The wedding attire is an important part of the celebration and obviously, the bride wants to look her best wearing the most gorgeous clothes that she can afford. No pressure from those Sabyasachi wedding trousseau brochures, right? 

Many communities in India still stick to the traditional costume of wearing a silk saree or a lehenga for the wedding according to the region the bride belongs to. Silk saree is the preferred choice as the bridal dress in South, West and East India while other parts prefer Lehenga. 

There are a number of attire changes for the bride and it can vary based on the rituals followed at the wedding. In South Indian weddings a minimum of 3 to 4 silk sarees are required while for the North Indian weddings they will need at least 2. 

In a typical South Indian wedding, a silk saree is brought for the Vara Puja ceremony which happens prior to the wedding day.

• On the wedding day before the Mangalya Dharana, the bride wears another silk saree to perform various pujas. 
• During the Mangalya Dharana, she changes into the saree brought by the groom for the ‘thali’ or ‘mangalsutra’ tying ceremony. 
• For the reception, the bride is free to wear a designer saree or a lehenga of her choice.
• While some of the sarees are gifted by the groom’s side, others are bought by the bride’s family based on her choice of style and design. 

Other wedding attires across India
For weddings that are held elsewhere in India, brides wear a lehenga for the main wedding ceremony. The saree will be colourful with intricate embroidery and designs made from gold thread and crystals. After the wedding, she changes into another beautiful lehenga or Ghagra Choli with Odni for the reception. Since the latest trends include designs that are a crossbreed of traditional and modern, brides are increasingly choosing evening gowns with a touch of Indian heritage through the choice of jewellery, styling or design. 

Budgeting Attires
While one may be tempted to buy every outfit in a seasonal wedding fashion magazine, it’s practically not possible. What is possible is to derive inspiration from these and attain a similar look within a pre set budget. The general rule of thumb is to allocate 5% from your overall wedding budget breakdown towards your wedding attire. 

Budget and design are two things that go hand in hand. Rework on design, texture or material to reduce or stick within a pre-allocated budget. Get smart and work with all the beautiful outfits you have in hand by creating a re-energised look! Not only does this help save some money but wakes up the inner stylist in you to look your trendy best! Also, the last thing you want is to sweat crazy walking down shopping streets exhausting yourself. Here are some tips to revamp your look within budget:

1. Source local designers: Remember the local tailor your aunt swore by? It’s probably worth checking out his shop down the lane to see if he can recreate or get inspiration to create your imagined look. 
2. Buy your clothes early: Your lack of planning can be encashed as an emergency at a tailor. By this we mean, tailors can charge you a significant amount when they know you are in a hurry to get the attire ready by the closing in deadline. Even if you decide to go for a labelled designer, it takes well over 4 months to get the outfit ready.
3. Accessorise: A bold jewellery set with multi-coloured bangles can change the look of any outfit you wear. Even the simplest of outfits can work as a canvas for a curated accessorised look.  Mix and match glass bangles with gold to add a splash of colour on your wrists. Feeling adventurous? Pair up desi earrings or traditional sparkly kundan jewellery with your evening reception gown! Other ideas include donning a bejewelled headgear, statement heels, cuff bracelets, etc.
4. Stole: Steal people’s hearts by adding a textured stole to whatever outfit you wear. These are not very expensive and can be used later with any western or Indian outfit. Also, they add elegance to any simple outfit. Pick a stylish pashmina stole or the latest handcrafted trending lace stoles that add grace to any outfit. Got a plain satin gown to wear for the wedding reception? Notch it up with a printed stole!
5. Hair and makeup: Give your outfit an instant uplift by crowing your head with a neatly styled blow-dry and dramatic makeup. No matter what the outfit, your glowing face will carry it out like a queen!

The bride’s wedding attire is the highlight of the marriage and hence every bride chooses it painstakingly to look her best.