Maids for each other

All eyes fall upon her, every talk and murmur is about her, so nothing should be found wanting. Her looks must be the best in her lifetime. But nowadays, it is not only the bride for whom the D-day is way too special. The spotlight in a wedding hall is shared equally by her league. Yes, we are talking about the bridesmaids, those young girls in fluffy white costumes surrounding the bride. Interestingly, they are a must-have not only in Christian weddings but also across religions in present times.

From wearing bespoke couture to following common dress code, bridesmaids have emerged as the trend. Mila Mathew of Deo Gratias wedding planner in Thiruvananthapuram says thematic weddings have made the bridesmaids indispensible in wedding ceremonies.

“From my experience, this trend has been hotting up in Kerala since the past five years. Friends are considered vital to the bride to stay cool all through the wedding ceremony. Bridesmaids are a team of five usually but the number varies. Custom-made wears for bridesmaids are planned well in advance; colour-code and the preferred kind of clothing are all planned.Some clients give us suggestions while for others, we suggest after taking their inputs,” she says.

Bridesmaids start chipping in much ahead of the D-day and they are ubiquitous from the penultimate day of wedding. Neema T.A. is a newly-wed who couldn’t think of making her big day sans her best buddies. “My school friends, college friends and neighbours were my bridesmaids. I myself have been one for many weddings. They had been there with me during my ‘mehendi’, on the day before the wedding. We chose to be in two different looks. The girls were in gowns set in variants of red for ‘mehendi’. The next day they all appeared in silk saris,” says Neema.

Neema, a graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), had at first popped the idea before her roomie and batchmate, designer Neeraja R. Kutty, who planned things accordingly. The team of eight including Neeraja made the day ‘oh-so-cool’ for Neema to backpack some memories to cherish forever in her trousseau to the US.

In Neeraja’s opinion, the trend is not anything that has been adapted from Christian weddings alone, as it is widely believed to be. “I feel people take a cue from North Indian weddings. There, in the different episodes succeeding and preceding the wedding, bridesmaids accompany the girl. In Kerala, if bridesmaids have a big role in mehendi for Muslim weddings, in Hindu weddings, the thalapoli ceremony ahead of tying the knot is where bridesmaids are widely seen. Most of my clients have opted for skirt-top separates so that they can reuse it for other occasions later on,” Neeraja explains.

In close-knit extended families, the young women in the family themselves take charge as the bridesmaids, as was seen in the wedding of classical dancer Madhavi Chandran. “That is a day when a bride’s stress graph can go through the roof. On all those tumultuous moments, my cousins were there to support me. On the wedding day, three elder cousins chose costumes on their own whereas those younger to me were in kanjivaram saris,” says Madhavi.

Obviously, these picture perfect moments do come at a price. “People either prefer to loosen their purse strings or think of keeping the expenses in check.We offer service for both. At first, we consider the affordability factor and thereafter plan accordingly – be it for big budget or limited budget. There is a set colour palette; like Muslims demand for less seqin-shedding green, Christians love peach, red, orange or lemon yellow and Hindus opt for shades of yellow,” says Mila Mathew.