Stunning, Jaw-Dropping South Indian Bridal Accessories for the Ultimate Bridal Look (2020)!

Adorning wedding jewelry occupies a place of pride in any girl's wedding festivities. Classical South Indian pieces of jewelry are a perfect complement to colourful grand silk sarees and traditional festivities. The jewelry ranges from kamarbands or ottiyanams, a piece of traditional jewellery worn around one’s waist to bajuband or vanky, a piece worn on the hands. The traditional south Indian wedding comprises a range of functions starting from the engagement, Mehendi, Haldi ceremony, wedding, and post-wedding festivities. As per the ceremony, the bride gets to choose her attire and pair it with the jewelry of their choice. South India consists of four states and every state is unique in its tradition based on its cultural background. 

In this article, we will take you through the various types of jewelry that are famous in traditional South Indian weddings that can be worn from the hair to the toes. Here is a list of some of the famous wedding jewelry preferred by the brides of south India. 

A colourful state that takes pride in its jewelry and the brides of these states love to invest in gold jewellery. The traditional heavy temple pieces of jewelry are preferred by the bride. Here is a list of traditional jewelry worn by the brides of Tamilnadu.

Kerala brides are well-renowned for their love for gold ornaments. They are typically adorned from head to toes with gold jewelry.

Wedding ceremonies in Andhra comprises of various events such as Snaatakam, Mangalasnaanam, aartis, and Ganesh/Gauri poojas. 

Bridees of this diverse state too wear a range of amazing jewellery.

Hair is considered to be the pride of women across the world. An Indian bride goes an extra step ahead to highlight her silk black tresses by wearing traditional hair accessories. Hair jewelry has been in prominence since ancient times and has been mentioned in religious books such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. Moreover, various excavations carried out in heritage sites have found that ancient women decorated their hair with accessories. The hair accessories vary hugely between North and South India. Here is a list of hair accessories worn by South Indian women.

  Here are a few tips and tricks that every bride should follow before choosing the right accessory.

  Here is a list of traditional hair jewelry accessories worn by South Indian brides.

  A simple and elegant vintage nethi chutti made from a single peacock motif. It is elegantly and elaborately decorated with delicate engravings. The length of the nethi chutti is made of a strand of gold beads that comprise of embossed design and intricately carved. The vintage peacock gold nethi chutti is made from 6.45 grams of gold and is made from 91.6 quality gold. It consists of a hook on the top that can be attached to the hair and designed as per the bride’s liking. It is crafted by expert craftsmen and is BIS Hallmark certified. It will surely occupy a place of pride making it perfect for weddings and functions. The vintage piece can be purchased for Rs.36,533 from NAC Jewellers.

  As mentioned already, a Billa is a traditional hair accessory that is worn by brides on their hair buns that are wrapped with fresh mogra flowers. The flower-shaped Billa is attached to the center of the hair bun to highlight the bun. The antique flower-shaped Billa accessory is made from imitation ruby and crafted with expert hands from Vadacherry, an area famous for making traditional ones. It consists of flowers adorned with imitation rubies and the middle is encrusted with imitation emeralds and zircon stones. The jewelry dates back to the 20th century and weighs 13.5 grams. It measures 37 mm in height and width and is 4mm thick. It is made of 18 karat gold and can be purchased for Rs.21,000 from Antique Jewels.

  A pair of hair accessories that comprises of two elements, the sun, and moon. The Suriya pirai specifies the sun element and the Chandra pirai specifies the moon element. The Surya pirai is round in shape and decorated with imitation rubies, emeralds, and pearls. The Chandra pirai is semi-round in shape and consists of three spikes that are attached to beads at the end. The base of the jewelry is made of gold and silver. While adorning the accessory on the hair, they have to spaced equidistant from each other. It weighs 19 grams and measures 40 mm both in height and width. The thickness measures 4mm and can be purchased for Rs.28,500 from Antique Jewels.

Traditional jewellery for adorning the hair plait, Jada Kinjalam is attached to the end of the hair plait. It is a traditional hair accessory worn by brides after decorating the entire length of the hair. Consider this fine example - a round kunjalam decorated with kuppulu white stones at the beginning near the silk thread. The metal porton measures 36 mm and the height of the cap measures 60 mm. It is plated with gold alloy and decorated with synthetic stones. The silk yarn is attached to the end of the plait and tied to the hair tightly to prevent it from getting loose. The traditional hair accessory can be purchased for Rs.499 from Hari Traders Imitation Jewellery.

