Wedding Cultural 
Dress Code
Traditional Kandyan Bride (Sri Lankan )
Clad in an “Osariya” and draped in traditional jewelry, the Kandyan bride stands as a window in to the soul of Sri Lanka. She represents the traditions, culture and beliefs of the Sinhala Buddhist of this island nation.
The main attire of a traditional Kandyan bride is the 6 yard saree draped in the Sri Lankan traditional way called “Osariya”. The common colors used by brides range from white to biscuit brown and any shade in between. This wedding saree could be a simple saree with gold or silver thread work or a heavily embroidered saree piled up with rhinestones, sequins and pearls depending on the brides choice. Today the brides opt for the more modern approach or the ready-made saree called “made up osariya” which consists of 4 parts namely, jacket, the shoulder drape (Pota), the Neriya a peplum shaped piece which is tied around the waist and the wrap around skirt.
Her hair will be in a low bun and the bun will be decorated with white color flowers, flower buds and different ornaments such as the traditional “Konda kura”.The Brides’ head is then decorated with the “Nalal patiya” which is a head ornament with three long chains attached to a middle pendent. The middle pendent is kept at the center of her forehead and two of the chains go along the side and one along the middle of her head. On the day of the wedding the brides’ mother will place the “Nalal patiya” and pin it to her hair at a given “nakatha” (auspicious time) as an act of giving her blessings. This piece of jewelry is considered as one of the most important pieces in the Kandyan jewelry culture as once it was worn by kings and royalty on special occasions and it is used to distinguish the bride from others since only she is allowed to wear it. Till date young unmarried girls are discouraged from wearing it before her wedding day as according to local beliefs it brings bad luck upon her. Apart from the “Nalal Patiya” two circular shaped pendants that represent the sun and the moon called “Ira, Handa“are also pinned to her hair on either side of the middle chain. They are thought to symbolize the hope for an eternal happy marriage.
Nalalpatiya”and sun and moon
Moon
The earrings worn by the Kandyan bride are called “Dimiti” and they are long hanging earrings with chains of pearls suspending from a upturned cup shaped base.
The most significant part of Kandyan bridal jewelry is the set on necklaces which traditionally consists of a “Karapatiya”, paddakkam necklaces, palakkan necklace, pethi male and agasti male. It is believed that the reason to wear so many necklaces is to word off evil eye from the bride.
Karapatiya is a choker necklaces of a sort with a large pendent in the middle.
A kandyan bride is supposed to wear 7 pendents (Hath male) on her wedding day and this includes the pendent from Nalal patiya, karapatiya and 5 pendents from the padakkam mala. According to local beliefs these 7 pendents represents the blessings from seven generations of kin. All seven of these pendents are in most cases the same in design and traditionally these pendents would be in the shape of a swan or a pair of swans interlocked called hansa pottuwa but this design can change from set to set.
“Hansa pottuwa“
The padakkam necklaces are a set of 5 necklaces with pendent which have minor size differences and with different length chains.
Palakkan necklace is a long chain necklace with gold beads at even intervals.
Pethi male is the longest of the bunch and is made up of intricately carved floral designs. It is said that it represents a flower garland.
Agasti male is a long necklace made with agate stones but today brides opt for a variation called gedi male which is made with different colored stones and pearls. Some even opt to wear both.
The Kandyan bride wears two types of bracelets namely seli walalu and gedi walalu. Seli walalu is a broad bracelet with intricate detailed carvings and can be embedded with gem stones and the gedi walau is made up of a string of beads. Other than the bracelets the bride wears the “Atha mudu walalu” which is a hand ornament with a central pendent to which 5 chains are attached. Each of these chains are attached to a ring that goes on the fingers of the right hand of the bride.
Kandyan Nilame
Traditional Nilame Dress is known as “Udarata Mul Anduma” or “Thunpottiya”. At present, in wedding ceremonies, the tendency is there to give priority to the traditional and native rituals.The dress, the Nilames used in the earlier period started its use during the English period as well. A long trouser for the bottom part of the body, a belt, a turban, necklaces, a manthe, jeweled rings, bangles with carvings, gold chains and a designed hat were parts of the original dress.
At present it is considered as the wedding dress at all wedding ceremonies and allowing their sons to wear it is your duty to give prominence to traditions and preserve these traditions for the future generations. Creations of costumes with maroon, green, orange, black, purple, brown, red, ivory the colour of tusks, white and blue colours embroidered with gold threads and using local raw and fancys materials, using animal figures such as lion, swan, mythical birds, phoenix and peacock and flower strands and creepers which were our traditional drawings involved with the hereditary Kandyan era.
