What is it? The Mehndi is an event for the women to get mehndi (henna) applied to their hands. As a result, the significant others of those getting mehndi have to do a little more work to dote on their ladies that night :). The Sangeet (sahn-geet) is an event to celebrate the upcoming wedding with music and dancing. Sangeet is derived from Sanskrit and means “sing together”. We are combining these events and hosting mehndi artists during our Sangeet!
What should I wear? This is a vibrant event. We recommend wearing something bright and colorful. Western cocktail attire or Indian semi-formal attire (kurti/anarkali/lehenga for ladies, kurta for gentlemen) is our suggestion. *This event will be a celebration of Indian culture, so if you’re going to wow us with an Indian outfit, this is the event to do it! See our guide to Indian attire for help. **Wet mehndi can stain, so ladies who would like to participate should take extra caution and/or not wear their favorite dress.
What is it? The Baraat is a raucous celebration centered around parading the groom to the wedding. Traditionally, the baraat begins at the groom’s family’s house with the groom’s side of the family. In the interest of time and health, we will begin in the parking lot of the resort. In addition, we invite all those interested in dancing early in the morning to join in, regardless of which side they belong to!
What is it? The Hindu wedding ceremony takes place within an elevated canopy called a “mandap”. The groom arrives first with his family and is seated. Then the bride arrives, while the groom’s view of her is obscured with an auspicious cloth. The cloth is kept between them to signify their lives before they met and is dropped when the bride is seated. The bride and groom put garlands around each other’s necks, signifying their mutual approval to proceed with the marriage. Then, they circle the fire together four times, signifying the transition to married life and the groom’s commitment to his bride. They then together take seven steps, committing to seven marriage vows to each other, about their future life together. They then ask the families and friends to bless them, showering flower petals to signify their good wishes.
Indian attire is NOT required at our wedding. However, if you’ve always wanted to wear a saree, or want to totally immerse yourself in our big fat Indian wedding, we would love for you to wear Indian clothes! We’ve put together a guide to Indian clothing to help you out:
Kurti / Kameez
A kurti (koor-tee), also called a kameez, is a long blouse or tunic dress. This very comfortable option is often worn as casual-wear but dressier wedding-appropriate styles are also available. It is paired with salwar trousers, which are similar to leggings, or palazzo trousers, which are a very loose fit. It may be paired with a dupatta, a matching long scarf that is draped over one shoulder.
Anarkali
An anarkali (an-are-kohli) is the most similar to a Western dress. It is fitted at the top and flares out at the bottom. Similar to the kurti, it is a comfortable and easy-to-wear option. Salwar trousers, similar to leggings, are usually worn underneath. It may be paired with a dupatta, a long scarf that is often draped over one shoulder. Want bonus points? Check out this tutorial on how to drape your anarkali dupatta a few different ways: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyCNBeLhKgA (and be sure to secure your dupatta with safety pins so you can comfortably dance the night away!).
Saree
A saree (sah-ree) is the most widely recognized and traditional piece of Indian attire. It is also probably the most difficult style to wear. It is composed of three pieces: a blouse called a choli is worn on top, and a petticoat is worn as an underskirt. The saree itself is a long, rectangular piece of fabric 5-9 yards in length that is draped around the waist and across the bust to achieve the final look. You will probably need an experienced saree-wearer to help drape your saree, and many safety pins to keep it intact! Feeling adventurous? Check out this tutorial on how to drape your own saree: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftq9_kEHDmo
Lehenga
A lehenga (lehn-gah) is somewhere in-between a saree and a dress. It is composed of a blouse (choli), an embellished skirt (lehenga), and a long scarf (dupatta) that is draped over the shoulder. The dupatta can be draped in multiple different ways to give you minimal to maximal midriff coverage. Check out this tutorial on how to drape your lehenga dupatta a couple different ways: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gNU4ZMCfh8 (and be sure to secure your dupatta with safety pins so you can comfortably dance the night away!)
Sherwani
A sherwani (share-vahn-ee) is a men’s knee-length jacket (like a long suit coat) worn with loose cloth leggings called pajama (not your sleepwear). There are some variations in the pants worn with a sherwani. This is commonly worn with loafers or sandals but dress shoes can also be worn.
Kurta
A kurta is a light knee-length pull-over long shirt, also worn with pajama (loose cloth leggings). This is a more casual (and less hot) alternative to the sherwani. This is commonly worn with loafers or sandals but dress shoes can also be worn.
No Indian shops nearby?
We found reasonably priced Indian attire with shipping to the US at www.indianweddingsaree.com/ and http://www.cbazaar.com/. However, we personally have not ordered clothing from these sites so we cannot vouch for their quality. A warning if you are purchasing a saree or lehenga online: the blouse is often custom-tailored and so you may only receive the fabric to sew a blouse, instead of a ready-to-wear item, or they may charge extra to stitch the blouse for you (read the fine print to be sure). Also, these stores probably ship from India, and may require tailoring time so please order earlier than usual.