  Rakodi is a traditional accessory worn on the plait or on the hair bun. It is encrusted within a golden cage and is intricately designed with traditional floral vines. The center of the rakodi is circular in shape and encrusted with a layer of rubies. The middle of the rakodi consists of a graceful swan that adorned with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. It has two loops attached on top of it that can be fastened to the hair. The ends of the pendant are adorned with golden plumes that encased with beads made from rubies and the plumes are threaded with small golden beads. The jewelry weighs 52.95 grams and is made from 91.6 karat gold. It can be purchased for Rs.5,17,149 from NAC Jewellers.

  Also known as Jadanagam that runs the entire length of the hair. The gold jadei is made from 22 karat gold and comprises of a studded design. The total weight of the jadei weighs 284.5 grams and is encrusted with colored stones. The stones in jadai approximately weigh 21.6 grams and are BIS Hallmark 916 certified. It comprises of a leaf design that shrinks towards the end. The sides of the leaves comprise of a beaded spiked design that is adorned with colorful stones. The end of the jadai is adorned with a traditional kunjalam attached via a silk thread. This accessory will surely make heads turn when worn by brides. It can be purchased for Rs.1,45,786 from Malabar Golds and Diamonds.

  Gold pins are used by brides and also by women to secure their hair neatly. The gold hairpin comprises a layered floral design and each layer consists of a unique design. The long gold chains are attached to the ends of the floral design. The ends of the chain consist of a beaded design with numerous small beaded designs clustered together. The floral design is attached to a gold hairpin that is attached to the hair. It weighs 24.92 grams, made from 22 karat gold and can be purchased for Rs.1,15,645 from Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers.

Mugappa is another hair accessory that is used for adorning the hair bun that draped with flowers. The accessory consists of two spiked floral designs that are attached together. The base of the flower is made from 22 karat gold and encrusted with zircon stones that shine elegantly when exposed to light making it the perfect piece for weddings and parties. The side of the jewelry consists of three gold loops that can be fastened by silk threads on to the hair. The piece weighs 10.22 grams while the zircon stones weigh 0.52 grams. It can be purchased for Rs.50,040 from Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers.

 Jhoomer or gold filigree is a traditional hairpiece worn by Muslim brides on one side of the forehead. The starting of the jhoomar is a leaf design that segregates into nine rows of golden beads that ends into a bell-shaped design. The ends of the bell-shaped design are further adorned with clusters of golden small beads. The end of the shape ends as a droplet adorned further with small golden beads. The piece weighs 48 grams and is made from 22 karat gold. It is further adorned with emeralds, beads and zircon stones and together weighs 23 grams. It can be purchased for Rs.1,81,679 from Malabar Gold and Diamonds.

Featured in this gorgeous piece is a motif inspired by antique temple design and was a favourite among the queens. The classical hair ornament is modelled from a jasmine bud and is entirely handcrafted. It is made from our sterling silver with the quality 92.5. The handcrafted piece is modelled after traditional south Indian temple jewelry and consists of three layers. The first layers are made of a layer of small gold beads arranged in a semi-circular format. The top of the gold beads consists of Jasmine shaped buds that are arranged in semi-circular format. Both the ends of the hairpiece are attached with three golden clustered beads. The hairpiece has two long pins that be used to fasten it tightly on the hair. It can be purchased for Rs.5,750 from KO Jewellery.

  A traditional mathipatti that is modelled after the famous temple design that is worn on the forehead. The jewelry is made from copper and brass alloy mix. It is given an antique finish by plating the jewelry with gold. It consists of two layers. The first layer is made of gold plated beads that are attached to the second layer. The second layer comprises one imitation emerald stone followed by four imitation ruby stones on either side as well. They are attached to a clasp that can be fastened to the hair. The middle of the nethichutti is again made from imitation emerald and ruby stones. The three layers are attached by a Lakshmi pendant that is adorned by numerous small pearl beads. The antique temple hair accessory can be purchased for Rs.1,399 from Jewels Mart.