If you are married or have witnessed a Punjabi Indian wedding, you must have seen the bride happily flaunting her chooda and striking some chic poses with it too. A bridal chooda is basically a set of bangles that are particularly worn by the Indian bride on the day of her wedding. It is usually the maternal uncles of the bride who gift it to her during her Haldi ceremony. In most likelihood, the bride is expected to wear it for a year of her marriage or at least a few months. It is actually a mark of denoting the fact that she is a newly married bride. If you are someone who is about to get married or have a sister or best friend tying the knot soon, we suggest the most stunning chooda designs that are currently ‘in vogue with the brides.
Why Do Brides in India Wear a Chooda at Their Wedding?
It is believed that wearing a chooda brings good fortune to the couple and keeps their married life prospering and blooming. It maintains love and harmony between couples and blesses them with all the good things in life. Wearing a chooda is typically a tradition of the Punjabi and Sikh families. It is considered inauspicious for a bride to see her chooda before she gets married. So while the maternal uncles are making her wear the chooda on the morning of the wedding day, she is supposed to close her eyes or look away. The chooda is then covered with a white or pink piece of cloth so that the bride cannot see it. It is only once she is completely dressed in her bridal attire that the chooda is unveiled to her.
Chooda designs were traditionally carved out in ivory with inlay work, but these days most of the chooda bangles are in plastic. The ivory ones are definitely expensive on the pocket and cost a real bomb. The plastic chooda designs are reasonable to afford.
Though earlier brides used to wear their chooda for a complete one year, these days, owing to fast lives and a multitude of tasks in hand, brides usually put off their chooda in 40 days or around 3 months. That is a practical thing to do as most of the chooda designs are heavy and contain a lot of bangles. They might pose a hindrance in their daily life and activities for a lot of brides.
8 Stylish Chooda Designs for Brides Getting Married Soon
Though red and maroon have been the traditional colours of a chooda design, brides these days are open to a lot of experimenting. They are breaking the norms and nothing stays stereotypical anymore. As per the traditions, a chooda consists of 21 bangles. But subject to personal liking these days, brides are opting for a more minimalist version of 7, 9 or 11 bangles in each hand.
For our super stunning brides-to-be, we are decoding some of the latest trends in chooda designs that you can bookmark for yourself and refer to once you go out shopping.
1. The traditional red/ maroon chooda design
This is the design that most Punjabi brides usually opt for. It consists of 21 bangles on each hand. There are thick ivory or off-white bangles worn at the beginning and end of it with a couple of bangles in the centre. The size of the bangles increases with the circumference of the arm. Though this looks gorgeous on the wedding day, it is a little difficult to wear it for a complete year after the wedding. But then, weddings are a grand affair and brides just love to flaunt this sign of their marital bliss.
2. The minimal chooda design
This chooda design finds favour with urban brides who are working and like to be practical and hassle-free with their choices. Worn in red or maroon colours, this chooda has 9 to 15 bangles in one hand. There are no heavily embellished bangles at the end or in between. The whole set is lightweight and doesn’t put too much pressure on the arms. This chooda design looks beautiful and also doesn’t give a heavy very heavy visual to the eye. You sure are a bride, but then comfort and ease also matter at the end of the day.
3. The customized chooda design
We love this chooda design for the sheer amount of creativity that has been amalgamated with tradition in this one. Spelling out that ‘shubh vivah’ in Hindi is quite an eye-catchy adornment there. The whole chooda set looks gorgeous, to say the least. Wearing this chooda is bound to get you a whole load of compliments, even from strangers. Of course for practical reasons, one may consider putting away the centerpiece a few days after the wedding. But if you like to make a statement with your fashion choices, this is the chooda design to go for.
4. Chooda design with pearls
Plain red plastic bangles can sound monotonous to a lot of brides. This chooda is all things loud and blingy. With an interesting combination of pearls, stones and kundan, this chooda is again a statement piece. If you have lean arms and do not mind wearing something heavy, this chooda design is surely a show-stealer. A few days post the wedding, one may consider putting away the heavier, more embellished bangles.
5. Chooda design in baby pink colour
This is the hottest trending chooda design of the current wedding season. People have seen the maroon chooda for way too long and brides are always looking for something unique and ‘never-done-before’ for their wedding looks. Light or neutral colours are very soothing to the eyes. So, breaking the monotony of the red or maroon chooda, brides these days are opting for baby pink, pale pink, off-white, ivory and muted golden chooda colours as well. These can be worn for an extended period of time and keeps your look really lightweight for the eyes. If you are the ‘trend-setter’ kind of bride, do opt for this chooda and have strangers staring at your chooda post-wedding, only to draw some inspiration!
6. Chooda design with shells
This style stands to be our personal favourite at LadyInRoseGold. Not all brides have to stick to the ‘done-to-death’ traditional stereotypes all the time. Some are born to break the rules. Add your quirkiness and personal style even to your chooda design. The shells give out a very boho vibe. Once you are done wearing all your wedding garments, suits and lehengas, these chooda bangles are going to look really chic with your casual attires. We are sure your girlfriends would drool over them and the style would become a trend sooner than you would know.
7. Chooda design with the hangings
If you are someone who would not mind wearing an elaborate chooda design and flaunting your marital status all over the place, this chooda design is definitely your vibe. It looks stunning with all the hangings and embellishments. Even the plain bangles have some or the other design on them. The whole design has a lot of mixed bangles in maroon and gold in it and looks very bridal and festive to say. With this chooda, we assure you, you would feel like a newly-wed bride even months into your marriage. One look at this chooda and you would feel like getting all decked up in your wedding finery. We also love the fact, that instead of thick ivory bangles at the end, this chooda does the closing with red bangles. It kind of lends another stylish angle to the whole look.
8. Chooda design in glittering stones
Not all brides like their chooda bangles to be plain red or maroon. The colour of the plastic definitely wears out with time. Some brides like to keep it all shimmering and jazzy with stones and diamonds. Though this chooda can be quite a glance stealer, the pale pink bangles in between keep the whole shine a little muted. For brides, who are too done with the maroon chooda and do not mind carrying the weight of the stones on their arms, this is the chooda to go for.
Points to Bear in Mind While Choosing Your Chooda Design
Before you brief your maternal uncles on the chooda you wish to wear, here are a few points you must definitely make a note of:
– Do not just be fascinated with the style and jazz of the chooda design. The material used is equally important. Even if they are plastic bangles, make sure that they are of superlative quality. Anything low quality is only going to rashes and skin irritations when you would have to wear the chooda for the long term. Also, the stones used on the bangles need to be stuck properly and rightly placed. They should not come off within a few days of getting married. You would not want to roam around with those unsightly empty spaces in your chooda design.
– The size of the chooda is of paramount importance. It should neither be too tight nor too loose. It should fit just right leaving you with some space to move it a bit. When you wear the chooda for months, you might want to push it up and down to let your skin breathe a little. Also, ensure to leave room for a bracelet or any gold or diamond bangles that you might want to wear in front of the chooda.
-If you are not someone who can bear the tediousness of carrying a long and heavy chooda, wear a lighter version. It just looks elegant and graceful. And also bear in mind ‘Comfort and practicality over everything else’.
We take pride in the way our Indian brides dress up and chooda forms an important element from both the traditional value as well as aesthetic reasons. Just like the mangal sutra and vermilion, this too is part of the identity of a married woman and you would get a serene sense of happiness flaunting your chooda.
Love,
Team LadyInRoseGold
