Three Tips for Adding Indian Flavor to Your Wedding

Are you a Western bride who is a real Indiaphile? Or are you marrying into an Indian (or Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, etc.) family and want to honor their heritage? Here are some pointers for adding Indian color and flavor to your nuptials:

Birmingham's Notinee Indian Dance Troupe

Consider Color

If there is one thing Indian weddings do not shy away from, it's COLOR. Lots of it! You just don't find pastels or earth tones at a Desi wedding. Jewel colors and sparkling metallics rule the day.

Whether you add brilliant color to your flowers, cake or overall decor, consider using colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. For example, red is opposite green. Now think about variations on those colors. What about pistachio + rose? (I saw that color combination on a sari once ... it was brilliant.) Or how about emerald + hot pink? By all means, browse the Internet and look at photos of saris for inspiration.

Seriously ... who doesn't like these little fried goodies?

Warm Things Up with Spice

If you're having a bicultural wedding, chances are your guests will have a very wide spectrum of spice tolerance. On the other hand, more and more spicy foods are becoming popular in the United States, so don't skimp on the hot stuff. Look for a caterer who is comfortable with both Western and Southeast Asian cuisines.

Some people are reluctant to try unfamiliar food, but there are also some Indian dishes that Westerners will probably like once they realize what they actually are. Samosas are a great example. They're just fried dough filled with veggies (often potatoes and peas) or ground meat and vegetables. It's a dumpling by another name. You can adjust the spice level and offer chutneys both spicy and mild for dipping.

A dessert favorite is kheer: a creamy rice pudding with pistachio nuts, cardamom and saffron. I don't know a single Westerner who's tried it and didn't like it!

You can capture the look of mehndi in any color.
(c) Blue Lotus Mehndi

More Mehndi!

Of course, the quintessential part of almost every South Asian (and Middle Eastern ... and North African) wedding is the application of mehndi (aka henna). I have applied mehndi to many brides who were marrying into a family from a henna-using culture, and I've also hennaed brides who had more of an emotional or spiritual tie to these cultures than family ties.

But if full-tilt bridal mehndi is not for you, here are some other ways to incorporate gorgeous henna patterns into your wedding.

• Cake decorating: This is the PERFECT canvas for mehndi-like designs, and you can go nuts with the color. Just check out this amazing design by California artist Darcy Vasudev.

• Mehndi-inspired invitations, programs, candles and other decorative items also are possibilities. Your local henna artist can help you incorporate these elements into your wedding design.

• If you'd like body art in a henna style but don't want to commit to natural henna, there are other options. With  body-safe cosmetic paint and/or theatrical adhesive, cosmetic powders and glitter, henna artists can create mehndi-like designs in any color you choose (including white!). These products can be removed easily when the festivities are over.

The options are truly endless. Henna artists, both native and Western, can be a great source of information and inspiration. Give one of us a call!