A life + style blogger, a Bollywood addict, a home baker, an army brat who loves Indian weddings and a true Punjabi, Devina from Guilty Bytes is all set to get married this November. And the pretty bride-to-be will be sharing all the little details of her bridal journey with us! Here’s the third post from her #BridalDiaries. Click here for the previous post on the adorable bride and bestie pre wedding shoot!
As a bride-to- be, I was awaiting wedding shopping and putting together a trousseau that I would cherish for life. More than the purpose, I love this experience for it involves so many emotions and it only strengthens a bride’s relationship, especially with her mother. There are certain things without which a bride’s trousseau is incomplete and today, I am going to share some tips on trousseau shopping for a 20-something bride and my personal favourites.
My wedding trousseau
Outfits for all occasions
From the start I knew that I wanted some key Indian outfits (I am marrying an Army Officer) for all occasions. I made a list of suits, sarees, Indo-western ensembles and the styles that I wanted to don post wedding. We picked a myriad of suits and I would recommend buying diverse styles like A-lines, anarkalis, straight cut, jacket styles, kaftans and more. I picked up some from Frontier Raas, Meena Bazaar, Fab India and designers like Dheeru and Nitika at Saket. Dheeru and Nitika are doing some bespoke hand embroidered pieces for me that even includes statement dupattas to go with solid coloured suits.
A Dheeru & Nitika Design
Also read: 11 Things Every Bride Needs To Include In Her Trousseau!
I do recommend checking out Shahpur Jat and designers like Abhinav Mishra for some fun and quirky prints.
Abhinav Mishra Designs
For your Banarasi dose, do not forget to visit Asha Gautam in Defence Colony. Unlike the suits, sarees were more on intuition and I picked up everything that I liked. Nallis at South Ex houses some of the best silk sarees and I have also added some gorgeous chanderi sarees from Raw Mango to my trunk as I am going to get ample opportunities to don the six yard as an Army wife.
Designer Asha Gautam’s Collection
Designer Ritu Kumar’s saree collection is just as grand as lehengas done by her. The store at South Ex is a must visit as you even get to explore Label Ritu Kumar, a brand for your everyday street fashion fix. As for the saree blouses, mom and I decided to ditch blouse stitching for every single saree and instead picked up some basic blouses from GK-1, M block market. If you are in Delhi then pay a visit to the famous ‘blouse wali gali’, Eves tailor and a store called as The Goldy’s Nest (they house some of the best gota patti blouses, skirts, suits etc). Marrying into a Punjabi family, I also picked up some beautiful Phulkari dupattas online.
Saree accessory by designer Anu P.D
Designer Anu P.D based out of Hauz Khas is doing some versatile saree accessories for me and that’s something that I recommend to all new-age brides. These versatile separates not only add glam but are also head turning pieces that compliment the Indian attire to perfection. You can check out her store for more.
Also read: 7 Questions Every Bride Has About Lehenga Shopping – Answered!
Bags and clutches
Honestly, I have been collecting bags since much before I decided to get married. But trousseau has just given me an opportunity to streamline my existing collection and add some party clutches to the line. I have shopped for a lot of neutral bags from ALDO and Charles & Keith that have plenty of storage space and will compliment most of my casual daywear. For handcrafted handbags I also recommend brides to check out brands like Pratinava, Taws and Poem Bags.
Poem Bags
The clutch collection is my favourite and I picked up my gorgeous, hand embroidered bridal clutches from RuSaru. I also found solid coloured clutches at great prices on Stalkbuylove. If you don’t want to exceed your budget then get party clutches in black, silver, golden and copper that will pretty much cover all your Indian wear. You can play with the styles of the clutch purse and opt for some potli styles too.
RuSaru Clutches
Versatile jewellery collection
Choosing the perfect bridal jewellery that will make one look like a royalty is every girl’s dream! But it is just as important to invest in pieces that you will adorn when the wedding celebrations are over. Often the standout piece in an outfit, diamond jewels can evoke heirloom passion, and that’s why I absolutely recommend investing in diamond jewellery such as earrings and necklaces for the new-age brides. I started by reading and researching before visiting different stores. Having prior knowledge about the stones, diamonds and metal gave me a fair idea of the budget and the style preference. What I did realize was that you can buy much more jewellery with thorough planning.
For my wedding I got myself a beautiful Polki set to go with my gota patti lehenga. Just remember that getting your neckline style on point can add character to your wedding outfit or even highlight a unique feature. For instance if you have a sweetheart neckline then skip the necklace and maybe focus on a pair of chandelier earrings. A V-neckline can be accessorized with a choker or a pendant for a little décolletage decoration and more.
Tanishq Niloufer Collection
I also decided to experiment with detachable jewellery and multipurpose jewels and recommend all brides to visit Tanishq store for jewels that can be worn together and as stand-alone pieces too. Another must have are a pair of earrings that transition from modern to traditional easily. Gold earrings never go out of fashion, hence don’t forget to invest in a suitable pair.
Last tip that I can share is to buy only from trusted jewellers who can give you hallmarked jewellery. For other occasions like mehendi and sangeet, I have shopped for gold plated jewellery from Zariin and some silver rings from Amrapali.
Zariin Jewelry
A wedding trousseau embodies the dreams and unmistakable charm of a woman who is set to move forward in her life and become a bride! Research well before you invest and don’t miss out on the sales (refer to papers for life-size advisements on the same) and yes, happy shopping!
Images: Guilty Bytes
Next Week: My Pre-Bridal & Fitness Regime Begins!