Everything You Need To Know About Bengali Bridal Look

Bengali Bridal Look 101: Diversity is one word that best describes India and its celebrated culture. The language, tradition, folk songs, folk dance, food recipes, and cultural dress everything change in India when you move from one state to another. Diversity also stands true for weddings and wedding attires in India. For example, The wedding attire of Bengali brides is completely different from the wedding attire of North Indian brides. While every bride looks a special kind of beautiful on her wedding day, Bengali brides are often celebrated as the epitome of simplicity and grace. The reason for this can be a plethora, but the most commonly quoted reason behind the Bengali bride’s simplicity and exquisiteness is their decision to ditch bridal fashion trends to go for a traditional Bengali bridal look.

Now that we are talking about Bengali brides, let’s look at some famous Begali Bridal Look and the elements that make Bengali brides unique and gorgeous –

Bold Eye Makeup

Bengali women are naturally blessed with bold, expressive eyes. The bold eyes of Bengali women accentuate their facial features and make them uniquely beautiful. This is also the prime reason why Bengali bridal makeup focuses particularly on highlighting the eyes. Bengali bridal makeup aims at highlighting the expressive eyes of Bengali brides using bold kohl lines. The quintessential drama is added to the Bengali bride’s eye makeup with some shimmer on the lids, voluminous lashes or heavy falsies, metallic shades of eye shadow, and the darkest shade of kohl and eyeliner.

Interesting Alta Designs 

In today’s times, no Indian wedding is complete without the tradition of Mehendi application. An interesting fact that worth mentioning here is applying Mehendi or intricate Henna tattoos was never a part of ancient Indian culture. When Mughals came to India they brought the tradition of Henna application with them and made it part of popular Indian culture. Before Mehendi, people in India use to apply Alta on hands and feet and use to make intricate designs using Alta. Alta is basically a red pigment that is extracted using betel leaf. The ancient ritual of applying Alta has almost vanished in modern India with modern brides choosing to go for attractive Mehendi designs. But thanks to Bengali brides the legacy is still alive in India as they choose to ditch fancy Mehendi designs and make intricate Alta designs part of their Bridal get-up.

The tradition of applying Alta makes Bengali Bride looks unique and there is also cultural importance attached to this tradition. According to popular Bengali belief, the richer and darker is the color of the bride’s Alta is the more loving mother-in-law she gets. Association with interesting beliefs and equally interesting rituals are what makes Bengali bride’s attire beautiful and unique.

Red Lips 

 Bengali brides are simply incomplete without the application of dark red lipstick on their lips. You will surely see no Bengali bride face in simple nude makeup with a pink or brown shade of lipstick on her lips. The traditional attire of the Bengali bride is itself rich in red color and hence Bengali bride goes for an equally rich shade of lipstick to complement her wedding day looks. Also in Bengali weddings, red color is considered synonymous with auspiciousness and purity that’s why they try to abundantly make it part of the wedding and wedding attire. They add a tint of red to every aspect of bridal attire, red lipstick for lips, red Saree for the body, and red Bindi for the forehead.

Classic Jewellery 

Jewelry is an important aspect of bridal attire as it sets the tone of the entire look. Often the bride’s selection of jewelry speaks of her taste and the entire theme of her wedding day attire. Bengali bride jewelry is often sleek yet dramatic that enhances the entire wedding look of a bride. Bengali jewelers have successfully established their popularity among both Bengali and non-Bengali brides with their unique and attractive designs. These jewelers make a plethora of jewelry designs available for Bengali brides. In bangles, the popular among Bengali brides are Meenar Bola. Mayur Much Bala, and the popular Mantasha which is celebrated as the mother of all bangles. In earrings, the Jhumkos and Kan Bala are the most popular pieces among Bengali brides.

The necklaces like Sita Haar and Pathi Haar works wonders to magnify and highlight the beauty of Bengali brides. When it comes to hand and toe rings, a variety of designs in different shapes and sizes are available. But the most popular one among Bengali brides is Ratnachur. Ratnachur is basically a five-finger ring bracelet. It highlights the beauty of hands upon wearing. And adds a regal touch to the wedding attire of the bride.

The Topor 

One more feature that adds to the uniqueness and beauty of Bengali brides is the white color, Tiara. That they wear along with their entire bridal attire. According to old Bengali tradition, the Tiara is a crown of good luck that brings joy to the bride’s life. The Bengali bride Mukut or the white Tiara is prepared from a substance known as white cork. Bengali call this white cork ‘Shola’. This white Topor made out of Shola adds a unique delicateness and grace to the bridal look of Bengali brides. According to Bengali tradition, no Bengali bride is complete without a Topor on her head. Wearing a Topor has importance in Hindu mythology as well. It is believed that Lord Shiva used to wear a crown made out of Shola. That’s why Topor made of Shola has distinctive importance in Bengali weddings.

The simple and traditional wedding attire of Bengali brides speaks of the rich culture. Also, their state which has to remain untouched to some extent by the modern trends and popular culture. Bengali brides speak of simplicity and grace through their D-day attire. Explore within the range of their traditional bridal dress. It’s not that they stay behind in setting the trends in the wedding fashion industry. They too make a unique style statement with their bridal looks. But they also maintain the uniqueness of their traditional bridal attire.

All picture credits- Pinterest

Also, do check out this article on chic outfits for your summer trends.