Wedding gowns can instantly transform any girl into a princess, and we do wish to feel like one every once in a while. So, why not on the most important day of your life; your wedding day? While ‘White weddings’ have been attracting the world over, with it growing into ‘world culture’. Where modern couples wish to make it a part of their nuptials even if it is not in their ‘culture’, per se.
But, you can simply wear a wedding gown if you wish to, after all, it is your big day. Lately, more and more Indian brides are opting for Western-inspired dresses. to be married off into, and Wedding Gowns fit the bill for all cultures. It is one such attire that can be styled into anything you want; design it with a drape, wear it with a stole, get a Dupatta, have a cape, or simply go sans any additional piece at all.
The wedding gown in the Indian scheme of things tends to go colourful, vibrant and even ‘glittery’ to suit our love for all things extravagant. The wedding dress is the new choice for the modern bride as she is choosing to give the Saree and the Lehengas a miss. So, what do we have here? Well, we at myMandap bring some of the best inspirations for wedding gowns across recent History and Wedding Gowns:
Table of Contents
The Princess Diana Wedding Gowns Inspiration
She was the Queen of Hearts and truly the ‘People’s Princess. The world fell in love with her the minute she stepped out in her Wedding gown. The year 1981 might be well-known for a lot of things, but it was Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding that will be most well-remembered.
The Diana wedding dress is what the dream is made of. This dreamy Ruffled creation was specially designed to suit the young Princess as she tied the knot. Designed by the couple designer David and Elizabeth Emanuel, this bridal wonder costs approximately $115000 and was encrusted with around 10000 pearls.
The Diana bridal dress is what we call the ‘Old World Charm’ design where opulent Ruffles and bows were used. The sleeves are a characteristic Puff-design with the frills working wonders for the neckline. The 25-foot train was yet another highlight of the dress that completely overshadowed the other historical aspects of the much-awaited royal wedding.
What we can ‘take’ from these Diana Wedding gowns, is that nothing beats a classic. The dress is breathtaking and we love the use of Ruffles and the statement sleeves it features.
While it was the radiant beauty of Diana that made the dress all the more special, nevertheless, it never hurts to get inspired. We at myMandap give a ‘Thumbs Up’ to this ever-green classic where the modern bride can very much design her version of the ‘Diana dream dress’.
The Red Glittering Wedding Gowns Inspiration
Why does it have to all-White? Well, we never said so. As mentioned earlier, we Indians love colours and can never get enough of them. Likewise, when planning some Wedding Gowns and wedding dresses, you can always create a coloured version of it.
We suggest a nice glittering deep Red designer wedding dress with a striking Mermaid -silhouette. Since you cannot give your bridal ‘Choodaas’ a miss no matter how modern you get, it will look perfect with this Red number. More and more brides are opting for a Red gown as it brings together the best of the world. The Western gown in the Indian Bridal Red, thus, making ‘everybody’ present at the wedding happy.
Check out: Christian Wedding Dresses
With Belt Wedding Gowns Inspiration
Wish to wear an elegant Dupatta with those wedding gowns? Well, you absolutely can and look just as great. However, the modern bride is also quite stylish, so the added charms of a custom-made belt for the occasion are just as great. For a better idea, you can take cues from Anushka Sharma’s Sabyasachi Lehenga and the belt creation she wore for her wedding reception.
While the star’s attire was a traditional lehenga, however, it was the unique custom-made belt that held her dupatta in place which caught the imagination of the crowd. A similar styling can be done with a matching embellished dupatta that can be ‘belted’ into position along with your glittering gown. Some of the latest in the bridal collection has the ‘belt- wedding gown’ very much catalogued for reference.
The Corset Wedding Gowns Inspiration
Others love a bit of adventure even in their wedding gowns. As the name suggests, this bridal creation comprises the use of the ‘Corset-inspired’ top for a bridal gown.
While the trend began somewhere in the mid-2010s, nevertheless, the trend very much stayed in Vogue long after. More and more bridal dresses are following this style and we love every bit of it.
The Corset wedding gown inspiration features the ‘sweetheart’ neckline with a sleek noodles strap and a Corset fitted bodice. The rest of the skirt of the gown is very much like the simple wedding dress.
The outermost layer of this wedding gown is covered all over with finely done embroidery work in White. A perfect dress for the cool bride.
The Ballet Wedding Gowns
Who doesn’t like to look like a Ballerina once in a while? So, why not design your wedding dress inspired by the Ballet costume? We say this is a wonderful idea and is sure to suit all body types.
The Ballet-square bride dress offers a Romantic vision in White where you play around with whimsical layers of ruffles. This can also be called the tulle wedding dress that offers the ultimate ‘Princess fairytale ‘feel.
These layers offer large volumes to the entire wedding gown, all complete with puff sleeves and luxurious fabrics. The look is inspired by the Wedding collection by Elie Saab that dominated the catwalks in the Bridal couture 2022.
