Featured Bride Rashna On Her Breathtaking Indian Wedding Attire And Jewelry

 

The dress, jewelry, and flowers, – these are the elements that make up a bride’s armor so to speak. She chooses each with the utmost thought and care as they define how she wants to look and feel on the biggest day of her life. This is particularly true for the woman getting married in a traditional Indian wedding. Here, our BB Featured Bride Rashna talks about her ceremonial attire and accessories.

Bridal Attire, Henna, & Jewelry

When it came time to start searching for what she was going to wear at her wedding, Rashna got to skip the usual process of jumping from appointment to appointment at the local bridal boutiques. She explains, “My wedding dress had to be a traditional South Indian kanjeevaram saree. But I was lucky, because I was able to pick out my colors.” She chose a stunning jewel tone yellow and orange saree decorated with gold accents.

 

 

Rashna enlightened on the significance behind her henna, referred to as Mehndi in Indian marriages. “The bride has to get the henna done two nights before her wedding during a special ceremony. The traditional bridal henna has to cover from the elbows to the fingertips and feet to ankles. There are a few go-to designs, which usually rely heavily on the paisley pattern. It represents good luck and blessings.”

 

 

Instead of a bouquet, Rashna honored her culture by wearing a traditional South Indian long floral braid. “For hair flowers, you have to have jasmine,” she says. “Brides usually wear carnations, but I went with roses, because I liked their dramatic look.” Complementing Rashna’s vibrant saree, red and coral hued roses and baby’s breath cascaded down her back to striking effect.

 

 

 

We could devote an entire post to Rashna’s jewelry. Not only beautiful, it carried symbolic importance. “All the jewelry that I wore during the ceremony came from my family. Typically, women from the bride’s side gift her jewelry to wear for her wedding. I wore five necklaces and each had to be a different length.” Additional highlights included a gorgeous gold Tikka worn at the center of her head, diamond starburst earrings, and a collection of bracelets around both wrists.

 

 

 

The bride had a second look planned for the late night festivities. “My reception dress was the one I was most excited about. I ended up wearing a three-piece lehenga by Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani.” The lehenga was composed of a short top, large skirt, and transparent scarf. The sumptuous black and gold fabric was embellished with dazzling geometric flowers on the skirt and scarf.

 

 

Sean matched his bride, looking dashing in ceremonial groom’s attire of a gold embroidered sherwani and turban. For the reception, he changed into a black Allen David suit. The couple’s wedding party wore traditional Indian wedding attire during the ceremony.

 

 

Stay tuned for next week for Part 3 when Rashna talks about her Hindu ceremony and enchanted mandap.

Couple’s Vendor List:
Venue: Bronx Zoo
Photographer: Dideo Films Photography
Bride’s Attire: Traditonal Kanjeevaram silk saree (ceremony) and reception lehenga by Tarun Tahiliani 
Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin (ceremony) and Tamara Mellon (reception)
Groom’s Tux: Allen David (reception)
Cake: Butterfly Bakeshop
Caterer: Moghul Caterers and Bronx Zoo
Hair: Liz Lazo
Makeup: Patricia Longo
Invitations: Azure 
Music: 74 Events
Lighting: Frost Productions