For some of us who have never been to an Indian or South Asian wedding, you might be asking yourselves, what do I wear? If there are multiple days of celebration, do I need a different outfit for each occasion? While the customs of each culture vary and its always best to ask the person whose wedding you are going to what is the dress code, here are some tips from someone who has been to multiple South Asian weddings herself.
- Don’t go too casual. Generally, Indian weddings are big affairs with hundreds of people and everyone is showing their best.
- Be conservative in dress. Like many other religious ceremonies in the world, you don’t want to show too much skin, particularly during the marriage ceremony.
- Have fun wearing lots of jewelry! At Indian weddings, people wear lots of bling! Go with what you are most comfortable with, but if you want to wear big, gaudy pieces of jewelry, you won’t feel out of place at an Indian wedding.
- You can wear lots of bling in general. If you have a dress that has lots of sequins, wear it! Beaded work, yes! Embroidery work, yes! Most of the South Asian weddings I went to were an occasion to get as dressy as possible and not feel out of place. So have fun wearing something you might not usually or seldom wear. It’s really a fun time to feel like beautiful in a gorgeous piece of clothing.
- Wear lots of colors! Yes, you can wear that outrageously pink outfit and not feel out of place. South Asian clothing generally has lots of colors and people love wearing bright colors for a festive occasion!