At every Indian wedding, and especially in cities where both dress traditions live side by side, somebody asks: ethnic or Western? The groom asks it, the guests ask it, and often the hosts ask it on someone else's behalf. There isn't one answer. It depends on the ceremony, on the wearer, on the venue, and sometimes on what two sets of parents are quietly expecting. Here's how we'd think it through with you.
For the groom: Indian or Western?
For most Indian grooms at most Indian ceremonies, ethnic dress is the right answer: a sherwani, an achkan or a Jodhpuri suit. The ceremony comes out of Indian tradition and the groom's clothes are its centrepiece, which is a lot to ask of a garment. A Western suit at a traditional Indian ceremony tends to read as hesitancy, as though the groom hadn't quite committed to the day he's standing in.
The exceptions are real, though. At an Indian Christian wedding following a Western Christian format, a morning suit or a well-cut dark suit is entirely correct and may fit the ceremony better than a sherwani would. At a registry marriage, Western formal dress is the obvious choice. At a destination wedding abroad, a good suit reads correctly in the local setting while Indian touches, a pocket square in sari cloth, a bandhgala for the reception, keep the identity intact.
For the wedding guest: a practical guide
Guests have far more room than grooms. Unless the invitation says otherwise, Indian ethnic dress and Western formal dress are both usually fine. Let the ceremony guide you: a traditional Hindu wedding is better served by Indian dress on its guests, while a Western-format reception is perfectly happy with a suit. Then factor in the hosts' regional tradition and what you're comfortable being photographed in all evening.
If you can't decide, choose Indian. Indian dress at an Indian wedding is never wrong, whereas a suit at a very traditional ceremony can look disconnected from what's going on. And at a mixed reception, a fine Western suit or a Jodhpuri, which reads as a suit from across the room and as Indian up close, will keep you correctly dressed in either direction.