Outfits for Indian wedding

[GlitteringFeeling]

I’ve been invited to an Indian wedding in late December in London. It’s taking place over 2 days at a hotel in London. We’re all in our late 20s and I only really know the groom. The couple have said western or Indian outfits are fine - but I really need some advice and hoping MN can help! I’m worried about getting something ‘wrong’ - e.g. I know to avoid the colours red, white and black but I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know!

I would love to wear a Lehenga (assuming that is appropriate?!) at least one of the 2 days. Is there anything I need to be aware of when choosing one? Looking online is quite overwhelming!

A colleague at work said the closer you are to the family, the more embellished… if that is the case, this is a work friend so I don’t want to overstep!

But are there any particular styles that are appropriate or can I just choose one I like the look of?

Any recommendations for shops in London?

If I wear ‘western’ outfit - does it need to be a full length dress and shoulders covered? Or is below knee length ok?

I hope I haven’t offended anyone with these questions - I really want to do the right thing and not commit an awful faux pas! I don’t really know any other women going either to discuss this with. Thank you so much in advance.

Ok firstly is this for the Indian wedding part or the reception? If reception, you want something lighter so you can dance and feel comfortable.
Go to a shop in Wembley or Southall and tell them about the event(s). They will guide you and definitely find you something appropriate. They will want to know what function it’s for and what the background culture of the couple is (Punjabi/Gujarati etc) to guide you effectively.

If it’s a Hindu wedding for an evening reception, knee length is fine. For the day time wedding, I would wear full length. Showing shoulders is fine for day and night.
Yes I would avoid red, black and white (although black is fine for evening reception). Any other colour is fine. In terms of styles, anything will go really. Different states in India have different types of attire so if it’s a Punjabi wedding than trousers and long top will be commonplace. For Gujarati wedding, many girls tend to wear lenghas.
The more embellished, the more expensive and I’m talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds so your budget will guide you.
Also look at wedding photos on insta to get a feel of what the crowd wear. Hope that helps!
Btw you won’t offend anyone!!

Thank you so much! I don’t know the background culture of the couple, but I will try and find out :)

The details on the invite/website are:
Saturday - Civil ceremony, Mehendi, and Sangeet
Sunday - Baraat and Jai Mala, Hindu ceremony,

Vidaai

I can take those details to the shops. But thank you so much for your detailed reply!

If you are a work friend, it’s best not to over-dress. You can wear a lehnga if you fancy wearing one, but it may be verging on over-dress imo, sorry! A knee length (or longer) dress with lots of jewellery may be more appropriate..

Hmm ok will think about that! Thank you.

We’re a bit more than ‘normal’ work friends - we started our graduate schemes together in a new city, and our cohort was our main social group outside of work as well for a few years (think multiple dinners together each week out and at each other’s houses, nights out, weekends/holidays away etc). Since then we’ve been working in different countries, so obviously less time spent together (and hence why I only recently met the bride!) but still kept in touch.

It’s also not a huge wedding, around 100 people due to Covid travel complications. But I spoke with some of the girlfriends of his university friends at their late engagement party the other weekend, and they were planning on wearing perhaps western dress one day and Indian the other. So was thinking to align with them, but at that point they hadn’t looked into exactly what they would wear either.

Ok so I would try to find out if people are planning outfits changes after the civil. Normally western dress is dominant at civils and then people may change to Indian dress for mendhi and Sangeet. If there’s a bit of a time gap between, then likely people will change.
Honestly, it will be totally fine for you to wear a lengha! Don’t worry about style or how embellished it is, I’m sure it will work whatever it is. You won’t be judged- people will be happy to see you have made such an effort. The Saturday, will be a bit more dressed down than the Sunday as Sunday is the main event.

For the second day, that sounds like its all one ceremony so only one Indian outfit required. This day, most people will wear Indian.

The Indian outfit shops can definitely advise what will be appropriate for each ceremony. Have fun!

Stick to Ealing Road in Wembley. I like Rangoli but there are many other shops there too. For Southall, you could try Mongas but it can get crazy busy in there and I find it all a bit too much

Hi everyone thank you again for your help. I’m making some headway - my friend’s sister has offered to lend me the attached lengha, but the top isn’t cropped like the others I’ve seen and tried on. Is this still ok to wear or not for an Indian wedding?

Oops forgot the attachment - it’s so beautiful though!

If you have any Indian friends ask to borrow something, they will be only too willing and in my experience love sharing this aspect of their culture. If you choose western I would suggest knee length or below and not too revealing at the front

And it's definitely a good excuse for lots of bling, big costume jewellery - check out charity shops, some have Asian sections even

Thanks @gogohm Great advice! I posted a picture today of an lengha a friend can lend me - the top isn’t properly cropped though - is that ok?

That is beautiful..Best to be guided by her sister..check any outfit with her first. If the civil ceremony leads onto the mehendi and sangeet you can go in indian attire on Saturday too. Embellished maxi dress might be a good option too.

That outfit is beautiful! You can definitely wear it for the wedding. There will be dancing at the Sangeet and mehendi so wear something that you feel comfortable in.