Bridesmaid dresses have a huge role in the culture of most American weddings. They’re usually the butt of a joke – the ugly, unflattering, overpriced uniforms your closest friends must don in order to show their loyalty to the bride. In fact, buying and wearing a bridesmaid dress is often a maid’s biggest gripe.
But bridesmaid’s dresses are often a bit different during Indian weddings – and as such, should be treated differently.
1. Designate someone to be in charge of dressing your maids: Indian outfits are tricky. With all the different pieces each outfit contains, it can be really hard to keep track of it all. Designating an auntie, sister or even a wedding coordinator to keep track of all the outfits and then help each girl dress is a great idea.
2. Yes, you can do mismatched dresses: Mismatched bridesmaid dresses are trending right now and they work just as well at Indian weddings! If you’re putting your bridesmaids in Indian outfits, consider using the same style but putting each girl in a different color – or using one exact shade and allowing the girls to choose different styles.
3. Get your bridesmaids to provide measurements ASAP: Indian outfits take a long, long time to be made and shipped to you. That’s why you should select your bridesmaids, ask them to take their measurements and report them to you in record time.
4. Order their outfits for them: There’s been a lot of debate about whether brides should pay for bridesmaid dresses. Ultimately that’s up to you, but I would make one suggestion: If you’re putting your bridesmaids in Indian outfits, it’s a good idea to place the orders yourself and all at one time, as Indian outfits are more complicated than Western dresses. You can have your maids reimburse you or ask the vendor to call them and request payment.
5. Don’t expect maids to buy outfits for each event: Because Indian weddings tend to be multi-function events, it can get overwhelming if you expect your bridesmaids to be in matching designated outfits for each party. If you do want them to coordinate for events like the sangeet or mendhi, consider buying these outfits for them.
Did you have bridesmaids at your Indian wedding? Tell us what they wore!