ASIAN WEDDING SETTING PREPARATION (DAHEJ)

This is a term that you will become familiar with during your wedding planning. Getting married is not an easy task. You are expected to look your best at all times, before, during and after the wedding. Plus, getting married gives you a social license to indulge your every whim and buy lots of beautiful outfits. What more does a girl need or want?

In the old days, it was the responsibility of the bride’s family to prepare her trousseau (dahej) which she would take with her to her husband’s house. Many brides would not bring any of their old clothes to their new home; instead, it was customary to prepare 11, 21, or sometimes 101 new garments for the bride. Today, some brides keep the old traditions alive, while others aren’t so concerned with the numbers game.

The trousseau is not limited only to clothing. You can include accessories ranging from bracelets to handbags and shoes. Household items such as sheets and kitchen utensils may also be included. And of course no bride can forget her new jewelry pieces.

Preparing and planning your trousseau can be frustrating and overwhelming. Here are some good tips to get it all right:

Plan, plan and plan! Sit down and make a list of everything you really need! It makes no sense to spend money where it doesn’t need to be spent.

Divide your trousseau into 4 main sections, formal, semi-formal, shoes and accessories, and lingerie.

A wide range of lehngas, sarees and salwar kameez could be included for all the different post-wedding events.

Combine accessories and shoes as you go through the purchase of each outfit. The most annoying thing is having an outfit that doesn’t have matching shoes or shoes that don’t really match any of your outfits!

Make sure you have some outfits with traditional embroidery. Although what’s really in style right now are crystal-accented outfits, which can go out of style very quickly, so traditional yet elegant outfits would be perfect to have in your wardrobe for any post-wedding formal occasion. You are expected to make many visits after the wedding; your outfits for these should be a combination of ornamentation and elegance.

On the grooms side, it is important in most Asian cultures to prepare a wardrobe full of wedding outfits and accessories for the new bride joining your family.

In short, Asian weddings are all about shopping until your heart’s content. This is the beginning of a new life for you, so you deserve to be pampered in every way of shopping.