Every aspect of an Indian bridal avatar celebrates colour, culture, legacy and zest. Such is the level of excitement and thrill regarding an Indian bride that every minute element, detail there are a million options available to make her shine on her d-day. And no discussion about the bride and bridal avatar can be complete without talking about bridal lehengas! The most important part of any bridal look is the bridal lehenga. It sets the tone of not just her look but the entire wedding by itself.
So here we are, with this list of beauteous bridal lehengas for you to flaunt this upcoming marriage season. Whether you’re a bride who loves all things traditional or the one whose heart screams bold, both will find some inspiration in this list. You can also draw references from your favourite celebrity looks in this list and gather a treasure trove of ideas and styling tips and tricks!
Image Source: Eli & Kim
Traditional Bridal Lehengas
No bridal trousseau or look can be complete without a traditional bridal lehenga. No matter the fantasy surrounding a ‘new-age’ bridal look, there will always be a place, that special corner that will be reserved for your traditional lehenga. From revamping your mother’s or grandmother’s bridal attire to wearing the creations of rich karigaris of this land, there is no dearth of choices when it comes to picking the right traditional lehenga for your wedding festivities. There can be no better example than the breathtaking creations of Sabyasachi lehengas that are a vibrant mix of heritage, royalty and beauty. So if you’re thinking of traditional bridal lehengas, you’re most certainly thinking of Sabyasachi creations! Bold reds, deep colours, intricate work and extensive detailing render Sabyasachi’s bridal lehengas timeless. Remember when Deepika Padukone wed Ranveer Singh in a red Sabyasachi lehenga with intricate hand-embroidery golden tilla details paired with a chowki design aari-taari dupatta with a heavy border and the age-old saying ‘Sada Saubhagyavati Bhava’ written on it in Devnagri?!
Image Source: Sabyasachi Official
Another celebrated designer duo whose creations display elegant and exquisite traditional designs are Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Their chikankari creations are absolutely breathtaking and their use of mirror works in lehengas have been instrumental in reboosting this age-old design style. Be it Sonam Kapoor’s gorgeous ivory mehendi lehenga or Priyanka Chopra who opted for a playful mehendi outfit: a rainbow-hued lehenga that came with a half-sleeved blouse, a billowing skirt, and a lightweight dupatta. The set was accentuated with floral motifs and stripes in highlighter hues of yellow, green and pink.
Image Source: Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla
And who can forget Isha Ambani’s bridal lehenga that was an ode to deep personal history and legacy?! It featured a 16-panelled ghagra in two shades of off-white. Each panel was hand-embroidered, and was accentuated with alternating Mughal jaalis combined with floral panels in the finest zardozi, vasli, mukaish and nakshi work. Every flower and jaali was further highlighted with crystals and sequins. Fully embellished in gold vasli jaali with tiny flowers, the tulle dupatta draped on the head had a 20-metre trail and was fully embroidered in sequins and crystal jaal whereas for her Mehndi, Antara Motiwala chose a custom-made Manish Malhotra chikankari lehenga that featured floral artwork and pearls which was teamed with an aqua blue dupatta with millions of flowers!
Image Source: Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla
Image Source: Manish Malhotra
Be it beauteous brocade lehengas, heavily embroidered floral lehengas or heritage-inspired ethnic lehengas, there is plenty of room for you to nail your bridal look. Brides today are beautifully striking a balance by pairing their embellished traditional lehenga with vintage jewellery and going easy on the makeup. Rana Dagubatti’s bride, Miheeka Bajaj looked like a vision to behold when she walked the aisle in an intricately embroidered Anamika Khanna lehenga. Miheeka teamed her wedding lehenga with heavy neckpieces, earrings and matha patti by her home brand, Krsala Jewellery that added to her bespoke look. Interestingly the bride balanced her ensemble with subtle makeup by celebrity makeup artist Tamanna Rooz. Rooz created a very natural and fresh look for the bride with earthy hues, smoky eyes and coral lip colour shade to balance her entire look!
Image Source: Anamika Khanna
Just like Miheeka, there have been a long list of real brides in recent times who have chosen to pair their traditional bridal lehenga with minimal makeup, and how have they shined!
Even when it comes to nail the hairstyle that matches your traditional lehenga, there is so much you can do. From bold buns to seamless curls to a whole range of floral-inspired hairstyles, sky’s the limit!
