British couple invited to an Indian Wedding. What to wear?

Aubrey_Thicket · 16 March 2019 at 5:09PM

Hi all

My mate (English guy) is getting married in June to his Fianc!. Her parents are Indian and they are paying for a ‘Lavish, traditional Indian Wedding’. It’s all pretty cool and laid back and there’s no dress code etc. However, we would like to make an effort and if possible wear something half western half Indian if that makes sense?
Any ideas guys? Please feel free to simply post links.

jackomdj · 16 March 2019 at 7:15PM

We went to our neighbours children's weddings. Several days of partying at various locations, and the ceremony in the temple. We wore Western clothes, but make sure a dress is appropriate for sitting on the floor in (if necessary), plus we needed scarfs to cover our heads.
It was all amazing, we were welcomed with open arms and had many people telling us what was happening or why. My children thought the best bit was the 'Bollywood style' dance off, when they said they would shake it up a bit by getting a white couple to dance, as we were the only white couple out of about 400 people that would be us! &#55357;&#56832;&#55357;&#56832;

Socajam · 16 March 2019 at 7:31PM

As jackomdj said wear something loose.
How about a nice long dress that will give you room to sit down comfortably and dance at the same time
Or a nice skirt with a jacket.

hazyjo · 16 March 2019 at 7:49PM

There were a couple of threads re the same thing. In fact, I think I started one lol. In the end I wore a long floral dress for day and another patterned one for evening. Many people will change clothes.

Enjoy!

Callie22 · 16 March 2019 at 7:52PM

I went to a friend's Sikh wedding a few years ago and wore salwar kameez (loose trousers and a long tunic-type top), which were perfect as we were invited to the temple too and the scarf and trousers meant that I was able to cover my head and sit comfortably! I think I bought my outfit from a company called Utsav, as I said it was a few years ago now but when I bought from them I had no issues at all. They do have some absolutely gorgeous clothes, and an 'indowestern' range if you want something a bit simpler, or that you could match with a jacket etc.

maman · 16 March 2019 at 7:56PM

We've just come back from India and it's very much wedding season there so many of our hotels were hosting weddings. I noticed that the younger Indian women had westernised their dress so they were wearing long skirts with tops instead of wrapping the fabric round them. Most men except for the main characters (in brocade outfits) wore lounge suits.

I have been to a Hindu wedding in this country and wore what I'd wear to any other wedding.

What I'd suggest is that you wear a nice dress, long would be good and then perhaps drape a pashmina/floaty scarf over one shoulder. This could then double up if you need to cover your head. Your DH could wear a normal lounge suit but with a bright tie. Pink seemed very much in evidence at the weddings we saw often matched to a pink turban but I think that would be OTT.;)

miriamac · 16 March 2019 at 9:01PM

Callie22 wrote: »

I went to a friend's Sikh wedding a few years ago and wore salwar kameez (loose trousers and a long tunic-type top), which were perfect as we were invited to the temple too and the scarf and trousers meant that I was able to cover my head and sit comfortably! I think I bought my outfit from a company called Utsav, as I said it was a few years ago now but when I bought from them I had no issues at all. They do have some absolutely gorgeous clothes, and an 'indowestern' range if you want something a bit simpler, or that you could match with a jacket etc.

That's almost exactly what I did more than a few years ago! Mine was a dressy 'trouser suit' from Debenhams, but it had a real Salwar Kameez feel (it was also amazingly comfortable and I wore it many times). I had a fake pashmina too, which doubled up as head covering.

I'm going to have a look at that website - thank you!

ska_lover · 16 March 2019 at 10:10PM

jackomdj wrote: »

We went to our neighbours children's weddings. Several days of partying at various locations, and the ceremony in the temple. We wore Western clothes, but make sure a dress is appropriate for sitting on the floor in (if necessary), plus we needed scarfs to cover our heads.
It was all amazing, we were welcomed with open arms and had many people telling us what was happening or why. My children thought the best bit was the 'Bollywood style' dance off, when they said they would shake it up a bit by getting a white couple to dance, as we were the only white couple out of about 400 people that would be us! ��

We had a very similar experience to the one you decribe

One of the best weddings we have ever attended

trailingspouse · 17 March 2019 at 10:44AM

We went to something similar a few years ago - my husband's niece married a guy who's parents were Sikh, and they held a Sikh reception. There was a dress code - all the women to wear sari's. So off we went to Bombay Stores in Bradford, where we (6 English women) were given a lesson in how to put a sari on. Great fun. I don't remember having to cover my head at any point - but this was just a reception, not a wedding ceremony, and there was no religious aspect to it. All the men (including the father of the groom) wore standard lounge suits.

One thing to remember, whatever you wear, is to avoid red - that's the traditional colour that the bride wears.
One of the most surreal moments of my life was doing the actions to 'YMCA' wearing a sari!

Rambosmum · 17 March 2019 at 8:03PM

I wore a sari to my friends hindu wedding.

hazyjo · 18 March 2019 at 10:47AM

Don't forget to take some hairclips to hold any headscarf in place. Mine kept sliding down - and you are in it for an awfully long time so you don't want to keep fidgeting with it!

British couple invited to an Indian Wedding. What to wear?

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