What India’s top bridal stylists wore when they were the bride

What ties together three of India’s most popular bridal stylists? Besides the fact that they dress couples from Manhattan to Mumbai, each of them first stepped into the world of wedding styling after walking down the aisle themselves—drawing inspiration from their personal journeys as brides. We take a peek into their wedding albums and decode the looks they said ‘I do’ in.

Tanya Vohra: The classic couture bride

The year was 2020, and the bride—then a fashion editor at a leading men’s magazine—had a clear vision for her wedding day look. “I’ve always believed in investing in couture, as it’s one-of-a-kind and meant to last. My brief was simple: every outfit needed to stand the test of time,” says bridal stylist Tanya Vohra, who now lives between Singapore and Mumbai. She worked directly with some of India’s top couturiers to bring this vision to life. “It was during this journey that I realised not every bride or groom has this kind of access,” she says—a realisation that eventually led to the launch of her wedding styling consultancy, Clad.

For the Anand Karaj at the gurdwara, Vohra chose a Tarun Tahiliani chikankari anarkali with a soft tulle scalloped veil, paired with her mother’s uncut diamond and ruby jewellery. For the pheras, Anamika Khanna created a custom blush-pink lehenga intricately embroidered with French knots, zardozi, and pearls, which she styled with ruby and polki jewellery by Raj Mahtani. Her mehendi look was a spearmint brocade lehenga by Kshitij Jalori with a rose-pink jaal dupatta in real zari, accessorised with jewels from Roopa Vohra.

For her sangeet, she still wanted to wear a lehenga—but with a twist. Enter couturier and close friend Gaurav Gupta. “GG wanted the silhouette to feel distinct. He sketched and sampled multiple options before we landed on an ivory and blush-pink waterfall lehenga with an asymmetric layered skirt that cinched beautifully at the waist. It was very personal and special,” she recalls.

Five years later, Vohra re-wore every one of these outfits for her brother’s wedding, styled in fresh new ways—bringing her vision of timeless appeal full circle.

Nisha Kundnani: The bride who broke all the rules

Despite being a stylist, Nisha Kundnani didn’t want to style herself for her wedding. Back in 2012, the founder of Bridelan was a celebrity stylist dressing the likes of Anushka Sharma and Aamir Khan. For her own big day, she turned to the expertise of Sabyasachi Mukherjee, wearing his creations for all her wedding events.

“I was mentored by Sabyasachi early in my career and wanted to wear a textile lehenga from him for my wedding,” says Kundnani. Not only did Mukherjee design this outfit (and two more), but he also styled the bride for her festivities—recommending everything from the venue to the wedding invite. “I had the best stylist in India showing me the way. How could I not listen to Sabyasachi?” she reminisces.

For her civil court wedding, Kundnani wore a maroon khadi Sabyasachi sari with Victorian diamond earrings from Amrapali—a gift from her husband. “We decided not to exchange rings and invest in the earrings instead,” she reveals.

For the wedding brunch and high tea, she wore a multi-panel silk, cotton and khadi lehenga (by Sabyasachi, of course), with silver antique earrings from Silver Streak. “My mother found it hard to digest my artsy look and slipped on very Sindhi diamond solitaire bangles on my wrists, which I tried to hide in all the photos,” laughs Kundnani—but today, she considers them sentimental heirlooms. For her reception, she defied the taboo around Hindu brides wearing black, choosing a lehenga in the hue paired with an antique gold and polki necklace.

While every bride is attached to her wedding wardrobe, Kundnani says her connection ran deeper: her looks were “of a certain era which went on to define the Sabyasachi aesthetic that is so iconic today.” And as a connoisseur of textiles, that made them especially meaningful.

Aastha Sharma: The dance-the-night-away bride

No surprises here: fashion and bridal stylist Aastha Sharma found her dream wedding lehenga on the job, while attending Anita Dongre’s bridal couture show in 2016. “I always knew I wanted to wear a sunset orange lehenga for my wedding. Serendipitously, that turned out to be the main palette of Anita’s collection,” says Sharma, who then met with Dongre to select the look and jewellery for her wedding, just four months away.

The lightweight lehenga, embroidered with delicate gota patti, allowed the bride to move freely—a non-negotiable in all her looks. Fuss-free and functional was her only brief. To bring it to life, she turned to her inner circle of designer friends, planning with fellow stylist Mohit Rai, with whom she now styles brides.

For the sundowner mehendi-sangeet by the beach in Mumbai, Sharma wore a custom orange flared trouser-and-top set with a detachable trail by her friend Nikhil Thampi. For the haldi the next morning, she chose kaleeras by Mrinalini Chandra—“long before they became the rage they are today,” she laughs.

For her reception and after-party, Sharma met with Sabyasachi Mukherjee to select a maroon embroidered jacket-and-top set featuring his signature tonal detailing. “I even wore sneakers under my lehengas—which wasn’t as common a decade ago,” she recalls. Sharma has since re-worn every one of her bridal outfits—a reflection of her core style philosophy: timeless over trendy, every single time.