South Indian Style Sarees For Weddings - Online Bridal Sarees

The southern states in India have a distinct culture that is different from the rest of the country. The weddings, other celebrations, the way of dressing, and most importantly the food have their own uniqueness. For example, the traditional serving platters in celebrations including weddings are fresh green banana leaves where a number of dishes are served from one end of the leaf to the other end. Rice and wheat breads are common across India, but rice is more popular in South India while traditional wheat breads are more important in North India.

Similarly in the case of wedding traditions also, you can see many customs popular in South India, while the North Indians have a different set of traditions. The bridal wedding dress, lehengas, are more popular in North India, while the South Indian brides prefer the traditional saris for their weddings.

Amazon has got a collection of these beautiful Indian saris suitable for wedding celebrations.

Traditionally, pure silk saris are preferred for marriages. But today, beautiful saris are available in artificial silk and other fabrics as well. You may choose to wear pure silk or other fabrics. Many brides choose the pure silk for their weddings, but many brides choose artificial or net fabric due to budget concerns or ethical concerns.

Pure silk is produced mostly from the natural protein fibre extracted from certain larvae that form cocoons. Many modern silk manufacturers claim that they do not harm any larvae in the silk making process, and vegetarian silk or peace silk is available in many textile shops. If you are concerned you can also go for the polyester silk which is made from polyester or you may go for the beautiful Kerala Style cotton handloom saris rich with golden thread works.

I was unaware about the process involving larvae in the manufacture of pure silk garments and I have used it before and I still own a few. Just like the controversy in the use of fur and leather in clothing and other accessories, using pure silk for manufacturing garments is a subject of controversy. I know many of us have concerns over this and I have two minds on this subject. So I prefer to feature saris of artificial silk and other fabrics in this article.

You can read more about peace silk or vegetarian silk here.

Silk looks royal and elegant and when it is made with out harming the larvae silk is also pure and sacred. The pure silk looks smooth, 'silky', beautiful and no other fabric can compare to its uniqueness and quality. I wish there were more options available for the peace silk or vegetarian silk, as this is also environment friendly.

Silk dress when combined with embroideries and other designs look the most pretty, but even without any embroideries or paintings in it, even a plain artificial silk dress looks so smooth and 'silky', elegant and stylish.

The design works and golden borders in bridal saris, whether pure silk or artificial silk or the cotton handloom saris, is usually done with pure gold threads and so the price goes up with how much golden embroidery work the garment has.

Kanchipuram, a city in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, is famous for temples and most importantly the traditional Kanchipuram silk saris. The saris are mostly hand woven by the locals who work in small groups and industrial units and this is the main source of living for so many people in Kanchipuram. The saris from Kanchipuram are especially popular because of the rare and unique ethnic designs made in silk.

Kanchipuram saris are mostly made of pure kanchipuram silk, but they also manufacture artificial silk saris with art works and designs unique to Kanchipuram.

Mysore, located in the state of Karnataka is another place famous for the making of silk saris. The saris made from the industrial units in Mysore are generally known as Mysore silk saris. They are unique and rich with the traditional designs and works from Mysore.

Mysore silk saris can be made of either pure silk or artificial silk.

Similarly many other regions in India are famous for silk saris and other famous names include Banarasi silk, Cashmere silk etc.

Artificial silk saris are usually made from fabrics made out of polyester. They are more budget friendly and come in a wide range of affordable prices. Many of them look gorgeous just like the pure silk saris because of the rich ethnic works. 

Golden and ivory coloured saris look elegant and beautiful, whatever the silk is. Here you can see two of them in polyester silk, but too beautiful.

The downside of polyester silk is that it is plastic and so it not natural, which makes it not good for the environment. Pure silk is natural and organic, and does no harm to the environment, but it harms the silk worms. Since many people don't prefer pure silk and polyester silk, the vegetarian silk or peace silk is invented where the manufacturers claim they do not harm the larvae in the silk extraction process.

However, I couldn't find any peace silk garments online, but I am sure they exist and you might be able to find them in some shops.

Or you have the beautiful cotton handloom traditional saris from Kerala.

Kerala is the southernmost state of India and it has its own unique traditions, celebrations and dressing style. The traditional Kerala style saris for women are ivory coloured with golden colour embroidery works and golden border. Saris made out of pure cotton handloom threads mixed with pure golden thread works and golden border are traditional and popular. Other than celebrations, they are used as casual wears also by women in Kerala. In casual wears, instead of golden borders simply plain and colourful borders are preferred. Embroidery works are not normally used in casual wears.

The Kerala style saris for weddings and other celebrations are usually rich with embroidery works in both golden and other colourful threads and also with a combination of golden and other colourful borders. They are much more simple compared to the traditional silk saris, but they definitely look elegant and have great importance in the Kerala culture.

Other than the saris, the traditional Kerala dress also comes in two piece, something like a dhothi and a shawl, which is much more easier to wear compared to the sari.

In today's Kerala weddings, the brides usually wear silk saris in brighter colours rich with golden embroidery works, but in most of the cases they also wear the Kerala traditional sari soon after the wedding ceremony as part of the tradition. The Kerala style saris are also more popular during other festivals and celebrations like the housewarming functions in Kerala.

Beautiful designer saris made of net fabrics or georgette are another great option for marriages. In South India, they are mostly preferred for engagements and wedding receptions.

Wearing a traditional sari can be a difficult task and if you are new to this, it could be even not possible to wear a sari with out any guidance. I have found a wikiHow article that explains some easy ways to wear a sari, here you can read it.