Indian brides are known the world over for their colorful and elaborate makeup and dresses. In contemporary India, the most beautiful Indian brides will conjure up images of Bollywood actresses or supermodels dressed up in glittering and stunning bridal dresses. However, the domination of Punjabi and typical north Indian culture in Bollywood movies has conditioned our mind to think of a beautiful Indian bride as wearing the traditional “Lehenga and Choli” as you see below.
Most beautiful Indian brides need not be movie stars
But, India is a vast country and the Jodi Logik minions decided to scour the length and breadth of the Internet (we are still saving up for a pan-Indian trip) to find exotic bridal attire. Here are our top 7 most beautiful Indian brides from exotic communities around India. Before you read further, the focus of our blog is to help reset the idea of what is considered beautiful. We have steered clear of including photographs of brides from professional wedding photographers and have instead decided to focus on ordinary people and their unique traditions.
Rabari Bride
The Rabari tribe belong to the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is believed that they migrated from Iran over 1000 years ago! Here is a Rabari bride with her elaborate ornaments.
Ladakhi Bride
When we think of Ladakh, you will probably remember the last scene from the movie “Three Idiots” or whenever the Chinese army decides to set up a camp there!
Here is a first-hand account from a Ladakhi bride from this interesting blog:
“Angmo told me it took her only a half hour to put on the layers of wedding clothes she was required to wear. As she had on two beautiful dresses, one her bridal dress and over that a lovely dress which was a gift from the groom’s mother, a mass amount of beautiful gold and diamond jewelry and a monstrously heavy turquoise and gold headdress, called a Payrak, which is passed down through the families from mother to daughter. With all that she was wearing, it seemed to me that getting dressed would certainly have taken much longer. “
Maldhari Bride (or should we say, Bridegroom?)
The Maldhari tribes belong to the state of Gujarat and are noted as the traditional dairymen for the kings (even before Amul took over the mantle!). CNN has a colorful account of a Maldhari wedding where the groom steals the march over the bride in terms of the ornaments! We can’t even see the face of the bride, but assume she is very beautiful!
Manipuri Bride
Manipuri brides in their “Potloi” looks like life-size dolls! So what the hell is Potloi. Stop scratching your head, we have done our homework and have the answer. According to this blog,
“The beautiful bridal wear, potloi, is the wedding dress of Manipuri brides. This stunning costume was originally introduced by Maharaj Bhagya Chandra of Manipur, India. During his reign, he used to organize Rasa Lila Dance where the potlois were seen worn out by the Gopis and Shrimati Radhika . And, it is believed that that was the time when potloi had come into popularity due to its elegance and uniqueness. Later, the Manipuri Meiteis, who follow vaishnavaism, started to use this as the bridal wedding dress.”
Gaddi Bride
Question – What is the most popular valuable given away as a dowry at a Gaddi wedding?
Answer – A car (Gaddi or Gaadi in Hindi) of course! Just kidding. A Gaddi bride stands out because of her unique ornament that looks more like a skull cap!
Here is a rare video clip of a ceremonial dance from a Gaddi marriage. This is a welcome change from the usual Punjabi dance tunes!
Meghwal Bride
The Meghwals can be found in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Their primary occupation is weaving and they are said to be the descendants of Rishi Megh who had the power of bringing rain from the clouds through prayers. The women are famous for their embroidery work and are master wool and cotton weavers.
Gond and Kolam Brides
The Gond and the Kolam communities of central India have some of the most progressive marriage customs and traditions. Here is an extract from The Hindu on this rather interesting tradition.
The entire cost of the wedding is borne by the side of the bridegroom. As weddings are usually solemnised at the bridegroom’s place, he needs to invite the bride to his village a day before the marriage. He has to organise a grand luncheon at the village of his would-be wife before taking her away.
The tribal people had evidently taken care of important factors like poverty in order to reduce its influence on a marriage. The family of the bride bears the expenses of the wedding when the groom cannot afford to do so.
So the next time you plan to get married, why not go exotic and borrow the style of a Manipuri bride or a Gaddi bride for the reception?
Let us know what other exotic Indian Brides we should profile or share your wedding photos if you would like to attain international fame through our blog!
