Guests · October 2026
What to Wear to an Indian Wedding: Function by Function, the Colours to Avoid, and What a Rental Costs
In short
Dress by function: yellows for haldi, greens and florals for mehendi, metallics and sequins for sangeet, rich silks or jewel-tone lehengas and sherwanis for the wedding, and gowns or contemporary sarees for the reception. Avoid bridal red, all-white and all-black. Cover your head and remove your shoes at a gurdwara or at the mandap. Rentals start around ₹2,000–7,000.
An Indian wedding is four or five parties with four or five dress codes, and the guest who gets it right is the one who dressed for the function rather than for 'a wedding'. This is the guide we send to guests, especially those coming from abroad, with the etiquette as Indian wedding publications and retailers set it out and rental prices from the stores' own pages.
Haldi, mehendi, sangeet
Haldi is daytime and yellow. Wear something you do not mind staining: a yellow or marigold kurta, a cotton saree, a light lehenga. Mehendi is greens, florals and pastels, loose enough to sit on the floor and to keep your hands free while the henna dries. Sangeet is the night to shine: sequins, metallics, mirror work, a lehenga or an embroidered kurta for men, and shoes you can dance in.
The wedding and the reception
The wedding day is the most traditional of the functions. Women wear rich silks, jewel-tone lehengas or a heavy saree; men wear a sherwani, a bandhgala or a kurta with a Nehru jacket. If the pheras are in the morning, lighter fabrics; if at night, deeper colours. The reception is the most relaxed: gowns, cocktail sarees, pre-draped drapes, a suit or an Indo-western jacket for men.
| Function | Wear |
|---|---|
| Haldi | Yellows, cottons, something that can stain |
| Mehendi | Greens, florals, pastels; sit-on-the-floor comfortable |
| Sangeet | Sequins, metallics, mirror work; dancing shoes |
| Wedding | Rich silks, jewel-tone lehenga; sherwani or bandhgala |
| Reception | Gowns, cocktail sarees; suit or Indo-western |
Colours to avoid
Colours to avoid. Bridal red and deep maroon belong to the bride in most North Indian families. All-white is worn at mourning and all-black is considered inauspicious by many elders, so use both only as accents. Beyond that, bright beats safe; an Indian wedding is not the place for beige.
Gurdwara, mandap, nikah
Places of worship. At a gurdwara, everyone covers their head, removes shoes and sits on the floor, so pick a stole or dupatta that stays put and an outfit you can sit cross-legged in. Shoes come off at the mandap too, at most Hindu weddings. At a nikah, dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered and a dupatta where the family is traditional.
Renting instead of buying
Renting instead of buying. Delhi rental stores publish lehengas from about ₹5,000–7,000 and sherwanis from ₹2,000–5,000 for the occasion, designer pieces higher, with a deposit, a two- to three-day window and dry-cleaning built in. Mumbai rentals quote similar bands through listings. For a foreign guest flying in for one weekend, a rented kurta set or sherwani is the easiest way to arrive looking right.
For the couple: put a one-line dress code on each function's invite card. Guests will follow it, and the photographs will thank you.
Common questions
What to wear to an Indian wedding?+
Dress by function: yellows for haldi, greens and florals for mehendi, metallics and sequins for sangeet, rich silks or jewel-tone lehengas and sherwanis for the wedding, and gowns or contemporary sarees for the reception. Avoid bridal red, all-white and all-black. Cover your head and remove your shoes at a gurdwara or at the mandap. Rentals start around ₹2,000–7,000.
Which colours should guests avoid at an Indian wedding?+
Bridal red and deep maroon, which belong to the bride in most North Indian families; all-white, which is worn at mourning; and all-black, which many elders consider inauspicious for a wedding. Everything else is open, and bright is better than safe. If the invitation names a colour for a function, follow it.
What do you wear to a Sikh wedding or a nikah?+
At a gurdwara, everyone covers their head, removes shoes and sits on the floor, so choose a dupatta or stole you can keep in place and an outfit you can sit in. At a nikah, dress modestly: covered shoulders and knees, a dupatta for women where the family is traditional, and no shoes in the prayer area.
What should a foreign guest wear to an Indian wedding?+
Wear Indian: a kurta set or lehenga for women, a kurta-pyjama or bandhgala for men. Families love it, and rentals in Delhi and Mumbai start around ₹2,000 for a kurta and ₹5,000–7,000 for a lehenga or sherwani, so you need not buy. A long dress or a suit is fine for the reception; avoid white, black and bridal red.
How much does it cost to rent a lehenga or sherwani?+
Rental price pages in Delhi list lehengas from about ₹5,000–7,000 for the occasion and sherwanis from ₹2,000–5,000, with designer pieces higher; Mumbai rentals quote similar bands through listings. Expect a refundable deposit, a two- to three-day window and a dry-cleaning charge built into the price.
