This isn’t a genuine wedding photo, it’s part of a publicity still for the BBC’s 1996 adaptation of Iain Banks’ novel The Crow Road. The wedding is a pivotal moment in the story but, curiously, the fact that the bride is wearing a saree goes entirely unexplained. This saree is completely detached from Indian culture. Neither the bride, groom or, indeed, any of the wedding guests have any Indian connections and the wedding takes place in the Western Isles of Scotland. So why does Verity Walker (played by Danish actress Simone Bendix) wear this rather lovely white and gold saree for her wedding rather than the more traditional western wedding dress? My guess is that it’s designed to show Verity as a worldly and cosmopolitan woman but, as a saree fan, my guess could be a little bit biased. Although, if the saree is written in the book, then the explanation may be more complex.

Here’s the whole picture, by the way.

If any of you have read the book, I would be very interested to know if the saree is mentioned there.