Guest Post: How To Save Big On Your Wedding Trousseau

Abhilasha Mehta is the fabulous blogger behind Looking Good Feeling Fab, and I love her sense of style! It’s a little different, classy. And her take on Indian wear is what I like the most!

Abhilasha has taken her experience with Indian wear and Indian weddings – and put together a really great guest post for TDB readers. Her ideas on how to save money while creating your wedding day look are fresh, and some are very practical and easy to implement. Take it away, Abhi!

Every Indian bride wants that perfect “band baaja baraat” style designer Indian wedding of her dreams. The Sabyasachi bridal lehenga, the Jimmy Choos and designer TBZ jewels to match.

But let’s face it – most of us have to work within a budget (unless you are from the Mittal or Ambani family). Does that mean you can’t have as beautiful an Indian wedding as you dreamed of? Trust me, you can. With a little creativity, a little ingenuity and a keen eye for detail, you can have it all -even on a budget!

Here are a few tips for the beautiful Indian Bride on a budget and on a mission:

#1 The Indian Bridal Jewellery: Splurge on it

Think of it as an investment, it is the only kind of investment that you can enjoy not just after the lock in period but even during. So invest in some key pieces of jewellery and even your future generations will thank you for it.

Some ways to save on it –

• Reversible and detachable Be innovative with your jewellery and push your jeweller to be too. Reversible necklaces and detachable danglers on earrings and pendants can really help you make the most of each piece
• Mix it up Layer on some real pieces of jewellery with some artificial ones, to give you the look of a royal Indian bride without having to take a loan to do so. You could use silver as a base instead of gold to cut some cost

#2 The Indian Bridal Lehenga: Save on it

Any person who calls himself a tailor should be able to put together a lehenga for you. It really is the easiest thing to stitch up. A few things that could make the process easier:

• Do not let the tailor know that you are the bride as prices will shoot up
• Get a trial lehenga stitched with plain cheap cotton
• Keep pictures with you, since your tailor might not know what a “Sabyasachi lehenga” should look like
• Skip all the zardosi, thread and crystal work; go for borders – layer borders of different textures, different work and different colours to give the same rich look at a fraction of the cost

• Choose quality material in different colours like coral, peach, orange, blue to make a statement
• Go for volume, lots of it. I really don’t think fish cut lehengas look good on any bride
• Pay attention to the details; the latkans and the finishing will take your outfit to a whole new level. Be creative and make them yourself, use mirrors, wool pom poms, buttons or fabric cut outs

• Make the blouse the statement piece – interesting backs, colour blocking, interesting textures and thread work are things that will make the blouse stand out. This is, after all, a versatile piece you can pair with multiple things later

#3 The Indian Bridal Shoes: Save on it

Under most of your Indain bridal outfits, the shoes are not going to be seen at all. So why punish your wallet and your back in those tall Louboutin stilettos? Go for comfortable wedges or block heels and explore your local malls for them. Save those expensive buys for the honey and the honeymoon! 😉

Images courtesy:

• Blouses: Vogue, Pam Mehta, celebritysaree.com, Sabyasachi (viral bahayani), pinterest.com
• Lehengas: Sabyasachi, Vogue India, sareedays.com, highheelconfidential.com, pinterest.com
• Jewellery: marrymeweddings.in (yellow), india-forums.com, Behance/Tanishq (emerald), Facebook, Pinterest

Do you find it hard to stick to your budget when it comes to trousseau shopping?