In Need of a Wedding Gown?

The other day, I received a comment from Joyce – a bride-to-be in Mangalore. She ties the knot in a few months and is hunting high and low for Christian bridal gowns in Mangalore. If any of you people reading this are from Mangalore and know how to help her out, it would be highly appreciated.

An update: Buttercup, a reader, has kindly contributed a website that should be of help to brides looking for a bridal gown tailor in Mangalore. Visit Concetta Bridals to view the beautiful gowns up there.

I have never been to Mangalore, and know less about how weddings proceed out there. When I think about the difficulty in finding the right accessory, fabric, decor, caterer, etc. over here in Vasai and even in Mumbai, I wonder what Christian brides and grooms who are looking for all these things and more go about it in other parts of India.

I wore a bespoke gown for my wedding

Sure, we have the internet these days for everything, but some of the best wedding vendors out there are unlisted in wedding directories and barely a small fraction have websites of their own. This is very sad, as it would be of tremendous help to Christian couples looking for quick, affordable and quality solutions to their wedding if all these wedding vendors were listed somewhere on the Indian interwebs.

Christian brides in India almost always go for a bespoke bridal gown. Not many prefer vintage or second-hand gowns as they are viewed as hand-me-downs. A pity, since lace and fabric back then were divine as were some of the styles.

If you would not mind a second-hand or vintage wedding gown, I would suggest you try a place like David & Company in Dhobi Talao at Marine Lines, Mumbai. I remember a dreamy concoction of flowing pink lace fading into white I once came across out there. I wowed to wear a gown like that for my own wedding but yes, I eventually went for a simple number.

If you don’t find what you are looking for there, you could always ask them to direct you to other retailers who stock second-hand gowns. Do take a quick stroll down Crawford Market before you try elsewhere and pay close attention to the shops that line the start of the lane. They stock ready-made gowns and if you are lucky, you may find a seamstress who will agree to stitch one for you in a short time.

From what I hear, Inspirations, the bridal and floral accessories boutique at Amboli in Andheri West is another place that has recently started stocking ready-made gowns. The quality maintained at Inspirations is fantastic and along with a gown, you will find yourself stocking up on button-hole flowers, tiaras, corsages and some exquisite wedding jewelry.

Silver Pages, a Christian wedding information directory dedicated to listings of wedding-related services is another brilliant resource you can consult. I am not sure about their website, but I have been told that you can obtain a copy at Snehalaya at Mahim West in Mumbai.

If a trip to Mumbai is impossible, I would suggest you ask any women’s group in your local parish for pointers on the best bridal gown tailor in your area. Never doubt the solid information to be found in a group of women I say!

Failing that, I list down some excellent dressmakers abroad that you can check out if there is no other solution but to order a wedding gown online. These are Indian pocket-friendly, and I know of a few brides who have been happy with their gowns:

David’s Bridal

Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses

Once Wed

Be wary of purchasing a wedding gown from websites that offer wholesale wedding gowns or discount gowns as returns/alterations/shipping etc. could turn out to be a painful process. Unless you know of anyone who has made use of the service, it would be inadvisable to get a wedding gown via them.

Cross Renovations

As you saw from the earlier post, the cross in our garden has been around since the 80′s. That was when the grandparents and my parents decided to separate from the main family unit (consisting of nearly 80 people living in a single house) and build their own house.

It was a big decision and from the basic look of the cross, you can deduce that not only were tiles popular as grotto decor, but they also didn’t detract much from the true purpose of a cross – a religious symbol.

A handful of our neighbours who constructed the crosses in their gardens back then, used similar basic materials. Even grottoes depicting scenes like the Miracle at Fátima, Mother Vailankanni, the Pietà, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, the Infant Jesus, etc. were sparse in design and aesthetic value. They were simple and functional.

The 90′s and noughties saw a surge of Gulf and cruise ship money and suddenly you began finding houses in Vasai that boasted an adherence to primarily Western influences like faux tiled roofs and lush lawns. Crosses and grottoes underwent a similar transformation.

Today, you will find a diversity of crosses and grottoes in Vasai – right from specially commissioned wooden crucifixes to minimalistic stainless steel or decorative cement-work crosses. Some are beautiful and elegant while some merely frivolous and mildly grotesque.

Whatever these new trends may mean, there is a definite need for breaking out of the old ways and ideas while not forgetting the age-old traditions. This may very well be the new Vasaikar.

Ruminations aside, the cross in our garden is due for a renovation and simply thinking about all the new-fangled cross designs that abound gardens in Vasai these days is enough to confuse the true need for a cross with the need to have a cross that is easy on the eye.

A cross, before anything else, is a symbol of torture and after that, a symbol of one of the greatest beliefs of Christianity – redemption from sin.

I feel people really need to think hard about these before constructing or fashioning a cross for the primary and only use as a medium of worship. Hopefully, our garden can sport a cross like this one.