When it comes to wedding dressing, lehengas and sarees are the first options that usually come to mind. But take a look at recent celebrity sightings, and you’ll have your fill of inspos to stand out at the next wedding you attend.
1. All about accessories
“The simplest outfit can be elevated to a festive level with the addition of the right accessories. When it comes to weddings, jhumkis in different sizes, chand baalis and maang tikas are the classics that work best with a variety of styles, be it a solid coloured salwar suit or a saree,” says celebrity stylist Sugandha Sood. Sood adds that nose pins have made quite a comeback too. For your hair, depending on how busy your outfit is, you can choose to tie your hair up in a bun (accessorised with fresh flowers) when you want your jewellery to stand out. A low messy bun with a few strands of hair casually pulled out, or even a high bun looks great, especially with sarees. If you are wearing a choker, slick straight hair will give a contemporary appeal to your look. For some fun styles, you could tong your hair to create loose waves or curls.
2. Solid colours vs contrast
Thanks to the Internet, we now get our style inspirations from all kinds of stars, shows and influencers. This offers of a potpourri of styles to try, mix and match. After a dreary 2020, neons and pop colours have made a big comeback as the world slowly started moving on with their lives. So, you can either wear a bright parrot green choli and lehenga combo, or you can even contrast a purple choli with a green lehenga and a pink dupatta. Not just a colour contrast, international Spring-Summer 2022 trends have been dominated by prints and a print clash in the brightest, happiest colours. If you love soft pastels, lilacs and powder blues are popular colour options to choose from.
3. Gharara gharara
One of the biggest festive wear trends seen this season is a gharara. “Colourful ghararas in pop colours are all the rage this season. Also, Jaipuri block prints are a popular option in this style. You can pair a gharara with a short kurti with noodle straps if you want to show off your arms or you can even wear it with a peplum style top. A peplum will highlight your waist so choose a style that you are most comfortable in,” says Sood. You can also wear your gharara with a bralette or a crop top in a solid colour or a printed one for a modern cocktail look.
4. Statement blouses
If you want to stand out from the wedding crowd, go for a statement blouse to add a contemporary touch to your traditional ensemble. Chances are, most of your friends will be in a lehenga for the main evening, so think about staying stylish yet comfortable. “Instead of a choli, pick a basic top, a satin shirt or a crop top from one of the high street international brands, and wear it with a heavily embroidered skirt or a lehenga. Tops with voluminous sleeves are also en vogue and will make heads turn. Another way to style your lehenga differently is to wear your dupatta around the shoulders like a cape jacket or just casually across the front,” says Sood.
5. Dance-worthy outfits
“For events like mehendi and sangeet, choose a crop top with dhoti pants and wear your dupatta like a cape. This will give you the ease of movement to dance the night away with your friends and fam and look stylish nonetheless. A draped pre-stitched saree style lehenga that you can wear like a skirt is a non-messy too for those who can’t drape a sari,” says Sood. You can also get a ready-to-wear dhoti sari with a cowl on the side to let you dance with abandon.