As always, an Indian bride is decked out in gold jewelry and statement pieces, and it is no different for a Mahashtrian bride. Most of a bride’s jewelry will come handed down from her elders. It’s tradition for a woman to save her gold and expensive jewelry pieces to pass down to her daughter for the wedding day. It also ensures the wealth stays within the family for generations.
If you are joining us now, check out the guide to Maharastrian weddings below:
Maharashtrian Wedding: Introduction
Maharashtrian Engagement/Pre-Wedding Traditions
Maharashtrian Wedding Traditions
Maharashtrian Post-Wedding Traditions
Maharashtrian Bridal Jewelry – You are here!
Maharashtrian Food and Desserts
Gold Jewelry
Photo courtesy of Tanishq Jewelry.
The nath is a traditional Marathi nose ring worn by the bride. Today, they can come in clip-on forms for women who don’t have their noses pierced. These nose rings are large and contain a series of bright jewels, usually diamonds or pearls surrounding an opaque stone.
Mangalsutra
The mangalsutra is a black and gold beaded necklace worn exclusively by married women. The bride received her mangalsutra from her husband, who ties it around her neck after the wedding ceremony is complete. She is expected to wear it every day of her married life.
via Shringar Jewelers – Mangalsutras
Hair Pieces
An ambada is a jeweled hair clip that is tied on or around the bride’s hair bun. It tends to be gold or imitation gold.
Brides usually tie their hair into a bun or ponytail to keep it neat and tidy. Maharashtrian fashion is all about clean cuts and organized looks – and loose hair can easily get caught in the bridal headpiece or gold jewelry.
A pearl and golden string headpiece is also part of the bride’s outfit. It is heavily decorated with white flowers – and the groom wears one too.
Green Bangles
Green bangles, called chooda, hold special significance in Maharashtrian weddings – they are the norm as opposed to gold bangles or red choodas. These bangles represent the woman’s marital status and traditional Maharashtrian wives always wear them even after the marriage ceremony.
The green bangles can be made of precious stones, like jade, or they can simply be colored plastic. Many families prefer these bangles to be un-etched and simply plain. The important thing is that they are uneven in number on each hand – it is unlucky to have an even number of green bangles, or even the same number of bangles on both hands!
Other Accessories
Toe rings are also commonly worn by Maharashtrian brides. They can come in a variety of shapes and sizes – from spirals to simple rings to jeweled rings.
The bride also wears a large, ornate gold waistband around the hips of her saree.
Photos courtesy of WH Pethe Jewellers.