A Tamil Muslim wedding in Chennai has two clearly different halves. The nikah, with its own expectations of modesty and white cloth, and the reception, which is as festive and as colourful as any wedding in the city. Grooms who plan for both turn up dressed correctly twice. Grooms who plan for one usually end up borrowing something for the other on the morning. This guide covers what men wear at each stage, for the groom and for everyone else in the hall.
The nikah: what the groom wears on the day
The nikah calls for modest, clean, respectful dress, and white or off-white does most of the work. The Tamil Muslim groom is usually in a white or cream kurta with matching salwar or churidar. A Pathani suit in fine white cotton is just as traditional and considerably more comfortable in Chennai heat. Some grooms add an embroidered taqiyah and a white or cream sherwani over the kurta for a little more formality.
Male guests at the nikah should stay in white or off-white, particularly if the ceremony is at a mosque. A clean, well-pressed white kurta has never been the wrong answer. Some families are relaxed about stronger colours; if you don't know the family well, white or cream keeps you safe without any conversation.
The Tamil Muslim reception: colour, silk and celebration
Tamil Muslim receptions in Chennai are generous, well-fed, several-hundred-guest events, and the dress follows suit. The palette opens right up: rich silks, brocades, embroidered kurtas in jewel tones and warm festive colours. The groom often builds on the nikah outfit rather than abandoning it, adding an embroidered ivory or cream sherwani over the white, or moving to a heavier silk kurta-churidar with a brocade bandi over it.
Guests can wear the full range of Indian formal dress. White is less common at the reception, partly because it belongs to the nikah and partly to leave the groom his own palette, but nobody will object to it. Gold, deep green and rich burgundy sit particularly well with the mood of the evening and photograph beautifully under hall lighting. If you are travelling in and can only pack one thing, make it a good silk kurta with a bandi over it. It carries the reception comfortably and it packs flat.