4 Offbeat South Asian Lengha Styles

In our age of hipster experimentation, ‘offbeat’ is a common label.  Offbeat wedding dresses are a particular favorite.  They range from colorful (read: not just white) wedding dresses with tapestry embroidery or pink frills to crafty dresses made of sandwich wrappers, garbage bags, and even the little square tabs that keep your bread wrapped.

In all my research, though, I couldn’t find many South Asian wedding dresses that fell under the category of offbeat.  I guess it’s hard to brush past a strict traditional code to experiment freely.  With white weddings the dress code is generally just a white dress for the bride, while for South Asian brides there’s a long list of special jewelry items, colors, and dresses that must be worn.

But there are still some South Asian brides who don’t take “no” for an answer.  They choose beautiful lenghas and saris that toe the line between traditional and unorthodox.  If you’re looking for something a little more unconventional, try these looks:

1. Think Pink
Wanna get the aunties talking, but don’t want to stray too far away from the classic South Asian wedding colors?  Try a pink hued wedding dress.  They are soft and romantic and not quite red (or white).

Pink dresses are still so popular with South Asian brides that we have a post from a year ago that's just all the pink-dressed Pakistani brides Irfan Ahson photographed.  Check it out for even more pretty pink dresses.

2. Perfect Pastels
South Asians are no strangers to color or interesting (and daring) color palettes.  We live off vibrancy in every form.  These dresses are incredibly bright, happy, and unorthodox.

3. The New Textiles
Working with the usual reds and greens, this dress push the envelope by embracing previously uncommon (yet still super South Asian and traditional) fabrics, patterns, and embroidery.  It is like tradition comes out of the woodwork with this dress.

4. Something Borrowed, Something Blue
It is the rare South Asian bride who bucks tradition entirely when it comes to her wedding dress. These gutsy women need a special shoutout.  Here are our favorite blue wedding dresses.

As you can see, South Asian brides have a lot of opportunity for innovation within tradition.  
Photos courtesy of Gucio Photography, Jihan Abdalla Photography, Farnaz K Studio, DIVINEMETHOD Photography, Breakhna Yusuf and Umair Bin Nisar, Straylight Photo Studio, Ama Photography and Cinema, Erin Leppo Photography, Carmen & Ingo, Shandro Photo