How to get a dream bridal outfit on a budget

Tempted to splurge your entire budget on the lehenga or sari of your dreams? Here are some ideas to help you stay within your budget and still look fabulous...

Follow a royal custom

You could follow an ancient royal tradition and wear your mother or mother-in-law’s wedding sari or lehenga. You might end up saving a fortune while wearing a family heirloom, as well as making a fashion statement with antique bridal outfits being definitely in vogue. Priyanka Gandhi is known to have worn her grandmother’s sari on her wedding day.

Shop around

Even though settling for the first beautiful thing you see is quite tempting, make sure you have checked all options before committing yourself. When choosing your sari, lehenga and jewellery, try on as many different styles as possible. Sometimes the ones with the least appeal on a hanger, look fabulous once they’re worn.

Try upcoming designers

Instead of going for the most expensive option, why not try out new upcoming designers for a made to order lehenga. They will put extra time and effort into making you look beautiful at a reasonable price.

Set a budget

Don’t get carried away by romance, be realistic about how much you can afford to spend on your entire trousseau and then work out how much of that will go towards the wedding dress. It’s important to understand what matters to you the most. Prioritising will allow you to save in one area so you may splurge on another. For instance, a less expensive wedding dress matched up with wonderfully extravagant accessories.

Twist on tradition

Brides are becoming more adventurous and are not afraid to push the boundaries of tradition. The once taboo colours for an Asian bride, white and black, have now become acceptable as part of the trousseau, providing that they are combined with another colour or with gold or silver. The actual wedding dress is no longer the age-old red but can be as untraditional as a bright-blue lehenga. Each season a leading designer creates something unusual and sets a new trend in bridal wear. Why not dare to be different and set a trend yourself? What matters is that you feel good about yourself and are radiantly happy on your special day.