MothersMandapMusings: The Wedding Shopping Experience
Following up on my last blog post on wedding planning, I’d love to share the journey of choosing outfits for the bride, groom, bridesmaids—and of course, the rest of us who played key roles in her wedding. The bride’s look naturally took center stage, setting the tone for the rest of us to either coordinate or contrast in ways that complemented her style.
First decision: shop in the U.S. or India?
My daughter had been gathering outfit inspiration from Instagram, which gave her a rough sense of the style she envisioned for herself at the wedding ceremony and reception. With time constraints in play, she weighed the pros and cons of shopping locally versus traveling to India.
US Shopping Scene
Most major U.S. cities with significant Indian populations—such as New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area—now have dedicated stores for Indian wedding and formal wear. She began by visiting Indian wedding boutiques around the Bay Area, but most featured mass-produced designs that didn’t quite appeal to her. Boutiques like Frontier Heritage, Swati Couture did offer more curated, designer pieces, though their selection was limited. She expanded her search to the LA scene such as Kynah and Frontier Heritage hoping for a broader range of options. While the options were limited, it helped clarify the style she had in mind and the designers she wanted to explore further.
In parallel, we researched what wedding outfit shopping in India might involve—browsing the internet for insights and checking in with friends who’d done it before. Most strongly recommended shopping in India, so we narrowed it down to three cities: Bangalore, which I knew well, and Bombay and Delhi, which were new to me.
Based on advice from friends and insights from Reddit, Delhi quickly stood out as the top contender. It offered the widest selection of outfits, all conveniently concentrated in key shopping hubs like Mehrauli, South-Ex and Rajouri Garden. We’d heard prices there were more affordable—often cheaper than in Bombay or Bangalore. However, that turned out to be true for low to mid-range options under $500. But once we started exploring high-end designer pieces priced above $2,000, the cost was surprisingly consistent across the U.S., Delhi, Bombay, and Bangalore.
The verdict: we chose to shop in Delhi.
Delhi Shopping Scene
Special thanks to Bharati, one of my daughter’s friends, and her mom Rachana—both were instrumental in guiding us through the Delhi shopping experience.
A bit about Delhi—there’s Old Delhi, home to the iconic Chandni Chowk, a bustling wedding bazaar, and New Delhi, where the posh designer boutiques are concentrated, mostly in the Mehrauli area, right behind Qutub Minar.
In New Delhi, there are two key shopping hubs here: Ambatta One and Dana Mills. These areas house renowned designers like Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Ritu Kumar, along with lesser-known names such as Mahima Mahajan, Avinash Mishra and others.
For a curated collection, Pernia Pop and Aza Fashions are two large multi-designer stores, offering a variety of styles in one place. Pernia Pop was our favorite—if you're short on time, just head there, you can’t go wrong!
We had just five days to shop in Delhi, so we had to make every moment count. Realistically, it takes 2–3 days to get oriented with the shopping areas, and at least two trips to the stores to finalize the right choices. We stayed in an Airbnb in Green Park, Delhi, which gave us easy access to a variety of shopping areas.
About Chandini Chowk - I got a mixed bag of advice from friends about Chandni Chowk. Some insisted it was a must-visit—an iconic part of Delhi and a go-to wedding bazaar. Others warned me to steer clear. I decided to experience it for myself. Unfortunately, we chose the worst possible day—January 1st—and it was bursting at the seams. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement. We did manage to buy a saree and drop off a blouse for tailoring, but getting out of that maddening crowd took hours.
Determined to experience Chandni Chowk properly, we decided to return on a regular day to pick up the blouse and explore the market without the chaos. True to its reputation, the wedding bazaar is great for costume jewelry and wedding essentials like décor and favors. It’s also the go-to spot if you’re hunting for knockoffs of designer outfits. We even had vendors eagerly showcasing their “Sabyach” creations—close enough in name, but definitely not in quality. That said, save yourself the hassle—most favors and decor items can now be found on Amazon.in, while jewelry and clothing are better sourced from other parts of New Delhi.
