CLASSICALLY ABBY
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Fashion

What I Wore to a Traditional Indian Wedding

7/9/2019

4 Comments

 
Picture
Our new favorite pieces of clothing.
Does anyone else love traditional Indian attire as much as I do? I mean, it is absolutely stunning!

This past weekend, Jacob and I went to a traditional Indian wedding. It was so beautiful - the colors were so bright, the bride was stunning in her red wedding gown, and the food was absolutely delicious. I had never been to an Indian wedding before, and oh my goodness, am I glad we were able to attend. On our invitation, we were invited to wear Indian formal attire, and Jacob and I jumped at the chance. We love engaging with and experiencing different cultures. So we hopped on Amazon (our favorite buy-anything-anytime website) and did some digging!

Just as a side note, please forgive me in advance if I get any of my information wrong - I'd love to know more about these beautiful traditions, but unfortunately I am not totally educated on them! And please feel free to correct me in the comments below. 

The wedding was made up of four parts over the course of two days - the Sangeet, the wedding ceremony, a lunch buffet, and the reception. We enjoyed all of it thoroughly, and I thought I would share what I wore from beginning to end! It was a lovely event, and we are so happy for our friends newly-married status.

The Sangeet

Picture
Rent the Runway Unlimited to the rescue, as usual!
Picture
I hope we can all appreciate a car selfie.
Picture
How gorgeous is this henna??
The night before the wedding, we were invited to attend the Sangeet, a pre-wedding event that celebrates the union of the bride and groom's families. I love the idea of a Sangeet - it gets you in the mood for the actual wedding day and it gives guests a chance to get to know each other the night before the big event. As well, at this event they had a lovely woman doing Henna on the bridesmaids as well as the guests. I grew up seeing my Persian friends get Henna, and I always loved it - so I thought I would get a design myself to go with my saree the following day!

This dress is from Marchesa Notte, and even though this exact dress isn't available, Marchesa Notte has what looks to me like an updated version. I rented it from Rent the Runway Unlimited and it fit like a glove (I wore it in a size 4, if that's any indication). I paired this dress with - can you believe it? - the shoes I wore on my wedding day! I haven't worn them since we got married, and I thought now was as good a time as ever to put them to good use! I love these shoes - they're really classic and the design is beautiful. I will warn you, though - the first night I wore these my feet felt fine, but wearing them a second day really ended up hurting my toes. So if you're not planning on wearing them for basically 24 hours, you should be fine. 

For jewelry, I wore the beautiful necklace my husband gifted me for our wedding anniversary and a pair of pearl and crystal drop earrings. I didn't want to wear anything too large to distract from the beauty of the dress. Then, I curled my hair (mostly in preparation for the following day's updo), painted my nails red, and paired the look with a bronze smokey eye and a red lip. 

The Day of the Wedding

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The wedding began at 10:00 AM, so I woke up early to get a head start on my hair and makeup. I knew I was going to do an easy updo, so I wasn't too worried about that, but I was really excited to do a dramatic Indian-inspired makeup look. I looked up some inspiration online and came up with the above look! I think what really makes this makeup stand out is the glitter on my eyelids. It's one of my favorite glitter products and I always get compliments when I use it. Mine had slightly dried out, but here's a quick tip - if a product of yours seems dried out, dry putting a few drops of saline solution in and see if that helps! It definitely fixed my problem. I also accentuated the shape of my eyes by extending my eyeliner into my inner corners, exaggerating that cat-eye effect. 

Moving onto my outfit, I wanted to find something affordable to wear to the wedding since many of the options I had found were out of my price range. So I decided to buy a long, stretchy skirt and amatching crop top on Amazon that I could wear again in the future. The skirt wouldn't really show underneath the saree, and I hoped that the beauty of the fabric of the saree might distract away from the casual nature of the crop top. Everyone at the wedding was very sweet and said they loved my outfit, so I think it's okay to wear a crop top underneath a saree (just as an FYI)! 

Now, there are many beautiful sarees on Amazon, but I ended up choosing this one because I loved the color of the fabric. I also have a sewing machine at home, so I was able to hem both sides (since the material showed up raw). I watched a couple of YouTube videos to teach myself how to drape a saree - but when I arrived at the wedding, a wonderful woman there asked me if I needed help and retied the whole thing for me! She was such an angel, and she did such a beautiful job. 

