As the wind chills are setting in another glorious wedding season is at our door steps. Some of you are getting married yourselves or your close friends/family are and many of us have several invitations to attend. Indian ethnic wear is the quintessential outfit for the desi wedding settings. So for our first post this season, decided to jot down few essential tips. 
Weddings creates a lot of memories and fun times. We want to look our best, and grab all the attention. So if its your own wedding, its THE day of your lifetime when you don't want anything wrong. Even for the wedding guests or bridesmaids its very special and looking horrible is the scariest dream come true for them too. I still cannot share the my photos of my twin's (sanchita's) wedding as I looked like a zombie and it's still a nightmare for me😖😖😖.
Thus from my trials and errors in this lifetime, I am sharing my wedding season tips for you: 
Know your preferences well ahead
To achieve the look of your dreams plan well ahead of the event. First and foremost, you'll have to know your own style and preferences. Its OK to not give in to the ongoing trend. Specially if its yours or your close one's wedding its better to follow your own style than the fashion guru's. Turn deaf ears to the "body type styling" trend. You experiment yourself and come up what you look comfortable and good in. Take help of inspiration boards in Pinterest, Instagram or Google Images to know what you like and how you want to look. In our case, well before our weddings we knew how we wanted to look. We did a lot of search on social media and made a full folder of pics that we love and looks we wanted. It made things a lot stress free while shopping.



Consider your Budget while shopping

Next most important factor is your budget. While shopping for the event, you can either tell upfront to the shop keeper to show you the best within your preferred range or you can negotiate the price to suit your budget. Its not that you won't be able to get a good buy within lesser budget. Spending a bomb is not always needed to get your dream look. Look out for sales and clearances to have the best you can get for your buck. You can always re-style your old sarees and jewelries if you don't want to buy anything new and if its not your own wedding. Click here to know how you can restyle your old sarees in newer ways.
Be photo ready!!
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 Wedding photos are great memories and in this Insta-age its all the more important 😎😎.  If you are a photo buff like me and cherish your photo memories this tip is for you...remember some pieces can look gorgeous in person but not in photos. Thus click pics by putting that saree on your shoulder before buying it. Don't feel shy to do so in middle of onlookers as its your buck and your buy...make the most of it.

 Market research about where to buy from
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 Do market research around where you live to know where to get the best stuffs best deals from. Ask around friends and do little bit search online. These days you can ask for feedback from experienced shoppers on different forums on Facebook. So take advantage of the age we live in and make most of your shopping experience.

Online shopping for convenience

Apart from them, look around for online stores/sellers for some good deals. They are the best bet for shoppers like us who live abroad and want to shop for Indian outfits. But before purchasing take into consideration the outfit color/fitting etc as they may not be best represented in most of the pictures. Accessories like junk jewelries, bags can be bought easily conveniently from these online stores. There are several sites like Pernia's pop-up shop, Carma, Utsav fashion, Mirraw etc. Even different stores have their own online shops as well, you can buy directly from them. There are different price ranges available, work around which one suits your choice and budget more. There are yearly sales in these online shops as well so look around to shop around that time for bonus savings.


Renting your Outfit and Accessories

 You can also look around for renting your indian sarees or lehengas for the day of the event. This helps you to spend less for the event and also achieve your dream look. There are online renting stores like Borrow It Bindaas, Saris and Things, Swishlist and others for your convenience. 


Classic pieces rules ages

if you are buying for your trousseau buy classic pieces like traditional silks, or hand embroidered pieces. they are evergreen and you don't have to worry about being out dated or ill fitted. In these cases sarees becomes the most classic outfit as unlike your lehenga or kurtas as their fitting and cuts can become uncomfortable over time depending on the ongoing fashion or your figure. keep a lot of margins in whatever you are getting stitched. In this case from my own experience, I bought some expensive salwar suits for my trousseau which i can only imagine to fit into now, and they are adorning my wardrobe ever since. But my silk sarees like benarasi, baluchari, kantha, kanjeevaram can be and has been worn several times with different blouse options.

Accessorizing makes the game!
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Accessories can make or break a look. Zero down on the acessory or outfit and let the other one compliment it rather than overshadowing. When you begin putting your outfit together, design blouses/cholis according to the different necklines suited for your jewelry pieces or vice versa. Polish your jewelry if you are wearing heirloom pieces. Don't over do with your jewelry. If your outfit is simple, wear heavy jewelries, but if they are heavily embroidered opt for subtle pieces.  Choose your bags and shoes according to your outfit. Remember even a Louis Vuitton can look ugly if its not complimenting the attire. So go for the whole look rather than the brand.

 Comfort, Comfort and Comfort!!
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Think about the duration you are going the event for. If its a day long one, your comfort is everything. Consider shoes you are wearing, weight of the outfit etc. The last thing you would want is to take off your heavy dupatta or are shivering in your chiffon by the end of the event. Shoes should match but let your comfort speak for you. Use shoe inserts for added comfort and get used to your shoes ahead of time. New shoes, shoe bites etc can be too much to handle for you on that day. While deciding on shoes and bags keep in mind what your role would be that day. Clutches can be very stylish but sometimes while running around the event, it may be bothersome to carry in your hand. Opt for sling bags in such cases.
Lay out your full outfit

Before any important event, its best to decide every small outfit details well ahead. Last minute "jig saw puzzle settings" are not fun. There would be many more important things to sort out on the day of the event so let your outfit be sorted out before-hand. Lay down your outfit and accessories together to get a sense of how they are looking.


 Makeup and Hair

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You can opt for makeup and hair from your preferred specialist on the day of the event for lesser stress. If its your own wedding, please invest in finding the best professional according to your budget. Its them who can make or break your look. Even if you are wearing the best saree or most expensive jewelry, the "cakey" makeup or messed up hair can spoil the whole thing. Go for pre-wedding trials and have a good discussion on what exactly you want. If you decide to do your own makeup, do some rehearsal sessions so that you exactly know how to do it on the final day. Remember you should look like yourself and not someone else, so avoid going over the top dramatic with hair and makeup. 

 Thus these are tips we came up with for this wedding season. These holds true for any other major ethnic event you're having in your family. So let us know how you liked them and do you have any other tips for our readers. Do like share the post with your friends and family who you think will benefit. 

 P.S. This post was not sponsored.