I had such a great time walking around Southall and looking at bridal outfits. I forgot my camera (doh!) and my mobile phone is on a fritz, so I didn't take pictures. But there is a lot of gorgeousness going on for Indian brides.

I saw one young woman in her early 20s trying on a beautiful orange lehenga choli with LOTS of beadwork. And that's one of the potential issues with these dresses....they are frickin' heavy! Here's a few examples of things that I did see...or at least something similar:

And as you can see, these types of outfits are quite sexy! I found one online that has less beadwork, thus lighter, though I'd have to have the neck-part removed (wouldn't look so good in my opinion - you can see the full picture by clicking on the smaller one)...I may bring this pic to one of the places in Southall and see if they could make something similar...but only at a certain price.

And that's one thing I definitely was in awe about. Sticker shock is not the word. These gorgeous pieces of work were amazingly expensive. I do understand it, but I'm not willing to pay it. For a dress I'll truly wear only once, I can see paying over £1000...and in some cases, MUCH MORE. So we'll see. I know it's supposed to be a special day...but I want to also be practical.