Falguni and Shane Peacock’s lehengas in ivory and pristine white are detailed with floral motifs

The jetset, summer bride is shrugging off hot crimson and magenta and going for an ethereal white look instead. Far from being a strict no-no, the stark colour is being embraced by adventurous brides who are throwing convention to the winds. Studded with semi-precious stones or embroidered with silk, styled as heritage pieces or chic numbers for destination weddings, these ensembles are perfect for brides who want to step off the beaten track in style.

White weddings — or shades of it — are becoming especially popular with brides who are heading off to some unbelievably picturesque corner of the world for a destination wedding.

When designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla first introduced bridal lehengas in chikankari, they broke two cardinal rules in one go. Not only were their lehengas a pristine white, but also had white-on-white thread work. However, their white bridal ensembles have been selling briskly from the word go.

Jaya Rathore’s net sari features tone-on-tone shadow work and Swarovski crystals Make-up & Hair: Bani Chowdhury; Model: Bindu Chowdhury Pix by Rashbehari Das

“Earlier, people couldn’t think of buying a lehenga which wasn’t red, orange or pink. Now pastel shades and even white are doing the rounds,” says Calcutta-based designer Ekta Jaipuria of Ekru. Agrees designer Jaya Rathore: “A bride dressed in white is bound to stand out.”

For resort weddings, brides might consider white or cream lehengas in light fabrics like net or chiffon, says designer Anita Dongre. Dongre has teamed her lehengas with backless cholis, while her georgette and chiffon saris with delicate hand-embroidery and gota (gold ribbon) work have heavily embellished borders and pallus. Her ensembles are priced between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1 lakh.

Embellished with gold thread work and sequins, Ritu Kumar’s ensembles are perfect for morning weddings; (below) Anita Dongre’s chic lehengas are teamed with low-cut cholis

Abhishek Dutta has given Western cuts to his latest bridal collection that’s replete with whites and creams (sometimes with dashes of colour). There are fuss-free pre-stitched saris with the upper halves zipped to fishtail skirts and lehengas that either trail like gowns or are voluminous and bouncy and paired with corset-blouses. “White is a preferred colour for beach weddings,” says Dutta, who’s designed outfits for brides who’ve tied the knot in Goa, Langkawi and Thailand. His collection starts at Rs 50,000.

Meanwhile, for their ivory and white bridal lehengas, Falguni and Shane Peacock have gone for curve-flattering silhouettes like fishtail cuts, as well as kalidar (with numerous panels) and flared lehengas.

Jaya Rathore, who designs flowy numbers with shadow work embroidery, kardanas (tiny cylindrical beads) and Swarovski highlights, adds layers to her bridal outfits. So, a white wedding lehenga is teamed with a sleeved corset and two dupattas (one for each shoulder) as well as a trailing, transparent veil to give the bride an ethereal look. The prices for her ensembles are on request.

On the other hand, Ritu Kumar likes to break the severity of white with gold or silver. While her previous collections featured fishtail cuts, Kumar describes the silhouettes of her new lehengas as “traditional, classic and clean.”

“A white or off-white outfit with just a dash of colour does very well,” says designer Mona Lamba, who along with Pali Sachdev, adds colour to white bridal ensembles using precious and semi-precious stones like rubies, emeralds and turquoise. One Monapali lehenga was even studded with gold coins provided by the bride’s family.

While many of their lehengas are flared, they also design some that end slightly above the ankle to reveal the bride’s jewelled feet. For their latest collection, they’ve used keem khap, a weave specially developed in Uttar Pradesh, in which an off-white base has an intricate weave in gold or silver and coloured meenakari motifs.

A white sari from Monapali gets a dash of colour with a turquoise-studded cropped jacket

Summer weddings are not just being dominated by white but a host of lightweight fabrics with embellishments to match. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla’s line of lehengas, saris, anarkalis and shararas (flowing divided skirts) come in georgette, silk, Benarasi net, Kerala cotton and muslin. The embellishments range from subtle silk thread embroidery to Swarovski crystals.

Working on net, georgette and silk for their lehengas, the Peacocks have used zardozi and mirrorwork embroidery but switch to Swarovskis for the reception.

With pure silk as the base, Ritu Kumar’s ensembles are usually embellished with dori work (raised-thread work) and fine gold sequins, which makes them ideal for morning weddings. Her latest collection also features white-on-white embroidery, gota work and gold thread work with mirrors.

Dongre has used hand-woven brocade from Benaras in lehengas. Banarasi silk, chanderi silk and georgette feature in Ekru’s bridal lehengas with antique gold zardozi, pearl-studded lace and sequins. “The idea is to achieve a heritage look,” says Ekru designer Ruchira Kandhari. Their white bridal ensembles start at Rs 40,000.

Some designers add a dash of colour to their collections. While the Peacocks have gone with hints of hues like peach and pink on white net and georgette saris, cholis and borders in contrasting colours add a dash of drama to Ekru and Dutta’s collections.

So, if you’ve been fantasising about a certain white Sarah Burton gown but need to tie the knot in an Indian ensemble, combine the unconventional colour with a traditional silhouette to create your dream outfit for D-Day.