Dressing a bride in imitation jewellery, piece by piece

A South Indian bride wears more jewellery for four hours than most women wear in a year, and most of it is never worn again. That is the case for imitation: the thali and perhaps one haram in gold, and everything else in finishes that look right in the photographs, cost a tenth as much, and can be lent to a cousin without anyone losing sleep. This is how we suggest assembling it.

Start with the long haram

The long haram (a kasu mala or a manga malai) sets the register of the whole set: temple, antique or bright gold. Choose it first and match everything else to its finish; an antique haram beside a bright-gold choker looks like two different weddings. Harams are also the pieces that photograph, so this is where to spend.

Then the choker and the earrings

A kemp choker or a guttapusalu sits above the haram and is seen in every close-up. Jhumkas should be chosen with the hairstyle in mind: a heavy jhumka needs a maatal chain to the hair to carry its weight through a four-hour ceremony, and imitation jhumkas, being brass, are heavier than they look.

The pieces for the hair and the waist

The nethi chutti on the parting, the jadai billai down the plait, and the oddiyanam at the waist are what make a bridal look complete rather than merely rich. They are worn once; buy them in imitation without a second thought, and order the jadai early, since it is often made to order.

Matching the set

• One finish across the set: antique with antique, matte with matte. Mixing reads as borrowed.
• One stone colour story: red kemp with green accents is the classic; all-red is bolder; AD white suits the reception, not the muhurtham.
• Buy the haram, choker and jhumkas as a matched set where you can, and pick the hair and waist pieces to the same finish.
• Keep the receipt photographs: the pieces will be lent, and you will want to remember what came back.

Timelines that work

In-stock pieces reach you in a week; pre-book pieces take eight to ten working days to make before that. Order the set six weeks out, try everything on with the blouse once, and send back any size that is wrong while there is time for the exchange.