Bollywood Bridal Fashion Trends highlighted by Priyanka and Deepika

Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra have served as style icons throughout their respective careers.

The two even starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani (2015) and were flawless in their respective traditional avatars.

So, when these two superstars decided to wed within weeks of each other, all fashion fans had one question: what will they wear?

With dual ceremonies and multiple receptions, both brides delivered varied and striking bridal looks.

A mix of traditional, modern and obviously opulent, these brides have provided any upcoming brides with a plethora of inspiration.

DESIblitz takes a closer look at Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra’s Bollywood bridal fashion to find the commonality, and give any brides to be, tips on how to achieve their looks.

Traditional Red Sabyasachi Bridal Trend

Both brides opted for one of Bollywood’s favourite designers, Sabyasachi Mukherjee to design their more traditional Indian ceremony bridal looks.

Sabyasachi is known for incorporating very Desi based designs into any of his pieces, thus, for these brides, the couture connoisseur was their first option.

Deepika looked every bit the ‘Punjabi bride’ in this stunningly rich heritage red Sabyasachi bridal lehenga.

Sabyasachi played on traditional motifs of peacock embroidery and finer hand-stitched detailing.

Deepika’s dupatta was the most intriguing part of her bridal look as there was visible writing on the dupatta.

Once translated, the dupatta had a blessing stitched into it, ‘Sada Saubhyagyavati Bhava’.

This blessing is a wish for the couple to stay blessed and happy, for all evil to be warded away from her husband.

A traditional sentiment in itself but it was important to Padukone and so it was hand-stitched into her dupatta.

This is an excellent way of incorporating your own personality into your bridal look.

Priyanka too chose a Sabyasachi bridal lehenga for her Indian ceremony.

While Priyanka’s lehenga was less traditional than Padukone’s, it was still nonetheless a stunning piece in itself.

It took Sabyasachi’s team 3,720 hours to handmake Chopra’s lehenga, which is visible from the stunning amount of detail on this bridal piece.

With a team of 110 Calcutta seamstresses working on the organza flowers, French knots and layers of thread work; the end result was a striking masterpiece.

Similar to Padukone, Priyanka too requested Sabyasachi to hand stitch a sentiment into her lehenga.

Chopra requested the designer to sew the names of her fiancé and her parents, Ashok and Madhu into the waistband of her lehenga.

Priyanka’s father passed away in 2013 and so this was the actress’ attempt to have the three special people in her life present on her wedding day.

Priyanka’s lehenga was a custom-made Sabyasachi lehenga, however, it did feel very reminiscent of this 2016 couture bridal piece designed by Sabya himself, as seen below.

It is plausible that this piece was an inspiration point for Priyanka, who then fine-tuned further details to create her traditional red bridal lehenga.

To achieve the traditional red bridal look you need to ensure you pick a flattering red for you.

Be it maroon, crimson or bright red – the colour is the key here.

Chopra and Padukone had varying shades, textures and embroidery but that failsafe red colour gave their looks that Desi traditional feeling.

So if you wish to emulate this look definitely swatch some colours to make sure you get the perfect red to pop on your big day.

Cream and Gold Detailed Bridal Trend

Desi girls and gold go hand in hand, ever since Priyanka herself danced to the infamous song in a golden saree.

So, it came as no surprise that Priyanka worked this palette into her wedding looks.

However, Deepika too decided to adopt not one but two gold and cream looks when attending her multiple receptions.

This saree was gifted to Padukone by her mother with added styling by Sabyasachi.

If lehengas feel too extravagant for your wedding or reception, a good fix for this is a saree.

Deepika’s beautiful golden silk saree gave her an exceptionally regal look for her Bengaluru reception.

A coiffed sleek bun paired with a heavy choker set oozes royalty.

Gold is always a flattering colour for Desis due to the yellow-tone of our skin type, the colour picks up on this and gives us a glow like no other.

Deepika dazzled again for her first Mumbai reception. With her bridal choora still on display, Deepika opted for a very lavish and traditional look.

Wearing this Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla ivory and gold Chikankari ensemble, it felt like Deepika was showcasing herself as a fully-fledged Desi bride.

From the incredibly detailed and heavy dupatta draped over her head, to the sindoor in the forehead.

Deepika was happily showcasing her newly gained marital status through the extravagance of her wardrobe.

If such elements appeal to you as a would-be bride, this look can be easily emulated.

Ensure you have a good aid to hand to fix your dupatta in place.

This palette is easy to accessorise, as you need only pick up on the gold accents with jewellery.

It is a timeless classic for Desi brides and always looks flawless, as highlighted by Padukone.

Chopra selected an awe-inspiring Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga for her Delhi reception.

This was a more formal affair and so Bollywood’s Desi girl donned her finest golden creation for the affair.

The bridal lehenga itself took 80 craftsmen and 12,000 hours to create.

The designer said:

“Priyanka Chopra looks ethereal in a custom Falguni Shane Peacock creation.”

Chopra’s lehenga was embedded with real Swarovski crystals, which gave it that extra dazzle effect.

The nude looking lehenga had a more silver based embroidery, which created a mesmerising juxtaposition and Priyanka looked effortless in it.

This timeless colour palette of creams and golds always stay fashionable for bridal looks.

Whether you opt for a shiny silk saree or a heavily embroidered lehenga, gold and cream will always be a stylish and safe option for Desi brides.

Western Bridal Trend

Both Bollywood brides also decided to choose a Western bridal look during their weddings.

Priyanka wore a custom Ralph Lauren wedding dress for her Western ceremony.

Priyanka adopted this dress due to her intercultural wedding ceremony, she decided to fully immerse herself in the culture and fashion of her husband as he had done for her.

Whereas, Deepika adopted a fusion piece so that she could look visually stunning but also be freer in movement and less weighed down by some a heavy Desi ensemble.

Whatever the reason, it is clear Western wear is now a firm bridal trend for Desi brides and these two actresses portray how to wear it best.

Chopra’s white Ralph Lauren bridal wedding dress stunned the world as she radiated pure joy on her wedding day.

Priyanka is one of four brides to have been honoured with wearing Ralph Lauren for her bridal garbs.

Lauren has previously only designed wedding gowns for family members, making Chopra the first non-blood relative to receive such a gift.

The lacework on the gown was breathtaking which is understandable as it took 1,826 hours to craft.

The biggest talking point was her veil which reached a shocking 75 feet in length.

Chopra highlights that particularly for brides who are looking for intercultural marriage inspiration, sometimes leaning into the tradition can give a stunning result.

The sketch for this creation can be seen below.

Deepika was a sizzling scarlet sensation in this Zuhair Murad creation.

Her dress had a lavish train while being cropped and ruffled in the front.

Similar to Chopra Deepika’s dress also came with a lavish veil. But she fused some Desi essence into this Western bridal wear by injecting the red colour into it.

The train was detachable and she also wore the dress as a short cocktail number at her Mumbai reception.

This night was full of music, dance and laughter and so Padukone opted for Western attire for ease and comfort.

Both actresses highlighted that it is now becoming more acceptable and desirable from a fashion perspective, to opt for a Western dress for your ceremony or reception.

With fusion designers such as Mani K Jassal delivering a Desi twist on Western fashion, it appears this will be a bridal trend we will see more of in the future.

An array of glitter and glamour, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra have given three key trends for brides to take note of.

One is the traditional red bridal look, next being the cream and gold bridal palette and finally the riskier but more fashion-forward adoption of Western bridal wear.

All these looks are very easily adopted and personalised as we have highlighted.

It will be interesting to see how Bollywood bridal fashion trends emerge in the future with new brides, in addition to seeing how they personalise their bridal looks.