If you do an internet search, you will find other recommended shopping areas in Delhi for jewelry, ready-made blouses, and low to mid-range outfits include Lajpat Nagar’s Central Market, Sarojini Nagar’s Babu Market, Greater Kailash’s M Block Market, Karol Bagh’s Gaffar Market, and Shahpur Jat’s Fashion Street. However, we explored the following and loved the experience.
Greater Kailash’s M Block Market is great for Indian outfits you can wear to pre-wedding events like Mehndi and Haldi, as well as jewelry—both costume and real. It’s easy to navigate, so you can quickly find what suits your style and budget. This place also has a row of shops with ready-made blouses, and tailors who can customize them for you within hours.
Another area we loved was Rajouri Garden. Similar to M Block, but bigger area, it had a wide range of shops for jewelry, wedding outfits, party wear, fusion wear, and even tailors who could create custom outfits. We did most of our non-bridal shopping here.
Then there’s South Ex, a popular hub for wedding shopping, with well-known stores like Frontier Raas, Manyavar, Kantakala, Nalli, and others. We found outfits for the groom and father of the bride at Manyavar, and selected sarees for the bridesmaids at Frontier Raas, which carries a strong collection of wedding attire—from sarees to lehengas.
Our Recommended 5-Day Wedding Shopping Itinerary
Begin by listing everything you need to buy. Then, set a budget for each outfit category and identify the best shopping areas. Once that’s mapped out, choose your accommodations nearby. We chose to stay in an AirBnB hosted by BlueKite in the Green Park area, which was somewhat central to all locations.
Day 1 & 2: Prioritize the main event - reception and wedding wear. Shortlist 2–3 stores per day and give yourself at least 3 hours at each to try outfits. Factor in the commute time between stores as you make your daily plans.
Day 3 & 4: Once your main wedding outfits are finalized and purchased, head over to Greater Kailash or Rajouri Garden to shop for pre-wedding looks, jewelry, and blouses. And if something catches your eye—grab it on the spot!
Day 3 & 4: Shop for the rest of the family in parallel.
Day 5: Round out your shopping with accessories, décor pieces, gift items, and final touches. We did this in Rajouri Garden and, Dilli Haat.
Day 6: Relax and enjoy the moment—you’ve earned it!
Mumbai Shopping Scene
I had the opportunity to visit Mumbai and decided to window shop around the wedding shopping areas.
While Mumbai has many wedding shopping hubs, I explored just these two during my visit and was quite impressed.
The Colaba Kala Ghoda stretch has a dense cluster of designer boutiques, much like the Mehrauli area in Delhi. You’ll find everything from the famous Sabyasachi showroom to lesser-known designers.
Then there’s the Santa Cruz area, where you’ll find a good mix of mid-range outfits perfect for gifts and pre-wedding events, along with a whole cluster of costume jewelry stores.
Online Shopping recommendations
There are several online shopping options that we had recommended these to our guests:
- Myntra – great for everyday ethnic wear and fusion styles
- Kalki Fashion – elegant occasion wear with global shipping
- Mirraw – budget-friendly picks across sarees, suits, and jewelry
- Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop – curated designer pieces for festive and formal events
- Manyavar – classic menswear and celebration outfits
- Andaaz Fashion – custom-stitched outfits with inclusive sizing
- Lashkaraa – modern bridal and party wear with ready-to-ship options
- House of Indya – stylish Indo-Western looks for women
- Hatkay – affordable ethnic wear with global delivery
- Aza Fashion – luxury designer wear for weddings and beyond
- Kynah – LA-based boutique offering personalized styling and South Asian couture
Feel free to share your own favorite shopping spots—whether in the U.S., India, or online. I’d love to hear your suggestions!
Comments
Post a Comment