All about Indian Bridal Trousseau:

India, rich in art and culture, has finest collection of traditional wear incorporated with marvelous embroidery. Most of the traditional wear comes with the work of gold and silver thread known as Zari. Whether it’s a bridal dress or a dress for attending a wedding, the dress such as lehenga choli incorporates heavy work all over using beads, kundan, zari, thread and sequins.

Zari is a golden thread and zardozi embroidery is the work done using gold thread, the sheer magic of creative design and agile fingers. Zardozi lehengas are among the most demanded outfit during any special occasion due to its heavily encrusted gold work which gives an exotic look to its wearer.

The lehenga, embedded with Zardozi embroidery, sworovski, beads, crystals, semi precious stones and envisaging the ensemble of lustrous metallic wire makes it the most popular choice for a bridal trousseau.

The Zardozi work was traditionally the silver wire coated/plated with beads, stones, gold and silk threads. Today many other forms are being used to create that Special dress for your biggest day! Popular forms like chikankari, dabka, pittan, Maal, resham work etc are being infused with modern forms like foil prints and age old weaves to create the most exotic trousseau of every girl’s dreams.

Lehenga is the traditional wear of Indian women since mughal time. Popular among royal people of olden days, lehngas come in many different styles. The lehenga made up of a comfortable fabric, can be worn on festivals or other celebrations. Lehangas are glamorous and elaborate. Rich fabrics such as silk, organza, jamewars and brocades are used lavishly by the timeless traditional motifs and contemporary patterns. The colours are bright in hues of reds, oranges, maroons, pink and golds.

Exceptionally feminine, lehengas are available in various sizes and are often custom made to suit individual needs. A lehanga is said to be the best bridal wear in day and evening time.

Rajasthan has some exceptional boutiques and stores to buy the best possible wedding trousseau. Some of the great stores located in the capital city of Jaipur are Rana’s, Zari, Sattava, Pratapsons, Utsav and a there are a handful of boutiques to get a great bargain. I especially recommend a great boutique- Krishnakriti. You can get a custom lehenga done starting at a price of $500 to $12500 and above. The price would vary depending on the fabric, work and material.

For shopping assistance and guidance on buying exotic bridal trousseau from Rajasthan, visit us at www.theroyalshaadi.com or mail us at dreams@theroyalshaadi.com

Avoiding Trousseau Malfunction:

The trousseau is an eternal part of a wedding. Talking about traditional Indian trousseau, the choices are many; elaborate Lehengas, Ghaghra choli, Heavily Embroidered sari, Sharara, salwaar kameez etc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_dress). There were times when a bride could not go much beyond Reds for the D-day attire but today the choices are many. From pastels to traditional red tones, gold, silver or even whites, it is on to you to decide what you want.

The wedding attire must be chosen considering one’s body size and shape. The traditional wedding dress patterns have transcended to breathtaking blends, which are being preferred by the modern bride and groom. Heavily embroidered clothes, with crystal work and embellishments are being mostly preferred. Given the heaviness of this kind of clothing, it is very difficult to manage with them for hours at a stretch.

A bride may have the most elaborate designer trousseau, or the most eclectic jewelry but it may all prove futile if a dress malfunction takes place in public. Here are a few lessons that I learned and these may come in handy for brides when it comes to their bridal attire.

• Rule number one: Try on your wedding dress and make sure it fits. One of my friends bought a beautiful lehenga. She tried it on at the store and the choli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choli) was not acting right. It was falling off the shoulders. She really wanted the attire and just figured that the store was ready to alter the choli and assumed and all would be fine. That is not what happened. While she was wearing her lehenga on the day of the sangeet, the Choli was tight and difficult to get into. Her wonderful Mom In law had to run all the way to the store to get it altered all over again. She is a saint! The Bride made it to the Sangeet, slightly late and very disturbed. Trying on your dress is crucial to prevent potential bridal attire malfunctions AHEAD of time!

• Rule number two: Try on your shoes before you leave the store. So my other friend, who is well known for her shoes, had the most fabulous pair of shoes on. Well, my dear friend didn’t try on the shoes before she left the store. She had two left shoes. We were hysterical. She finally got married in her sister’s shoes. All the last minute chaos of shoe hunting could have been avoided with a bit of pre-planning. (Sorry girls, I am sure you will publish my next big guffaws.)

• Rule number three: I know someone whose Sari opened slightly in the middle of Pheras. It was an extremely embarrassing moment and was very shocking for all guests. So all you lovely brides to be; tell your beautician to put pins on our Sari and ensure it does not come off.