Beautiful Bridal looks for your Islamic wedding (Nikkah) ceremony

Congratulations to the Muslim fraternity for completing the month-long fast during Ramadhan. The sacrifices and generosity during this month is a testament of devotion to Allah. Now that the fasting period is complete, many of you will be thinking about making those vows and doing your nuptials. 

Islamic wedding bridal attire usually consists of a full-body dress with a head covering akin to Hijab. Dresses are usually a work of art combining tradition with style, elegance with modesty and glamour with subtlety.  

If you are looking for a memorable bridal look for your wedding day in line with the Islamic culture, here are sixteen ideas to consider.

1. Dark top and skirt

A dark colored top with a flared skirt designed from Persian tradition. An accompanying veil embroidered with light material to show off the top. The top is usually made of rich material like thick velvet, velour or silk.

2. One piece dress with matching veil 

This richly embroidered white cotton dress with matching wedding veil is popular with modern Muslim brides mostly because it combines subtlety and style. The bride here added a ribbon at the midriff and matched it with a bouquet of white roses.

3. Flawless white lace layered wedding dress 

Fatuma Asha, featured here, dressed for her Nikkah in a wholly white laced dress with several layers. Designed as an A-line, the flares at the bottom give it an almost ballroom feeling. She paired it with a matching veil and simple jewelry. 

4. Richly ornamented dress with matching jewelry

This mostly Pakistani and Indian Nikkah bridal wear fuses traditional Indian wear with a rich variety of artistic symbols, designs and gemstones to create a rich fabric that accentuates the bride’s look and make up. It’s then matched with rich jewelry and a light veil.

5. Give African tradition an Islamic touch

Nikkah ceremonies usually combine with the local traditional functions like ‘Kwanjula’ or ‘Kuhingira.’ If you don’t want to keep changing from one wedding attire to another, then you could simply consider adding a veil to your traditional gomesi and you are good to go. Make sure the veil accentuates your chosen dress. A little tattooing further improves the look.

6. Flared and Pleated Dress

A pleated dress with flared arms and accompanying full headscarf tied up in a band gives a very chic look. If you want to go simple with your wedding dress code, this is the attire for you. Pick an equally chic wedding pair of shoes and you will be the talk of town.

7. Skip the white dress

White wedding gowns have been associated with purity but brides are slowly moving away from them. Instead, brides choose their gown colours based on tastes and moods. You could adopt rich crimson or other dark colours to match either your skin colour or your taste preferences.   

8. Go for a royal multi-layered look

For those looking to move from the white gown,this hand-crafted multi-layered wedding outfit consists of a peplum jacket and corset paired with a lehenga skirt. A velvet shawl and Persian jewelry complete the minakari-style look as accessories. You wouldn’t go wrong with this royal look. 

9. Light and short veil

Though quite rare for Islamic weddings, this kind of veil is used by Muslim brides as part of the changing dress because it can match any kind of gown and any kind of hairstyle without taking so much attention from the bride.

10. White fit and flare with simple designs

You may also opt for a subtle look with this fit and flare anarkali-style white wedding dress. Very intricate zardozi work in the palest shade of gold is combined with rose gold net embellished dupatta acts as accessory.

11. Stylish mermaid wedding dress with an embroidered cloak

To get (especially the social media) fashion in-laws talking, you could opt to wear a richly embroidered cloak with a long train over a thin-strapped wedding dress like Melissa’s here or a strapless dress. Accentuate that with simple jewelry and a smile, you will have yourself and photographers elated.   

12. Simple sheath dress with pale gold embellishments

The white dress is always a good bet for designers to recreate. This particular long-sleeved wedding dress combines glittering pale-gold embellishments and jewelry into a long sheath design with an equally embellished headband and light wedding train connected to the waistline.   

13. Ballroom gown

Sahla Mutoni, wife to Ali Bukeni (aka Nubian Lee) wore this heavily embellished gorgeous ballroom wedding gown for her nuptials in 2021. She accentuated it with a traditional Muslim headband and a little tattooing to complete what was a glamorous wedding look.

14. Put some silk on 

If you want to make a fashion statement, you cannot go wrong with a silk wedding gown. This A-line silk dress combines a one-piece off-white silhouette with a buttoned zipline running from the neck to the bottom of the dress. The arms too have buttons. Now, that’s how to make a statement. 

15. Add a little glitter with gold

Are you looking to stand out? Then theme your entire function in gold. Your own dresscode and that of you maids can be embellished with gold together with all the accessories. It does not matter the colours you choose, simply add some gold to them and it will all glitter!

16. Add a little detail to the embroidery

The richly embroidered white gown is itself a marvel. The light veil with simple silver jewelry simply accentuates the look. Most captivating however is the little shiny detail embedded in the belt. 

I am sure you now have an idea of what to wear for your Nikkah wedding ceremony. If you are looking to create a fully Arabian themed wedding, reach out to us at planner@nyomplanet.com for more inquiries or any other wedding planning needs. We would love to help.

Eid Mubarak to you all our Muslim community!