Wedding Attire of a Bengali Bride

Ululation and blowing of the conch shells by the women in red and white sari is the identity of the Bengali weddings. The Bengali community celebrates every festival with full enthusiasm and wedding being the most special moment, holds a special place in the life of everyone. The rituals at the wedding are very simple and traditional. There no showoff or flamboyancy during weddings and are very simple and beautiful affair.

A Bengali bride represents the true femininity and beauty. The wedding attire of a Bengali bride in Bengali Matrimony is very attractive and she looks spectacular in the traditional wedding trousseau. The decor of a bride is an occasion in itself when the bride is draped in beautiful bright red or crimson Banarasi sari, which is considered to be traditional attire for a Bengali wedding. The Banarasi sari has very beautiful intricate golden or silver embroidery work and is heavy.

However, the bride staying outside Bengal have got adapted to new cultures, where they also add some modern touch to their trousseau by wearing designer lehenga. The colours chosen for a bridal lehenga is generally red, pink, orange, or the combination of different colours like red and green, red and blue, pink and green etc. The lehenga with heavy golden and silver borders look very elegant.

Colors like pink, red and maroon are the preferred choice for bridal attire because it adds to the beauty of the bride. These colours look good on almost every complexion. Red is also believed to be an auspicious color.

The bride’s hair is tightly ties to form a bun and is decorated with flowers. The bride wears heavy gold jewelry. A tiara is kept over the head of the bride, which is known as Topor. Bengali brides also carry silk stole over their head, which is generally golden in color. The jewelry patterns are basically floral and peacock shaped. Bride also wears a tika on her head, and is treated as Goddess Lakshmi. The hands and feet of the bride are adorned with red liquid known as alta, which is sign of prosperity and also defines the marital status of a woman. The feet are decked with silver anklets and in hand she wears traditional red and white bangles, where the white bangle is made of ivory.

The area around eyebrows, cheeks and chin are beautified with beautiful patterns of sandalwood paste and a big round red bindi is put at the centre of the forehead, making her look ravishing.

The grooms in the Bengali community wear dhoti and silk kurta as tradition. A topor is kept on the groom’s head also, which symbolizes the Bengali culture. At the time of wedding rituals, the groom wears a silk cloth known as Jor. The end portion of the bride’s cloth is tied with the bride’s chunni and the couple then take the seven circles around the holy fire.

With the changing times, couple wear the same colored dressed which add to the beauty of the ceremony of the Bengali matrimony.