Hindus brides traditionally wore red-or gold-coloured and embroidered lehngas (long skirts) and dupattas or saris of Benares silk, but there were many local variations. In Palitana royal brides wore long green skirts and blouses with long red scarves rather than saris. In Travancore a long strip of white pleated cloth like a sarong, called a mundu, was worn tucked between the legs. In Rajasthan brides wore saris or skirts of red or saffron, the colour of the sacrificial flame. 'Saffron and red are the two Rajput colours', explains the Maharani of Wankaner. 'Saffron is the colour that ascetics wear and I found it awe-inspiring having to wear this saffron sari, which I had to do every day, as well as all the jewelry from Wankaner, part of which was an ivory bangle that you must always wear and which means that your husband is so brave that he'll kill an elephant. In the old days these bangles were worn from above the elbow down to the wrist.' Every bride was required to wear five essential articles of jewelry:

	A tikka for the forehead, worn in the parting of the hair, signifying 'walk on the straight path'.
	Earrings to remind you not to have weak ears and listen to gossip
	A necklace so that your head is always bowed down in humility
	Bangles to tell you that your hand must always go forward for giving charity
	Anklets so that you put the right foot forward
	The nose-ring of which it was said that the pearl should not be heavier than the nose, meaning you should not spend more than what your husband could afford.

So every bride was given these and told the significance and she had to wear them throughout her married life.

The actual wedding ceremony itself, the kanyadan or 'giving away', usually took place on the fourth or fifth day in the courtyard of the City Palace, and was concentrated round the sacred fire lit under the marriage pavilion, culminating in the saptapadi or seven steps taken by bride and bridegroom round the fire.

There were other marriage games that often involved the townspeople and local schools taking part in races and sports. For the important guests there would be shikar during the day and musical recitals, dancing and feasting in the evening. In a large state like Baroda which had its own arena in the town there were gladiatorial games that included wresting, combats between fighting rams and buffaloes and, as the climax, a fight between a pair of bull elephants on rut. The women would watch from behind chik blinds in the purdah enclosure: 'The elephant fights were more for show than anything else. People would wave strips of cloth and push them at each other but only rarely did they really fight, so it wasn't very frightful'. Prisoners also benefited from the marriage celebrations. In some state all were released, in others only a token number of the less serious offenders were pardoned.

Once the festivities were over a suitably auspicious moment had to be found for the departure of the newly-weds together with their barat, now swelled not only by the bride's dowry but by the maidservants from her father's state who would be accompanying her to her new home, together with all their families, chattels and live stock. Their departure to the local railway station was once again done in great style, although in some parts of Rajasthan the bride was taken away in secret - a relic of the uncertain days of the past.

Not all brides left their parents' homes. Those not yet of age, like ten-year-old Setu Lakshmibai of Travancore, were able to enjoy a few more years of childhood:

For other brides there was no such period of transition. Marriage meant a total break from one way of life and the start of another. Upon their arrival at their new homes there would be more ordeals for them to undergo" the ceremony of their acceptance into their husband's household by the women of his family and, in many cases, the assumption of their married names which, by tradition, were chosen by their in -laws and whispered into ears by their new husbands. There would be other rituals to be performed relating to their monthly cycles until finally, after one more marriage feast, the new bride would be carried in her husband's arms into their nuptial chamber and the marriage consummated.

Like many another newly wedded brides, Maharani Rama Kumari of Wankaner was full of doubts as she said good bye to her old home: 'I was sad at the thought of leaving my family. I was full of apprehension about what was going to happen to me, about what the future held in store for me.' As the third wife of the Maharaja of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi also left her home full of apprehension, although in her case there was to be a Western style honeymoon in Ootacamund before she entered Jaipur:

We left by train down to Calcutta and that's where I got my first taste of purdah, because when we arrived a silver screen was put round the door of the compartment. There was a car inside it complete with curtains and I was told to get into this. The depressed me a lot because I hadn't expected it. One of my brothers who was just going to join his first regiment came in the car with me and all the way he kept nudging me, saying, 'Hey, I hope you're not going to live this all the time.'