Η αρραβωνιαστικιά του θέλει το πέπλο να είναι απλό, αλλά η κουμπάρα προτιμά κάτι πιο μακρύ.

αρραβωνιαστικιά means fiancée or bride-to-be when referring to a woman.

It comes from αρραβώνας (engagement).
The masculine form is αρραβωνιαστικός (fiancé).

In this sentence, Η αρραβωνιαστικιά του means his fiancée.

Here, του means his.

So:

• η αρραβωνιαστικιά = the fiancée
• η αρραβωνιαστικιά του = his fiancée

Greek often uses the weak possessive form after the noun, where English usually uses a possessive before it.

Compare:

• το σπίτι μου = my house
• η μητέρα της = her mother
• ο φίλος τους = their friend

That is the normal Greek pattern. Possessive pronouns such as μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun.

So Greek says:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• ο αδερφός σου = your brother
• η αρραβωνιαστικιά του = his fiancée

This is one of the most basic word-order differences from English.

πέπλο means veil.

It is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter definite article το:

• το πέπλο = the veil

Greek nouns have grammatical gender, so the article must match the noun:

• η for many feminine nouns
• ο for many masculine nouns
• το for neuter nouns

That is why the sentence has:

• η αρραβωνιαστικιά
• το πέπλο
• η κουμπάρα

Because απλό agrees with το πέπλο, which is neuter singular.

The adjective απλός / απλή / απλό means simple and changes form to match the noun’s gender and number:

• απλός = masculine singular
• απλή = feminine singular
• απλό = neuter singular

Since πέπλο is neuter singular, Greek uses απλό:

• το πέπλο να είναι απλό

Greek does not use an infinitive the way English does. So where English says wants the veil to be simple, Greek often uses να + verb.

Here:

• θέλει = she wants
• να είναι = to be / that it be

So:

• θέλει το πέπλο να είναι απλό
  literally: she wants the veil to be simple

This να + verb structure is extremely common in Greek.

Because the sentence contains two ideas:

1. she wants
2. the veil to be simple

Greek expresses the second idea with a full verb phrase:

• να είναι απλό = to be simple

So θέλει is the main verb, and να είναι introduces what she wants.

A useful way to see it is:

• θέλει [το πέπλο να είναι απλό]

That whole bracketed part is the thing she wants.

κουμπάρα is a specifically Greek cultural term. In a wedding context, it is often translated as maid of honor, but it can also refer to the female wedding sponsor or the woman who plays an important ceremonial role in the wedding.

So maid of honor is often the best English translation, but κουμπάρα has a somewhat more culturally specific meaning in Greek tradition.

The masculine form is κουμπάρος.

Literally, it means something more long, which in natural English is something longer.

Breakdown:

• κάτι = something
• πιο = more
• μακρύ = long

So:

• κάτι πιο μακρύ = something longer

Greek often forms comparatives with πιο + adjective.

πιο usually means more and is commonly used to make comparatives.

Examples:

• πιο μεγάλο = bigger / more big
• πιο όμορφη = more beautiful
• πιο μακρύ = longer

So in this sentence:

• κάτι πιο μακρύ = something longer

This is often easier for learners than memorizing separate comparative forms, because πιο + adjective works very broadly.

Because κάτι is treated as a neuter singular idea, so the adjective also appears in the neuter singular form.

The adjective μακρύς / μακριά / μακρύ means long:

• μακρύς = masculine
• μακριά = feminine
• μακρύ = neuter

Since κάτι is neuter in this kind of structure, Greek uses:

• κάτι πιο μακρύ

αλλά means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Η αρραβωνιαστικιά του θέλει το πέπλο να είναι απλό
• αλλά η κουμπάρα προτιμά κάτι πιο μακρύ

So the sentence contrasts two preferences:

• the fiancée wants a simple veil
• but the maid of honor prefers something longer

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, but this version is natural and neutral.

The sentence is structured clearly as:

1. subject: Η αρραβωνιαστικιά του
2. verb: θέλει
3. object / clause: το πέπλο να είναι απλό
4. contrast with αλλά
5. second subject: η κουμπάρα
6. verb: προτιμά
7. object: κάτι πιο μακρύ

Greek can move elements around for emphasis, but this order is a normal, straightforward way to say it.

Yes. προτιμά means prefers.

Its basic form is προτιμώ = I prefer.

Here:

• η κουμπάρα προτιμά κάτι πιο μακρύ
  = the maid of honor prefers something longer

So the pattern is:

• προτιμώ κάτι = I prefer something
• προτιμά κάτι = he/she prefers something

Yes, that is a very good way to think about it.

In this sentence, να είναι απλό functions as the clause expressing what is wanted:

• θέλει = main verb
• να είναι απλό = subordinate clause

And because το πέπλο is the thing being described by να είναι απλό, the whole phrase means:

• she wants the veil to be simple

For learners, it is often helpful to remember that Greek regularly uses να + finite verb where English often uses an infinitive like to be.