The Simple Wedding Gowns
we love the idea of simplistic wedding gowns where the silhouette is the statement. This essentially implies the fact that design is a simple figure-hugging creation with minimal to no details. These are the classic sleek, clean-cut designs made from gorgeous choices of fabrics.
The simple wedding gown choices exude elegance and are perfect for the laid-back bride. who wishes to ‘move about a lot on her wedding day.
This can be a sleeveless number, off-shoulders, or one with sleeves; nevertheless it is the ‘fall and the fabric’ that offers this creation the beauty it possesses.
The Floral Wedding Gowns Inspiration
We are in love with the love for flowers. As a girl myself, I cannot get enough of the floral wonder. Likewise, floral wedding gowns have been making all the right noises on the latest Catwalks, where more and more modern brides are opting for similar inspiration.
This is one of the much-loved dress styles where the entire creation is covered with ‘pop-outs’ of fabric-cut flowers, stitched in place. This is much like the ‘3-D’ dress collection, except on a bridal gown. The results, however, are spell-bounding, with the all-White bridal gowns covered in 3-D flowers.
You can also have embellishments to accompany the 3-D flowers, to add to the glitter and the glamour of the wedding dress.
The Cape Wedding gowns Inspiration
Since the time of their launch, the capes have been an integral part of all style inspiration in recent times. the Wedding gowns being nothing different, the capes have been much-favoured for the latest bridal trends.
This bridal creation is much like the rest of the bridal gowns, except the sleeves are here to make the statement. The Cape-style sleeves offer the romantic effect some brides wish for on their D-Day. Here, you can opt for the figure-fitted silhouette or a glamorous full skirt. Likewise, you can select from any colour of your preference for this, with or without embellishments; the cape sleeves are sure to bring in the right kind of attention during your ceremony.
The Intricate Embroidery Wedding Gowns Inspiration
We as Indians love our fine work of Embroidery on our fabrics. Likewise, our best craftsmanship comprises some of the most well-done embroidery creations. So, why not bring the best of both worlds together? Well, here we are talking about the Western gown completely covered with fine embroidery.
This is one among the new arrival collection where we see a lot of use of Metallic coloured threadwork done all over the fabric of choice. Such a wedding gown creation usually comprises Net-sleeves with similar embroidery done all over to offer a rich look.
The ‘Sarah Jessica Parker’ From Sex and the City Wedding Gowns Inspiration
Oh, we love this one; how can we end the list without the mention of yet another classic? Designed by Vivienne Westwood, this was a ball gown cum wedding dress that made headlines and had its very own feature in Vogue.
The wedding dress was worn by SJP’s character, ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ who finally decides to commit to her long-time being ‘Mr Big’. The wedding dress was such a major hit, that the recreational series of the original was ‘sold out within hours of release.
We at myMandap had to mention this particular ‘bridal look’ of SJP, as it is an inspiration to the petite bride. Standing at barely 5’3 inches, Sarah Jessica Parker has never allowed her height, or rather the lack of it, to prevent her from turning into a ‘fashion icon’. We recommend that the little girl bookmark SJP’s style tricks In order to breeze through various fashion demands.
Coming back to the dress; Sex and the city, 2008, the movie was all about Carrie getting married. And her wedding dress had to be the talk of the town. This was a White-Ivory poufy gown with design folds all around the skirts. While the Veil coupled with the gown was rather traditional, it was her ‘Teal Blue’ head accessory that caught all the attention.
Turns out, this was a feathered bird that was clipped on the side of SJP’s head along with her Veil. Quite daring and very much like the character SJP was playing in the film. This has forever put to trend the fact that accessorizing can make all the difference to your outfit.
Likewise, for your D-day, do not shy away from picking up unique, daring, and unconventional accessories that are meant to make you memorable.
View more: Wedding Gowns for the Best Bridal Look
Wedding gowns are special to any bride. However, with the changing fashion trends, these no longer need to be boring folds of White clouds. With some of the best designers out there to help you materialize your vision; it is only obvious that you simply need to imagine it right.
Now, the Indian bride has taken a fancy to the Wedding Gowns trend as well. But, just like the rest of the ‘Indian scheme of things, we need to ‘spice things up. Hence the wedding gown has received its share of ‘revamping’.
The Indian gowns, in my opinion, are all the more exciting. These manage to bring together our exquisite craftsmanship on the Western Silhouette. The results are amazing with the likes of Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi bringing their genius in the trends to the international ramp walks.
Finally, I would like to mention the Zuhair Murad strapless creation That Priyanka Chopra wore to the Oscars 2016. It has been featured on the ‘best-dressed list everywhere every single time and we know why.
This was a simple yet exquisite White strapless figure-hugging gown with a short train. The Oriental handiwork of embroidery all over the White sheer fabric bought about the kind of surreal expectation one has from a global star and a legend of a designer.