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This guide is for the hosts writing that line: whether to set a rule or make a suggestion, what families usually choose for each function, how to word it so nobody feels they must buy a new outfit, and how to show colours that a word like 'peach' cannot.
Rules or suggestions?
Suggestions, for nearly every family. A strict dress code asks guests to buy something, while a suggestion invites them to join in with what they already own. One bride we worked with this season chose colour suggestions over a dress code for exactly that reason, so that no guest would feel pressured to buy an outfit for one evening. Another family took the dress codes off altogether.
There can be good reasons for a firmer line on one or two functions: a haldi where everyone in yellow makes the photographs, or a sangeet theme the family has planned for months. Even then, word it as a hope, and make it easy for the aunt who owns nothing yellow to come anyway.
Ideas by function
These are the choices families make most often, and what fashion guides such as Aza Fashions' guides to Indian wedding dress codes describe as usual. They are conventions, not rules, and your own family's tradition comes first.
| Function | What families often suggest | Worth telling guests |
|---|---|---|
| Haldi | Yellow, the colour of the turmeric itself, or soft light shades | Wear something you do not mind getting turmeric on, because it stains |
| Mehndi | Green, the traditional mehndi colour, or yellows, oranges and pinks | Come comfortable: there is often floor seating |
| Sangeet | Festive, or Indo-western | Wear something you can dance in |
| Cocktail | Indo-western or evening wear | How formal it is, and whether it is outdoors |
| The wedding ceremony | Traditional Indian wear | Anything the ceremony asks of guests, such as covering the head in a gurdwara |
| Reception | Festive or formal, often the guests' grandest outfit | Whether it is formal, and when dinner is |
Our guides to the haldi, mehndi and sangeet invitations say the same: yellow at a haldi is a modern convention rather than a rule, and half your guests will not assume it unless you say so. For an Anand Karaj, our Anand Karaj guide explains why every guest's head is covered in the gurdwara.
Two cautions most guides agree on. Red is traditionally the bride's colour, so guests usually avoid heavy bridal red, and in many families all-white or all-black outfits are avoided at weddings because of their association with mourning. Traditions differ between communities, so mention either only if your family minds.
How to word it on the invitation
One line, directly under the function, in the same voice as the rest of the invitation. Name a colour or a mood, and make it sound like a hope. A few rules keep it gracious:
- Under the function, not at the end. A guest checking the sangeet looks at the sangeet.
- A colour or a mood, not a shopping list. 'Shades of yellow' works. 'A yellow kurta with a white churidar' does not.
- Soft words. 'We would love to see you in...' or 'Colours of the day', never 'mandatory'.
- Room for everyone. Where it fits, add 'or whatever makes you happy'.
There are eight lines you can copy in the wording below, one for each function and one for no dress code at all.
Colour swatches beat colour names
Ask five guests what 'peach' looks like and you will get five colours. Several families this season asked us for small square colour blocks under each function on the invitation, so guests could hold the phone up to a dupatta in the shop and match it. On a printed card a swatch costs ink. On an invitation website it costs nothing.
Keep it to three or four colours for each function, and let the functions that the same guests attend together sit well side by side, because the photographs will put them next to each other.
A style guide guests can save
For families who want more than a line, we make a Wedding Wardrobe: a designed PDF style guide your guests get with the invitation. It opens with a cover with your names, then gives one page to every function with its mood, its colours as real swatches, and what suits the women and the men. It costs ₹1,199, is made for weddings and engagements, and reaches you within 3 days of the day you send us your functions and their colours, with one round of changes. You can see a real sample.
For guests from abroad
Guests who have never been to an Indian wedding need more than a colour: what a haldi is, why there will be turmeric everywhere, whether a lehenga is expected or a dress will do, and how warm the evenings are. One family this season showed their outfit guide only to their international guests.
That is easy with personal links, which can show different guests different parts of one invitation, as our guide to inviting guests to only some functions explains. Our guides to inviting NRI guests and to destination weddings cover the weather, the packing and the travel.
Dress code lines you can copy
One line under each function. Change the colours to your own, and keep the soft words.
Haldi · [Day, Date] · [Time]
Colours of the day: shades of yellow and white.
Wear something you will not mind getting turmeric on.
Mehndi · [Day, Date] · [Time]
We would love to see you in greens, yellows and pinks.
There will be floor seating, so come comfortable.
Sangeet · [Day, Date] · [Time] onwards
Dress: festive or Indo-western.
Wear something you can dance in.
Cocktail evening · [Day, Date] · [Time]
Dress: Indo-western or evening wear.
Vivah · [Day, Date] · Muhurat [Time]
Traditional Indian wear, in any colours you love.
Reception · [Day, Date] · [Time] onwards
Dress: festive formal.
There is no dress code.
Wear whatever makes you happy, and come ready to celebrate.
हल्दी · [दिन, तिथि] · [समय]
पीले रंग में आएँ तो हमें बहुत खुशी होगी।
Want these words on a real invitation? See the designs.
Invitation designs
6 designs you can personalise, from ₹2,499. Open any one to see it full size, with a live demo.
Questions people ask
How do I mention a dress code on a wedding invitation?
In one line directly under each function: a colour or a mood, worded as a suggestion. 'Colours of the day: shades of yellow' under the haldi is enough.
What colour should guests wear to a haldi?
Yellow is the usual choice, the colour of the turmeric itself, with light shades as an alternative. Whatever the colour, guests should wear something they do not mind getting turmeric on, because it stains.
Is it rude to have a dress code at an Indian wedding?
Not if it is a suggestion. A strict rule asks guests to buy something for one function; a soft line invites them to join in with what they already have.
Can we send guests a style guide?
Yes. Invifest's Wedding Wardrobe is a designed PDF with one page for every function, its mood, colour swatches and what suits women and men, for ₹1,199.
Should the dress code be on the invitation or separate?
Both: one line on the invitation under each function, and a separate guide for the guests who want the detail.
What should guests avoid wearing to an Indian wedding?
Guides commonly advise against outfits that compete with the bride, usually heavy red, and in many families all-white or all-black, which can carry associations with mourning. Traditions differ, so say so on the invitation if your family minds.
