Threads that choke

I thought Parineeti Chopra made for such a happy bride. Seeing images of her dancing to her husband-to-be waiting at the mandap, running the lemon and spoon race with his family, singing songs that mean much to the young lovers, and basically just having a blast at her own wedding, one can’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

But judging celebrities and celebrity brides is an occupational hazard. And so I will. I loved the neutral-toned lehenga. No, I don’t feel enough brides wear pastels or nudes to their wedding. Alia Bhatt broke the norm with a white and gold lehenga (unheard of for north Indian brides). Like Alia, and almost every new bride these days, Parineeti wore a veil.

The idea of a veil is manna from heaven for designer lehenga makers. There was a time when a lehenga was traditionally a three-piece—the swirling circle-cut skirt, a fitted blouse or choli and a dupatta or cover-up. The headpiece, or veil, that now borrows heavily from Christian weddings, was almost always a blurred space. Everyone wanted one, but brides often made do with the sole dupatta or then purchased another one in a similar shade.