Image Source: Kalki Fashion
Image Source: Torani
Contemporary Bridal Lehengas
Contemporary bridal lehengas offer a unique blend of creative patterns, bold designs, eclectic colours and spunky elements. While some brides like to keep it classic, others prefer it to be quiet. Some are hell-bent on OTT and some seek solace in not going OTT. Some brides wish to shine in traditional lehengas, while some others don’t mind experimentation and embracing attires that give them a rocking feeling! So be it the fad of minimalist lehengas, lehenga gowns, pastel lehengas, single coloured palette lehengas or simply offbeat lehengas, brides today are totally slaying it and raising the bar.
Image Source: Aisha Rao Official
The Indian fashion design industry is booming with talented names that have redefined and carved a niche for themselves with their quirky lehenga designs. Our celebrity brides over the years have shown us just how to nail a contemporary lehenga. At her wedding reception, Neha Kakkar left everyone speechless by wearing a white lehenga. She broke the stereotype with her sartorial pick as traditionally, brides are not expected to wear white at Hindu wedding functions. She looked ethereal in a beautiful all-white ensemble. The feather details on her lehenga are the signature design of Falguni and Shane Peacock collections. For some glam, she paired her glittering white lehenga with beautiful diamond jewellery with green stones and traditional chooda. Likewise Priyanka Chopra also opted for a champagne-hued Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga with silver embellishments.
Image Source: Falguni and Shane Peacock
Anissa Malhotra ditched the predictable palette for her Sangeet when she stepped out in a Manish Malhotra metallic lehenga which comprised a cap-sleeved blouse dripping with crystals, a voluminous skirt, and a matching dupatta. The sparkling outfit was completely doused in silver embellishment, proving that there’s nothing quite like a bit of dazzle when it comes to bridal ensembles. Shloka Mehta Ambani’s sangeet lehenga was no less. Designed by Kresha Bajaj, the crystal love story lehenga detailing her and Akash’s entire story was hand embellished with over 50,000 crystals, sequins and glass beads! On the other hand, for her Mehndi, Bipasha Basu chose a breezy floral print lehenga complete with a sheer overlay by Anushree Reddy which was paired with a jacket style choli. Antara Motiwala chose a custom-made Manish Malhotra chikankari lehenga that featured floral artwork and pearls which was teamed with an aqua blue dupatta.
Image Source: Manish Malhotra
Image Source: Kresha Bajaj
Just like celebrity brides, new-age real brides are setting newer benchmarks by exploring and embracing a number of contemporary lehenga design ideas. Brides today, don’t mind turning out in minimalist lehenga or geometric-print inspired lehenga for their wedding festivities. They are also increasingly looking at other colour-pallets apart from the usual red to nail their d-day look. Pastel-hued lehengas are a fad that are here to stay. Whether you’re looking for bridal lehenga ideas in shades of blue for contemporary brides or simply looking for some gorgeous party wear lehengas for the sister of the bride, you’re certainly spoilt for choices here.
If you’re keen on nailing your contemporary bridal look to the t, you can also pair your lehenga with interesting types of necklaces like satladas, navratans, chokers, raani haars, gulbandhs, bib necklaces, guttapusalus and aadhd necklaces.
Image Source: Sabyasachi Official
Image Source: Abhinav Mishra
On how to get the right makeup for your wedding festivities, we have a long list of tips shared by experts who recommend opting for airbrush makeup for your bridal look as it’s more long-lasting, waterproof, lightweight and suitable for every weather, especially summers. That one makeup trick that every woman should know and ace is how to curl their eyelashes! That’s one trick that genuinely helps lift and lengthen your lashes and makes your eyes appear wider and brighter. Hence, curling your lashes and applying your mascara is a trick that every woman must be a pro at while nailing her bridal look.
And finally after your princess moment in your dream bridal lehenga, it is very important for you to know the tricks and tips to store your wedding lehenga for eternity. You have spent a huge amount of money on it and your wedding lehenga has a lot of sentimental value to you. The delicate fabric and the intricate embroidery on your wedding lehenga can get damaged over time if not stored properly. You need to preserve and keep your wedding lehenga with a lot of dedicated care.
Well ladies, we hope this list has got you back with vigour in your wedding prep game! Add sunshine to your wardrobe by donning a pleasant bridal lehenga and let those compliments keep pouring in 🙂
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