Bengali Pre Wedding Customs

The ceremony of Adan Pradaan is attended by the boy and the girl along with their families. The elder members of the families and the priest match the eligibility of the couple for tying the knot to each other. During this ceremony, the date of the wedding is also decided.

The adan pradaan ceremony is followed by Aashirwad or Patri Patra ceremony. It is conducted two days prior to the wedding in which the priest arrives at the homes of the bride and the groom to conduct pati patra in front of the idol of Lord Narayan. Thereafter, the groom and the bride along with their family members arrive at each other's house to seek blessings for the couple.

On the day before the wedding Vridhi Puja is conducted to remember the ancestors of the bride and the groom. During the ceremony, female members design attractive Rangoli and worship the Lord Narayan. The paternal uncle of the bride and the groom conducts the Puja.

On the occasion of Dodhi Mangal, ten married women carry water from a nearby pond. Later, both the bride and the groom take bath with that water, at their respective homes. After that, those women offer traditional palatable food to the bride and the groom.

After the Dodhi Mangal ceremony, the couple sits on the wedding piris or low flat stools. During the ceremony, gifts are exchanged between the two families and conch shells are blown everywhere.

During the Gae Halud Tattva ceremony, the turmeric paste is applied on the bride and the groom, at their respective homes. After that, the parents of the groom present gifts for the bride called gae halud tattva. This gift is comprised of six sarees, cosmetics, sweets, fish, paan, dhaan and durba. The groom's relatives are welcomed wholeheartedly at the bride's home with blowing of conch shells.

Once the Gae Halud Tattva custom is conducted, the ceremony of Adhibas Tattva is conducted. On this ceremony, the bride's family presents attractive gifts to the family of the groom such as saree for the groom's mother, fish, sweets, paan, dhaan, durba and curd.

In the afternoon of the wedding day, both the bride and the groom take snan or bath, at their respective place. This ceremony is conducted after almost ten married women applied haldi and scented oil onto the bride and the groom. After having snan, they must wear the clothes that are gifted by their in-laws. However, these clothes are later given to the barber.

After taking bath and wear new sari, the bride has to wear sankha porana, a traditional conch shell bangles which are dipped in turmeric water.

Now the time has come for the bride to look the prettiest face in the ceremony. She wears attractive saree along with glaring jewelry and crown. Later, the bride is taken towards the mandap.