What to Wear to a Haldi Ceremony: A Guide for Guests, Brides and Grooms

Short answer: wear something bright, light and easy to move in, that you are happy to see covered in turmeric. Yellow, orange and marigold are the classic colours, flat shoes are the safe choice, and floral jewellery replaces gold. Here is the detail for guests, brides and grooms. This is a companion to our guide on how to plan a haldi ceremony.

What should guests wear to a haldi?

• Colours. Yellow, mustard, marigold and orange are the most common. Pink, green, peach and mint work too. Pick a shade a little different from the bride's.
• Prints over solids. Prints hide turmeric splashes better than plain fabric.
• Women: an anarkali, sharara or palazzo suit, a light lehenga or saree, a kaftan, or a co-ord set.
• Men: a cotton or linen kurta pyjama in yellow, cream or a pastel. A Nehru jacket can come off as the day warms up.
• Guests new to Indian weddings do not need full traditional dress. A yellow dress, a maxi dress or a light suit is fine.
• What to avoid: black, deep maroon or red, heavy silk, velvet and brocade, and anything that outshines the couple.

Can you wear white to a haldi?

Opinions differ. Turmeric shows most on white and is hard to remove. White with yellow accents can work, and ivory has become a bridal trend. Our advice: if you would mind losing it, do not wear it.

What does the bride wear?

• Traditionally yellow, sometimes orange or green: a simple saree, salwar kameez or lehenga in light cotton, silk or chiffon.
• Modern options include sharara or gharara sets, pre-draped sarees, co-ords, cape sets and dhoti-style outfits.
• Practical touches. A sleeveless blouse makes it easier to apply paste to the arms. Save heavy Kanjeevaram and Banarasi silks for later events.
• Not every bride wears yellow. Some choose hot pink, emerald or other jewel tones, or softer pastel green, peach and ivory. One couple at a pool haldi in Phuket wore sage green.

What does the groom wear?

• Traditionally a plain kurta pyjama in white, cream or yellow, sometimes with a dhoti, and very few accessories.
• Dressier options range from a yellow kurta with a Nehru jacket to a Pathani suit. A turban is optional.

Fabrics, shoes, jewellery and hair

• Fabrics for heat. For an outdoor daytime haldi, choose light fabrics such as georgette, chiffon or tissue. Pre-draped sarees and palazzos are easiest to move in.
• Which fabric resists stains? Opinions differ: some find turmeric washes out of cotton more easily than synthetics, others find georgette resists staining better than cotton.
• Shoes. Juttis, mojaris, kolhapuris or flat sandals. Skip heels on grass and leather dress shoes.
• Jewellery. Leave heavy gold and diamonds at home. Floral jewellery is the haldi tradition: a necklace, earrings, a maang tikka for the forehead, a haathphool for the hand, and bracelets.
• Fresh, dried or artificial flowers. Fresh marigold, jasmine and rose jewellery looks best but wilts in heat. Dried or artificial pieces last longer and cost less. Faux floral sets start at about $11 in the US.
• Hair. Braids or a low bun keep hair out of the paste, and a gajra, a strand of flowers, around the bun is a classic touch. Open hair is riskier.
• For the bride's skin and nails. A little petroleum jelly on the nails helps, and brief the makeup artist ahead of time.

What to wear to a pool haldi

Our older daughter's haldi was a pool event, and the outfits need more thought than usual.

• Choose a kaftan or a light dress that can get wet, in chiffon or georgette, which dry quickly.
• Wear flat, grippy shoes around the pool.
• Leave precious jewellery in the room.
• Bring a change of clothes and a towel. Anyone who has been to a pool haldi will tell you to.

Regional haldi outfits

• Bengali gaye holud. The bride often wears a yellow saree with a red border and jasmine and marigold jewellery. The groom wears a white or yellow kurta and dhoti.
• South Indian mangala snanam. The bride wears an older cotton saree in yellow, red or green, and the groom a white veshti. Both change into silk after the ritual bath.
• Kerala. Some brides wear a white kasavu saree with a gold border.
• Maharashtrian weddings. The couple wears fresh flower jewellery.

What to put on the invitation

Tell guests what to expect, two to three weeks ahead, in a line on the invitation or the wedding website. Keep it short and friendly: bright, festive and comfortable, ideally yellow or orange, Indian dress optional, and nothing you would mind getting turmeric on.

If turmeric gets on your clothes

• Act fast. Shake or scrape off any dry powder or paste first.
• Work in dish soap on the dry stain, leave it for about five minutes, rinse, and repeat.
• Keep it out of the dryer until the stain is gone. Heat sets turmeric.
• Sunlight fades the stain, but it can fade the fabric's colour too.
• Bleach is for whites only, and even then it is a last resort.
• Send silk to a dry cleaner.
• Water temperature: usually cold, though the warmest water the label allows can also work. Check the care label first.
• If it is still visible after two rounds, it may not come out.

Where DoDeewane fits

We make DoDeewane, a planning tool for multi-day Indian weddings. Outfits are one of the most-asked questions at any multi-day wedding: who wears what to which function, in which colour, in which size, and what still needs buying.

• Outfits planned per function. What each person wears to the haldi, the mehndi, the sangeet and the wedding, with their sizes, in one place.
• The shopping list for the trip. Everything still to buy or alter, including the India shopping trip.
• Guests see their own events. Each guest sees the functions they are invited to, so the haldi details reach the right people.

More on the haldi

• How to plan a haldi ceremony
• Haldi decoration ideas
• The printable haldi checklist

Frequently asked questions