A groom asked me last week if he could just "wear a white kurta and get it over with" for his Haldi. I understood the instinct. Turmeric stains, a hundred phone cameras, aunties lunging at him with more paste than the ceremony requires. Why dress up for that. But I told him what I tell every man in that chair: your Haldi and Mehendi photographs will outlive the sherwani you wear for Phere. They are the ones that end up on your parents' fridge and, these days, in the reel your cousin cuts before the reception even starts. You do not need to peak on day one. You do need to look like yourself, only sunnier.
At SGK Styles, I think of a groom's wedding week as a story told in chapters, and the daytime functions are the opening pages. They set the tone. Get them right and the rest of the week reads like it was always going somewhere.
The Aesthetic: Pastels Have Taken Over the Morning
Forget the reflexive yellow kurta. This year, the Haldi palette has widened into mustard and ochre, ivory and cream, soft peach, mint, and powder blue, all of which read beautifully once the turmeric actually lands on the fabric. Ochre in particular has become my go-to recommendation. It is warmer and more forgiving than a flat lemon yellow, and it flatters almost every skin tone I work with.
Mehendi has quietly become its own colour story too. Green, in every register from sage to deep emerald, is the safest and most photogenic choice, alongside the same family of dusty pastels: lavender, dusty rose, and warm honey tones. What I love about this shift is that it finally lets a groom's daytime look feel considered rather than like an afterthought squeezed in before the "real" outfit.
The Stylist's Touch: I always ask a groom what his bride is wearing to both functions before we choose a single thread. If she is in a pastel Haldi lehenga, I will often pull him toward the same tonal family, soft peach with soft peach, mint with sage, so the two of them read as a pair in every photograph rather than as two unrelated colour choices sharing a stage.
The Fabric Rule I Never Break for Daytime
Haldi and Mehendi happen in daylight, often outdoors, often with a lot of dancing and even more turmeric. This is not the moment for heavy silk or brocade. I dress grooms for these functions almost exclusively in cotton, linen, and light silk blends: breathable, easy to move in, and forgiving of a little chaos. A short kurta with a churidar or straight pants, sometimes finished with a lightweight kurta jacket, is doing more work this year than any embellished option could.
The Stylist's Touch: I keep embroidery minimal and placed high, along the collar or a placket, never across the whole chest. It photographs just as well and survives an afternoon of turmeric and marigolds far better than dense threadwork does.
Building Toward the Sherwani, Not Competing With It
Here is the part grooms forget. Haldi and Mehendi are not warmups to skip through, but they are also not the night the sherwani is supposed to own. I deliberately keep these daytime looks lighter in every sense, in colour, in weight, and in formality, so that when the groom steps out for Sangeet and Phere, the shift feels like a genuine crescendo rather than a repeat performance.
This is also where I think about what is coming later in the calendar. With Navratri and Diwali arriving through October and November before wedding season properly opens, I am already seeing grooms want their festive dressing and their wedding dressing to feel like one continuous wardrobe rather than two separate closets. A well-cut ochre kurta bought now for Navratri can absolutely double as a Haldi look come December. Good tailoring, unlike a rented sherwani, keeps working for you.
The Stylist's Touch: I always sketch the full week for a groom before we shop a single piece, Haldi through reception, so that colours build on each other instead of accidentally repeating or clashing two days apart.
Footwear and the Small Things That Photograph Big
Daytime functions are shot from every angle, including down at your feet as you sit cross-legged for the rituals. I steer grooms away from stiff mojaris here and toward softer juttis or embroidered slip-ons in a breathable material. A single statement accessory, a simple mala, a marigold buttonhole, or a soft printed pocket square, adds enough personality without competing with the turmeric that is, frankly, the real star of the day.
So, for the groom trying to get his Haldi and Mehendi right, here is how I approach it:
Choose your daytime palette in conversation with the bride's, not in isolation, so the two of you read as a pair on camera.
Stay in cotton, linen, or light silk blends. Nothing you cannot move, sit, or dance in comfortably for four hours.
Keep embroidery minimal and high on the garment rather than heavy across the chest.
Save your richest fabric and boldest silhouette for Sangeet and Phere so the week has a real arc.
Swap stiff mojaris for softer juttis or slip-ons for the seated, turmeric-heavy rituals.
Think of festive dressing this Navratri and Diwali season as an early rehearsal for pieces that can rejoin your wedding wardrobe later.
The SGK Philosophy
I do not believe any function on a wedding calendar deserves to be an afterthought, least of all the ones where a groom is most relaxed and most himself. My job is to help him show up fully considered from the very first morning, so that by the time he reaches the mandap, the story already feels complete.
If you are a groom, or a bride styling the man beside you, and you are starting to plan the week ahead, I would love to help you build it one function at a time. You can reach out through SGK Styles whenever you are ready.
With love and style,
Shreya Gupta Kedia
Founder, SGK Styles
