Wedding Season

By Aemen Khalid

With the arrival of wedding season there is a mad shopping spree for the brides-to-be. Wedding is an auspicious occasion when every bride has a desire to be looked stunning and gorgeous, as it is the most important day in her life. So, all the outfits of the bridal wear need keen attention, careful planning, and right choice.

Whatever the preferences may be, but a wedding in Pakistan is bound to be unforgettable - every marriage is the sign for an important family celebration. A marriage is incomplete without the typical wedding dress, which compasses Pakistani culture and heritage. On one hand, traditional weddings are gaining a lot of popularity and the long-established wedding customs are still very important, but on the other hand today’s modern bride isn't afraid to put a new twirl on an old idea.

Brides are finding novel ways to present their own style with appealing slants on customary traditions and with the passage of time the established domain of wedding dress has started to bend to the trend. Today, the brides have a wide variety of wedding dress to choose from and outfits like Gahgra Choli, Gharara, Sharara and Pishwas are few traditional bridal dresses which are commonly worn by Pakistani brides.

Pakistani brides are known for their elegant traditional dresses, which are usually, in most parts of India and Pakistan, embellished with embroidery, beads and sequences. Not only this, but the expensive clothes are used to enhance the look of the bride’s dress which is normally worn only once in a life time.

In different parts of Pakistan, brides wear different kinds of clothes, ornaments and adornments because Pakistan is a blend of


many languages, religions, traditions and cultures as well as one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth.

In Pakistan the traditional colour of female wedding dress is red. Choosing the right colour Lehnga is very important, for fair complexion you can go for almost any colour. But you will look best in light colours and pastel shades and colors like peach, lilac, pink, sky blue, sea green and medium range blues are all good choices. For evening occasions one can opt for deep navy and sapphire blue with silver accents.

People should avoid very pale or pastel colors if their complexion is very fair, as they can wash out fair skin and colours like ruby red, bright orange, rust, turquoise and navy blue would be best for such complexion. The basic black and white colours are always suitable, but for dusky skin one can wear bright colours like sunshine yellow, bright orange, red, magenta and bright blue.

Lehngas are often hand decorated in the traditional designs such as Zardozi embroidery. During the period of Indian royalty, these Lehnga designs became legendary and were made with real gold, silver and precious stones .Just as in ancient times, these Lehnga suits are still hand decorated to keep it as true to tradition as possible. Now-a-days embroidery works for these wedding dresses include combination of different embroidery styles by experts.

Some of these embroidery works are gotta, dabka, kora, beads, thread work, discs, silk embroidery to produce elegance in the modern and traditional wedding dresses. Embroidery, sitara, dabka or zari work look beautiful on
clothes but need a lot of hard work in its making. The craftsmen make designs with real silver and gold wires, embellished with stones, beads and other imitation material and are sold in the market between Rs 275,000 to 3, 85,000. (US$ 4585 to 6415).


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