I paired the outfit with the same shoes I had worn the night before (which didn't end up being the best idea) and a few sparkly jewelry pieces, including a crystal-encrusted bracelet, a pair of drop earrings, and a choker. 

The wedding ceremony itself was a stunning affair. There were red, yellow, and orange followers bedecking the mandap (a canopy similar to a chuppah at a Jewish wedding.) The bride was so stunning - I honestly still can't get over it. Nearing the end of the ceremony, they brought us little cups of ice cream, which was so delicious and a fun touch! After the ceremony, we all had lunch and then there was a break before the cocktail hour and the evening reception.
​
Jacob and I decided to wear our outfits through the day. My only major wardrobe change was into a pair of sandals so that I could dance the night away - and I am so glad I did! I didn't have to worry about my feet and I could really just enjoy the music. 

If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Indian wedding in traditional attire - I say, go for it. It is so beautiful and I felt less out of place in a saree than I did in that first cocktail dress! And I have to tell you. After speaking with many of the people at the wedding, it was made clear to me that they liked seeing everyone there embracing their culture and their dress. It was a way of honoring the day.

Have you ever been to a traditional Indian wedding? Have you worn a saree? Let me know in the comments below! 
​*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click on a link and purchase something. ​​​Thank you so much for your support! ​
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...
Picture
Picture
4 Comments
Natasha
4/25/2020 06:51:23 am

Dear Abby,

Hope you and your husband are safe and well.

I am of Indian heritage, and it was so wonderful to come across this post. Seems like you and your husband really did have a great time at the Indian Wedding!! I have to say you both pulled off the Indian look very well and with so much detail and consideration (you especially pulled off the look so gracefully and elegantly).

In regard to the crop-top that you wore with the saree, this is absolutely fine. I live abroad and sometimes the sarees I purchase online don't come with stitched blouses (the only time I get them stitched is when I visit India for a holiday, as its way too expensive to stitch them abroad haha!). In these instances, the only alternative I have left if I want to wear the saree, is wearing a matching coloured crop-top. My mother and many Indian women also do that, even though a stitched blouse is always preferred. So yes, wearing a crop-top under a saree is totally fine. Sometimes I even wear a crop-top with a long-skirt, and then drape a long piece of matching cloth around me to cover-up myself, and this then becomes a 'lehenga' (similar to saree except its not a long piece of cloth like the sarees).

Would you ever want to witness an Indian wedding in India?

You have such great content Abby, thank you for all that you do. This is the type of content that is missing in society nowadays, especially for females. I am so grateful for that. I watch your Youtube content and am a subscriber.

Thanks again! X

Reply
lisa
7/1/2021 09:15:18 am

Hi, Your paper crafting skills are absolutely unmatched and the outcomes are extremely gorgeous. I was recently planning to gift something to my mother on her birthday and this handy little case would be a great idea to give a handmade touch to the presents. This looks absolute fun and I can’t thank you enough for providing such great ideas every time. <a href="https://soulshinewedding.com/">แบบการ์ดแต่งงาน</a>

Reply
what is butt cupping link
8/26/2021 11:18:14 am

IS FASHİON IMPORTANT? Today, two billion people are trendy in the world. The modern Fashion ındustry was started in thenineteenth century by Charles Frederick Worth in France.Today Fashion industry is the biggest second industry after weapon industry in the world.We are under theeffect of fashion trends more or less.Clothing is abasicneed andıt one of the best ways show your identity and it is very important for thefirstimpression.According to most of the teenager, Fashion is the part of their lives

Reply
ultrasound for face link
8/27/2021 04:11:45 am

I’m attracted towards fashion. My passion for the finest designer clothes of the country lured me to discover how the fashion industry works in the back end in order to create these magnificient designs. After working and graduating, I have learned the significance of working with a team in devising successful marketing strategies that advance to brand devotion.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    How To's
    Classic Girl's Guide
    Fashion Hauls
    Seasonal Fashion
    Shop My Favorites

    Author

    Hey! I'm Abby, the creator of Classically Abby, a commentary, opera, beauty, and lifestyle brand dedicated to looking at the world from a classic perspective. I'm the first Conservative Influencer and I'm an opera singer with three degrees in performance!

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019

    RSS Feed

COPYRIGHT 2022, Classically Abby, LLC
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact