Bengali Wedding Traditions are gorgeous and are celebrated elaborately. Again Calcutta is known as the city of joy. This shows the eagerness of the Bengali people to celebrate any ritual in a grand fashion. There are pre-marriage as well as post-marriage celebrations in a Bengali wedding. Following is a detailed description of Bengali Wedding Traditions.

'Ashirwad' (Engagement): It is held couple of days before the marriage. The venue is either the bride's house or the groom's home. The main reason to hold this celebration is to confirm the marriage. On the morning of the wedding the elders of the house apply turmeric and oil on the bride and groom's body. The clothes that they wear during this ritual are given away to the barber. The bride must wear bangles made of conch shells dipped in turmeric water immediately after her bath.

It takes long hours to prepare the bride for her D-day. She is decked up in a "benarasi" sari with a red veil and a "mukut". The heavy Bengali jewelry that adorns her body gives a perfect Bengali look. Moreover during the course of wedding she is supposed to sit with a gaach kouto and kaajal laata.The venue or the "mandap" as it is popularly called, is decorated wonderfully by bride's family. Besides lights and floral decorations the mandap features two banana trees and a large beautiful alpana (design).

At night the groom and his family members arrive with ringing of bells, blowing of conch shells and ululation. The groom is welcomed with the baran dala. Both, the mother of the bride and of the groom do not grace this ceremony with their presence. It is believed that this will protect the couple from the 'evil eye'. The marriage ceremony is conducted mainly by a priest. The giving away of the bride is known as sampradhan. This is done by a male member of the bride's family.During the course of wedding the bride and the groom exchange garlands and finally the groom adorns the forehead of his bride with vermilion and the wedding ceremony is concluded.

After that the whole night is spent with songs, dance and music. On the next day the bride makes her journey to the in-law house. This is followed by the "Bou bhat" and the "phool sajja". In this occasion the nuptial bed of the newly-weds is beautifully adorned with flowers.

Thus Travel.mapsofworld.com gives a complete picture of Bengali Wedding Traditions.