We are all familiar with the traditional notion of a white wedding and the white wedding dress. Wearing white on your wedding day is commonly thought to symbolize a bride’s purity and other things along those lines. But where did this notion come from? Why do many of us still feel the need to wear white when we cannot honestly say that we are “pure.”
Brides in America used to wear all kinds of colors of wedding dresses. They would even wear brown or grey but rarely white. This all changed when Queen Victoria chose to wear a white dress in her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. As news of the royal wedding spread to the states and across Europe, the elite classes felt the need to follow her lead. It became the norm to wear white as bridal magazines and books on etiquette began to tout the practice as “tradition.” No longer just a symbol of status, the white wedding gown also evoked “innocence and sexual purity.”
Modern brides are beginning to turn the tides back to a more colorful affair by adding their own bits of flair to their special gown. Brightly colored sashes and sassy shoes just might signal the beginning of a return to the colored wedding gown.
Here’s to breaking the mold!
Melissa
