri brides wears Dejharoo . She also ties a waistband around her waist.
Her makeup is not too loud, barring the lips which are in bright shades of red or pink.
Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri wedding was in Kashmiri style in her first movie Rockstar.
Source: flickr.com
3. The Rajasthani Bride:
One of the most lavish and extravagant affair, a Rajasthani wedding is no less than a fairytale one. Yet, when it comes to customs and ritual, the wedding is very traditional.
The Rajasthani bride dons the lovely lehenga-choli generally in the colour red and its shades. The attire is paired with a heavily embellished odhni. Her jewellery is equally heavy and includes a Timaniyaan – a diamond-studded choker necklace, a rakhri, which is worn on the forehead, Choodiare, meaning bangles, gold Bajuband or armlet that’s often stone-studded, toe-rings and the nose ring. Also, a typical jewelry known as Borla, similar to the mangtika, is worn on her forehead.
4. The Bengali Bride:
The Bengali bride is definitely the most regal and goddess-like at her wedding. Her bridal attire is more often than not a red silk, heavily embroidered saree draped in the traditionally Bengali style. She wears a veil to cover her head. The Bengali bridal look mainly focuses on the quintessentially big red bindi that’s placed in the center of the bride’s forehead and a unique design is drawn on either sides of the bindi, usually with sandalwood and kumkum paste.
Her jewellery includes a headgear known as the mukut, besides the traditional neck jewellery and the matha patti.
Her hair parting is filled with sindoor, and her hands and feet are adorned with alta. Her makeup mainly focuses on her eyes, filling them with khol, and red lips.
Bollywood actress, Bipasha Basu wedding look screamed a typical Bengali bridal look, and she looked no less than a goddess.
Source: facebook.com/theweddingstoryfilms
5. The Gujarati Bride:
A Gujarati wedding is usually very colorful, rich and fun-filled. The recent Ambani’s Gujju wedding is proof enough to the above stated.
A typical Gujarati bride wears a Panetar – white saree with red border which is heavily embellished, with the pallu of the sari draped in the front spread out over the blouse. The Gharchola (a bandhini print saree in red) or odhni gracefully falls from hair bun.
Just like the Bengali bride, even the Gujarati bride adorns her forehead with tiny embellished dots on either side of her bindi. She is decked in diamond and gold jewellery that includes a host of different haars, nose ring, armlet on both the arms, heavy earrings, payals, and a set of choodas among other ornaments.
Her makeup is very simple and subtle.
The Ambanis only daughter, Isha Ambani Gujarati bridal look was grace personified. She wore the panetar in a lehanga choli style with her mother’s gharchola draped as an odhni over her head bun.
Source: instagram.com/stylebyami
6. The Marathi Bride:
Maharastrain girls make for the most beautiful brides, mainly because of their simplicity. Draped in the typical Maharashtrian trouser style, the Marathi bride wears a silk saree in yellow with green border.
The Marathi bridal look is complete with the typical Maharshtrian jewelry which included elements like glass bangles in the color green, a mangalsutra, traditional necklaces also known as Thusi and armlets or Vaaki. Not to forget the elaborate nath. She also wears a headband known as ‘Mundavalya’ – two strings of flowers or pearls that are horizontally tied on the forehead with two lines of flowers or pearls attached to the headband, hanging down in front of the ears.
Her makeup is very natural and light. She wears crescent-shaped bindi on her forehead.
Bollywood actress, Genelia D’Souza made for a gorgeous Marathi bride on her wedding day.
Source: instagram.com/ronickakandhari
7. The Tamil Bride:
The Tamil Bride paints an enchanting picture of Indian bridal fashion, elegance and beauty. She cannot do without her signature Kajeevaram Silk sarees in bright hues, worn in the traditional Madisar style..
The Tamil bridal look involves a lot of gold jewellery, particularly passed on to her from generations. She wears a oddiyanam or the waist belt that’s made of solid gold typically in temple design.Even her neck jewellery is heavy and in multiple layers. A diamond nose pin , gold bangles, mangtika are some of the signature bridal jewelry of a Tamil bride.
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Her makeup is sharp and bright, with dramatic eyes, bright lips and hair left down in a long braid. The Tamil bride also wears gold ornaments known as Nethi on both sides of the central hair parting. The hair is adorned with lots of flowers.
Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt played a beautiful Tamil bride in her movie 2 States.
Source: india.com
8. The Parsi Bride:
A Parsi bride is a vision to behold. She wears a heavy embroidered white saree in silk or chiffon, known as the ParsiGara, and is draped in typical Parsi style. Her head is covered at all times with the sari’s pallu.
Her jewellery is kept to the minimum, with just a simple diamond neck piece, earrings and a few bangles.
Her makeup is also light and very minimal.
Bollywood actress Nauheed Cyrusi showcases the most beautiful Parsi bridal look at her wedding.
Source: facebook.com/MAZDAAUDIOVIDEOLAB/
9. The Sindhi Bride:
Sindhi weddings generally involve a lot of razzle-dazzle. And while the fun element is at it’s peak, traditions are given equal importance. A Sindhi bride usually wears a heavy, decorative lehenga on her big day, with red being the most preferred color. The chunri is placed over the bride’s head and then draped in a similar fashion as that of a saree.
The Sindhi bridal look is complete with loads of gold and diamond jewellery – choker necklace, the mangtika, the nath, heavy earrings, chooda, kalire, hathpool, among others.
The makeup is loud and dramatic.
Bollywood diva, Deepika Padukone Sindhi wedding was a feast to the eyes.
Source: instagram.com/deepikapadukone
10. The Assamese Bride:
Assamese weddings are an elegant affair, with their rituals firmly grounded in the culture. The girl, once decked in the Assamese bridal ensemble, looks ethereal. She wears the traditional Assamese bridal outfit known as the Mekhla Chadar – a two piece set, consisting of a front pleated skirt and the other half is draped over the upper body. Once worn, it resembles a sari.
The bride completes her look with gold jewellery with the mangtika being an integral part of the bridal look. The hair is mostly tied in a bun and adorned with lots of flowers. Alta is applied to the hands and feet.
Her makeup is minimal and at its natural best.
Bollywood’s most handsome Milind Soman tied the knot to his Assamese girlfriend Ankita Konwar in a beautiful Assamese style wedding.
Source: instagram.com/ankita_earthy
Well, the above mentioned Indian bridal looks are pretty awesome, but just a small teaser to the vast cultural nature of India. Do tell us which out of these Best Indian bridal looks are you digging at the moment.
