Vintage jewellery and heirloom outfits – two things that have the potential to make any bride look royal. Believe us, finding vintage jewellery and heirlooms is not a problem. Just hunt through your mom’s wardrobe and look for those precious wedding sarees and lehengas. With some slight tweaks and simple hacks, you can easily wear your mom’s wedding outfit on your big day. It’ll make you and your maa very, very happy!
1. First things first – check for wear and tear
Whether your mom’s outfits are in perfectly wearable condition or not depends on the fabric. Silk and Banarasi silk can easily pass the test of time, but fabrics like tissue and chanderi can wear away with time. So, if there are signs of damage to the outfit, then there is nothing much you can do about it.
2. If needed, get some patches from the lehenga stitched onto a new fabric
If your mom’s outfit is beyond repair, then you can get some patches from her lehenga stitched onto a new fabric. That way, you will add a fresh touch to it and still be able to wear part of your mom’s prized possession on you big day.
3. Want a modern yet traditional look? Add some elements of your own!
Image: Sunanda Aggarwal Photography
This bride tweaked her mom’s lehenga a bit by adding some sequins, a new dupatta (with the border from the old one) and little bit of flare to make it look new!
If the outfit has become a bit dull over time and you want to pep it up a bit, then you can add a few quirky elements to it. Add a fresh border to the dupatta or lehenga and a few latkans for that extra effect. You can also get some sequins stitched onto the lehenga to add a little bling to it. Talk to a good designer about what could be the best way to go about it. Just make sure you don’t end up spoiling your mom’s lehenga by making too many unwanted changes.
4. You can use parts of the lehenga if everything is not in great condition
There may be times when the blouse wouldn’t fit you, or the dupatta isn’t in great condition, but the lehenga skirt is as good as new. In that case, you can just replace whatever is not wearable with something new. That way, you will be able to wear an heirloom lehenga with a modern twist.
5. You can use your mom’s saree to get something stitched out of it
This gorgeous bride got a lehenga stitched for her mehendi function from one of her mom’s silk sarees.
If your mom wore a saree for one of her wedding functions, then you can ask her for permission to get something new stitched out of it. Although chances are slim, there is no harm in asking, right? Also, you could always wear her saree with a twist on one of your wedding functions and wear your own lehenga during the main function.
Pro Tip: Devika Narain, the celebrity wedding planner behind Virat and Anushka’s gorgeous Tuscany wedding recently got married.
She wore her mom’s wedding lehenga on her big day with just a few tweaks. She opted for a new blouse that was dyed in the same colour and her aunt stitched the border on the dupatta by hand.
Her husband, international wedding photographer Joseph Radhik, gave her his grandmother’s ring on the engagement and she wore her mom’s heirloom jewellery on her wedding day. She is a perfect example of how, with a few smart hacks, you can totally pull off a subtle yet royal look, with an heirloom lehenga.
P.S. If you have already bought your wedding lehenga, but still want to use your mom’s outfit in some way, then you can always wear it at another function like the sangeet or reception. Trust us, your mom will be equally happy.
