Attending a Big Fat Indian wedding in budget!

“I want the kind of marriage that makes my kids want to get married.”

That’s how every single person on the planet wants their marriage to be like. A wedding is a beautiful sacred ceremony where two people are united. And an Indian wedding is a ceremony where two people, their immediate families, relatives, cousins, distant relatives, friends, business friends, house-keepers, door-men, laundry-men, maids………. everyone gets united. 😀 😀 That’s why it’s called ‘The Big Fat Indian Wedding’. 

So, this February I had to attend the wedding of a relative which got me super excited. I love the wedding season because it’s all about playing dress-up, makeup, and FOOD of course. But all of these happiness’s comes with money. Wedding function dresses are usually expensive than casual clothes. I wanted to put myself in a budget for the same since Indian weddings are not restricted to just one function but many. We have a cocktail party, Sangeet/Mehendi night and then the grand wedding day/night. Obviously being on a budget didn’t mean I was going to repeat my outfits. So, I decided to partially rent and partially dig my mom’s closet (My mom has the most amazing collection of sarees, which I seriously envy :P).

There are multiple budget-friendly renting options in India such as Stage3, Flyrobe, Rent A Closet, Rent it Bae, Liberent, The Clothing Rental and many more. These online portals/stores also offer renting options for big designer wear like Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi, Shantanu & Nikhil, Monisha Jaising, Anamika Khanna, Gauri & Nainika, Anushree Reddy, Ridhi Mehra, Anju Modi, Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna, Raw Mango, etc (See, how you get to wear your favorite designer and not burn your pocket). They are easy to order and you can get your custom-fit too.

I decided to go with Stage3, and rent a grey gown for the cocktail party. Trust me guys, the gown was so elegant and I was showered with compliments. I paired the gown with a silver-stone bracelet and my Mangalsutra.

I know makeup these days can get really expensive. Last year I decided to take the Makeup Masterclass sessions from Manjari Singh and Pooja Khurana (they do help you a lot). These classes along with the end number of YouTube tutorials helped me learn the basics of personal makeup. Hence, I decided to do the makeup on my own and tried the classic black Smokey-eyes for the first time. I am so glad this worked (may not be so perfect) and I saved some bucks too. 🙂

Next was the Sangeet/Mehendi function. If you know, this day is all about drinking, dancing and singing till sunset and the Mehendi obviously. Therefore, I wanted to keep the outfit light and fuss-free. I rented a bluish-green Lehenga (dirt-cheap) from a local store in Rajouri Garden, Delhi and kept the makeup super light with a bindi (one of the many Bengali characteristics in me :D). A bindi with an Indian outfit can never go wrong!

And finally, it was the D-day. That’s when my mom’s closet came to the rescue. For me, saree is the most elegant, easy and classy Indian attire. I never miss a chance to adorn this six-yards of elegance. And hailing from the northeast and a Bengali family, we are spoilt for choices with the classic Assam-silk Saree/Mehkhela Sador or a Bengal Benarasi. 

I opted for this sea-green Assam-silk saree, paired with an Assamese traditional choker, sleek-hair partitioned from the center and a winged-liner.