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Features » East Meets West

If Bollywood jingles your bangles more than Hollywood, or mysticism appeals to you more than a bit of ‘get me to the church on time’, you might want to bring a touch of the east to your wedding day. Vibrant colours, sophisticated glamour and delicious foods – what’s not to love about the east? Make your big day more memorable for everyone involved with some of these oriental influences, guaranteed to add some eastern spice to your nuptials.

The dress

The bridal dress can be as full of eastern flavour as you like. Traditional eastern brides wear a full-length skirt, known as a lehenga, a fitted, cropped top, called a choli, and a veil, known as the odhini. Any one of these can be incorporated in to your dress, or you can go all-out and wear the lot. The three components are available in a number of styles such as halter neck and backless cholis or mermaid-style lehengas. The key to the eastern twist is in the detail; heavy embroidery, beautiful beading and bold colours are all great ways to give a nod towards the orient. Dana Bolton runs a bridal dress company called Once Upon A Time (www.dressmakingdesign.co.uk) and has made a number of bespoke eastern-influenced dresses. One of her favourite creations is a bright pink piece for a strapless dress on which she hand-painted some intricate flowers. By getting your eastern-influenced bridal dress made bespoke, you can be as exotic as you choose, plus if you plan it carefully, you could wear it again for special occasions.

The jewellery

In Hindu weddings there is no simple exchange of rings. Instead, there are a number of religious rites and ceremonies, such as the tying together of the sari and suit and the walk around the sacred flame. The closest ceremony to the western exchange of vows and rings is the misri, an exchange of gold rings at engagement to represent a long married life. The bridal jewellery is a chance to completely glamourise your wedding day. Necklaces, bracelets, anklets, bindis (red dots or adhesive jewels worn on the forehead, traditionally only by married women but increasingly by anyone, to protect against demons and bad luck), kaleeray (small chandelier-like ties for your wrist), choora (bangles worn by the bride for about six months after the wedding) and intricate head pieces are just some of the complicated bridal bling available. Kyles (www.kylescollection.com) is a well-known maker of fabulous Asian jewellery. It has a number of gorgeous designs available in a vast range of colours and stones to match your colour theme.

The venue

Dump the staid marquee in favour of an exotic Indian or Arabian- style tent. Inside, bedeck the sides, tables and chairs with swathes of organza, include some comfortable big cushions and carpets around low tables for guests to sprawl on, add some candles and lanterns, and don’t forget your mandap. The mandap is a four-pillared structure under which Hindu couples take their vows. It is the ceremony’s spiritual and physical focal point. The bride and groom take their vows seated under it. Each pillar represents one of the four goals of the Hindu life (Artha, Kama, Moksha and Dharma), as well as the four Vedas (Hinduism’s oldest sacred texts), and the four parents of the bride and groom, whose support and love is crucial to the success of the union. Mandaps come in all kinds of guises and it’s increasingly popular to create your own. Designs range from beautifully carved wooden pillars with intricate dome tops, to metallic and contemporary, to simple structures adorned with fresh flowers. Eastern Mandaps (www.easternmandaps.co.uk) specialises in eastern wedding décor and has a great selection of mandaps for sale and inspiration.

The presents

Unless you want to live in an entirely oriental-themed home, asking for eastern-themed presents could backfire. Instead, ask your guests to contribute towards a honeymoon in the east. Websites like www.senduspacking.com and www.buy-our-honeymoon.com allow you to create a wishlist of honeymoon experiences, such as a camel trek and stay in Jaisalmer, India, one of the largest desert forts in the world. Donations can range from next to nothing for a ride in a Thai tuk-tuk to hundreds of pounds for flights or luxury suites. Alternatively, you could ask for money. This is completely normal in South Asia, where it is considered particularly auspicious to receive sums ending in the number one. Instead of being on the receiving end of hundreds of rice steamers, ask for gifts of £1, £31, £101 and so on.

The stationery

To get the wedding theme off to a good start, choose eastern-influenced invitations. There are plenty of distinctive and luxurious designs available. You can also use a symbolic design, such as the colourful peacock feather. According to Rani, of Rani Deshpande Unique Creations (www.ranideshpande.com), peacocks are often featured in traditional Indian art. They represent many positive characteristics, including love and beauty. Her most popular design is the Empress invitation card, with its exotic peacock feather illustration. Rani has a number of themed designs to meet the whole range of wedding stationery requirements, including really cute boxes, pouches and favours. This is your first chance to set the tone of your wedding, so go for something individual that reflects your love of the orient and raises your guests’ expectations for a really unusual, remarkable wedding.

The favours

One of the best things about eastern-themed weddings is that somehow you can find a little something for everyone. It could be a mini teapot for your old, stick-in-the-mud aunt, an incense kit for your hippy cousin, a delicate fan for your girly sister or personalised chopsticks as a fun ice-breaker for guests sat with people they don’t know very well. Eastern culture has been seeping into the west for centuries, through the spice trade and tea leaves to curry houses and Bollywood, so you can give favours both exotic and familiar without straying far from your theme. Perhaps you should draw the line at opium though!

For inspiration, try looking closer to home. There are plenty of useful and unusual items in our everyday lives that stem from the east: Chinese-style fortune cookies; green tea selections; Korean hand-painted dipping sauce bowls; Japanese origami kits; or sugar-coated almonds in a sake cup.

