How a new generation of brides is building its heirlooms

What does the modern Indian bride want? It’s a (frequently exasperated) question many ask planners, photographers, decorators, brides’ mothers and, most of all, brides themselves. The truth is: it is a bold new era for the Indian wedding and, by extension, it’s a wide playing field for the Indian bride. As Vogue India speaks with women who are on the verge of tying the knot, round the year, we have lately found overwhelming emphasis on finding balance—between the traditional and the contemporary, the family and the individual, the past and the present.

There is perhaps nothing that better crystallises this desire, this ethos, this spirit than the heirloom: the pieces of jewellery, the saris, those well-preserved objects that defy the order of time and live on, across generations, embalmed in love and memory. Three brides tell us how they interpret the idea of heirlooms, as well as weddings, to their own unique, individual
tastes and style.

Aishwarya Ganesh, marketing professional, 29, Paris

Aishwarya: Corset, trenchcoat, BODEMENTS. Sari, PATOLA BY NIRMAL SALVI. Jewellery, TYAANI JEWELLERY. Shoes, FIZZY GOBLET

Love story: “We met back in 2014 during a college festival in Symbiosis (Pune). As friends and dancers, we were inseparable. Somewhere between the rehearsals and the spotlight, we realised we wanted more from each other. We’ve been dancing through life together ever since.”

An heirloom is: “About memory more than anything else. It’s the way an object can instantly bring someone close, even across time.”

I’m building my heirloom collection: “By holding onto objects that truly mean something: the sari my mom wore to a special celebration, the handwritten recipe she cooks every time my brother and I visit home, the nose piercing my grandmother wore since she was young.”