Tamil Traditional Bride
Brides are draped with Kajeevaram Silk sarees in bright colors paired with gorgeous-looking jewelry, In case of Brahmin brides, the Kanjeevaram sarees are generally 9-yards long while in case of non-Brahmins it is 6-yards. The saree is worn in the traditional Madisar style. The bride has to change her gorgeous sarees mutiple times.
The Tamil bride wears a lot of gold jewelry passed through generations. She wears special gold and precious stone set jewelry known as Jadainagam in the shape of a cobra over her plaits, which is believed to be symbolic of the bride’s fertility.
Ornament worn around the waist is called as Oddiyanam, Made of gold with temple designs and is used to keep the saree borders and garlands in place. On her hair, along with the traditional tamil mangtika made of gold, stones and pearls, the Tamil bride also wears Nethi on both sides of the central hair parting.
She generally wears a number of necklaces in multiple layers around her neck, gold bangles, and diamond nose-pins. The tamil bride look is preferred to be subtle and natural while some young brides look for detailed eye makeup and of course matching foundation.
The history of Tamil bridal makeup is a long and interesting one. In ancient times, the bride was expected to be beautiful and attractive. This beauty was not just physical but also spiritual. The makeup used then included henna, turmeric, sandalwood paste, and saffron. In modern times, brides are more concerned with how they look on their big day than they are with what they wore on their wedding day. They want to look natural without looking too made up or overdone. Over time, the trend has changed from henna to cream-based makeup products that are easier to apply without smudging or running off during the ceremony.
Hindi Bride ( Indian )
Traditional bridal attire is saturated in rich color and typically adorned with 24 karat thread and crystals. For the ceremony, most brides wear a traditional lehenga or a saree wedding dress.
Lehenga: an ensemble comprised of an elaborate (and often heavy) skirt, a cropped or long blouse called the choli, and a dupatta that is draped over the head or shoulders.
Saree: an unstitched garment generally five to nine yards in length that drapes around the body and tucks into an underskirt.
Unlike Western weddings, you won’t often see an Indian bride wearing white as it symbolizes mourning. Red is the traditional color of a bride’s ceremonial attire, but she may also choose to wear:
Gold
Peach
Brown
Orange
Pink
Yellow
Muslim Bride
Generally speaking, modest attire is recommended. Longer pants and skirts are recommended and people of any gender should avoid having bare arms. If the wedding venue for the ceremony is a mosque, be prepared to remove your shoes before entering the sacred part of the mosque.
Muslim women at an Indian wedding may don a saree/ sari or lehenga, while brides at Arab weddings may wear long-sleeve wedding dresses with a hijab. Female wedding guests may be expected to cover their heads, so bringing a scarf is advised.
Mehndi
A menhdi is a prewedding event where the bride and other wedding guests, typically female family members and bridesmaids, will get henna designs done on their hands. Some South Asian couples may also have a Manjha, which is the equivalent of a Haldi, where the couple rubs turmeric paste on themselves ahead of the wedding
Wedding Decorations
Poruwa Ceremony
Poruwa ceremony is a traditional Sinhalese wedding ceremony. The ceremony takes place on a “Poruwa”, a beautifully decorated, traditional wooden platform. The ceremony involves a series of rituals performed by the bride and groom, and their families.
The groom and his relatives assemble on the right of the Poruwa and the bride’s family gathers on the left. The bride and groom enter the Poruwa leading with the right foot first. They greet each other with palms held together in the traditional manner. The ceremony officiant then presents betel leaves to the couple which they accept. Afterwards, they hand them back to him to be placed on the Poruwa.
The bride’s father places the right hand of the bride on that of the groom as a symbolic gesture of handing over the bride to the groom. The groom’s brother hands over a tray with seven sheaves of betel leaves with a coin placed in each. The groom holds the tray while the bride takes one leaf at a time and drops it on the Poruwa. The groom then repeats this process. The groom’s brother hands a gold necklace to the groom who in turn places it on the bride’s neck. The maternal uncle enters the Poruwa and ties the small fingers of the bride and groom with a single gold thread (to symbolize unity) and then pours water over the fingers. Six girls will then bless the marriage with a traditional Buddhist chant (Jayamangala Gatha). The groom presents to his bride a white cloth which in turn is presented to the bride’s mother. This is an expression of the groom’s gratitude to his mother-in-law.
The bride’s mother will then present a plate of milk rice specially cooked for the occasion to the bride who feeds a portion to the groom. The groom then feeds the bride. As the newly married couple steps down from the Poruwa, one of the groom’s family members breaks a fresh coconut.
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