The transport

There are many possible eastern ways to get to your wedding. Be a bit off-the-wall with a tuk-tuk or rickshaw decked out with flowers, garlands and images of deities, or adventurous with a camel (bear in mind the latter may not be the most graceful way to arrive!). Bicycles are abundant in Asia but ride one as old-looking as possible – none of these western 21-geared, dualsuspension, shock-absorbing, titanium-framed mountain bikes that are usually teamed with a day-glo jersey and helmet! Think old-school ladies’ frame complete with wicker basket, trimmed with blooms. A less labour-intensive option is an imported royal Ambassador car. This fabulously ornate car was designed in 1947 and is iconic on India’s roads. The way it’s traditionally done in Asia is far more elegant. From Tibet to Sri Lanka, grooms arrive at the wedding venue on a white wedding horse, decorated in red and gold. The bride and groom later leave the venue together in a white horse-drawn wedding carriage, upholstered with splendid red and gold velour.

The flowers

Bright colours and wafts of exotic aromas are vital to recreating the feel of the east here in the west. Bring the heady scent of Asia to your wedding with jasmine, sandalwood, rose, magnolia, orchid and frangipani. Flowers should be everywhere – framing doors, draped across the mandap (if you’re having one), entwined along chairs, the focus of every table and perhaps even on your guests. Instead of the traditional buttonhole, give your guests a garland of flowers to wear around their necks. You could distinguish between the bride and groom’s families with different coloured wreaths.

For that extra oriental finish, embellish the flower displays with colourful replicas of dragonflies and humming birds. The bride’s bouquet could also include these touches and bridesmaids could have delicate, fragrant jasmine woven into their hair.

The confetti

Bright, vivid and vibrant are key to adding an eastern edge to your wedding confetti. When you look back at your wedding photos you want to see a rainbow cascade around your newly-wed heads! Fresh flower petals are perfect. Rice (perfectly in keeping with the eastern theme, of course) also works well. For an extra splash of Asian glamour, spray paint your rice silver, gold, red or any colours that fit with your colour scheme. Just make sure it’s dry before it’s tossed over you!

The food

For a balance between east and west, try Fusion. Fusion melds together eastern and western ingredients and techniques, lending a new edge to an apparently familiar dish. You could also introduce eastern flavours whilst still accommodating western eating habits – if you or your guests are unfamiliar with chopsticks (and they can be tricky), you don’t want a roomful of leftovers, just because people are afraid they’ll drip soy sauce on their finery.

For something really unusual, try Korean. Your main dish is accompanied by a huge assortment of sides, such as sticky rice, kimchi (fermented cabbage with chilli) and chigay (spicy tofu and seafood soup). Bulgogi is a great dish to get people talking: thin strips of marinated beef are fried on a hot plate at the table, then placed in a fresh, crisp lettuce leaf along with some samjiang sauce (a spicy soya bean paste) and then consumed in one mouthful. Indian, Chinese and Japanese are also more fun than your local take-away would have you believe. Typically, Asian dishes are served all at the same time; there’s none of this faffing about with starters and sorbets. The overall effect is very tactile and community-based. Everything is shared – a lovely, symbolic gesture for a wedding. The food should be an experience, as well as a stomach-filler.

The drink

Don’t feel you have to skip the champagne just because it’s from France. Instead, give it an eastern twist by adding a splash of pomegranate juice. The fruit is native to central Asia and the northern Himalaya region of India, and tastes fantastic with bubbly. You could also try a Pomegranate- Ginger Champagne Cocktail, made with pomegranate juice, sugar, fresh ginger (which was first cultivated in China), orange juice, Cointreau and champagne. Singapore Slings are a must if your eastern theme has a slightly more colonial feel to it. Asian beers are becoming increasingly popular and consequently easier to buy over here. If your theme is Indian serve Cobra, Chinese serve Tsing-Tao, Korean themes should have Hite or OB (and don’t forget soju, a type of rice wine served with every meal), Japanese try Asahi or Sapporo (and, of course, sake rice wine) and Thai weddings need Singha. Tiger beer from Singapore also slips down a treat.

The honeymoon

A honeymoon in the east is the natural climax to your big day (apart from the events in the bridal suite, of course). Your precise destination could depend on the specific eastern influence you based your theme on. If your theme was India, then head straight to the Taj Mahal in Agra. This epic mausoleum is a monument to love, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century following the death of his favourite wife. Bejing is a fantastic destination for those under the Chinese influence. Great shopping, lively markets, exotic foods, and of course, the Great Wall of China, make an unforgettable trip. If Japan was your theme, the country itself offers a bit of everything for honeymooners: awesome cities, dramatic mountain scenery, sweeping beaches, mouth-watering cuisine and shopping. Those under a Thai influence are likely to want a beach retreat, but don’t go to the typical honeymoon resorts of Koh Samui and Phuket. Instead, spend a bit of time exploring Bangkok and then a couple of days trekking through the villages of the hill tribes around Chiang Mai before doing some serious sun worshipping on the silver, palm-fringed beaches of Koh Phi Phi.

Indonesia’s islands make for a dreamy, get-away-fromit- all retreat. Charter a yacht and spend time drifting between Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores. As you’re in one of the world’s top diving destinations, you could take a course in scuba diving. If that doesn’t tempt you, at least make sure you do a little snorkelling. And watch the sun set each night in a riot of colours behind Bali’s incredible volcanoes. Korea’s Jeju Island is a highly popular honeymoon spot, and it has some world-class resorts. You can climb Korea’s highest mountain, Mount Hallasan, and spot the ‘stone grandfather’ statues, made from black lava, that populate the island. Waterfalls and spectacular scenery complete this atmospheric trip.

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