Wedding Dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown depends on the religion and culture of the participants.
During Medieval times, a wedding was more than just a union between two people. It was a union between two families, two businesses and even two countries. Weddings were more a matter of politics than love. Brides were required to dress in a manner which cast their families in the most favorable light, for they weren't only representing themselves. Medieval brides of an elevated social standing wore rich colors and expensive fabrics. It was common to see well-to-do brides wearing boldly colored layers of furs, velvet and silk. Those of a lower social standing wore fabrics that weren’t as rich, though they copied the elegant styles of wealthier brides as best they could.
Throughout the years, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status---always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained was a reflection of the bride’s social standing. The more material used and the longer the train, the wealthier the bride’s family was represented to be.
In modern tradition, the color of western-culture wedding dresses is white. Used in this sense, 'white' or 'wedding white' includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory.
The popularity of this color can be traced back to 1840 and the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. The Queen chose to wear a white gown for the event.
The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published and many brides opted for a similar dress in honor of that choice. The tradition continues today.
Prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). The white dress came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood.
Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity (and also regarded as a symbol that the bride is happy), but this guideline is often ignored with brides wearing white dresses for any number of marriages. It was originally the color blue that was connected to purity.
Many wedding dresses in China are colored red, the traditional color of good luck. In modern Chinese weddings, particularly in Western countries, the bride usually opts for the white Western dress or changes from a red gown to a white gown later in the day.
In northern parts of India the traditional color of women's wedding garments is red, a color symbolizing auspiciousness. Green, a colour symbolizing fertility, is also commonly used. Nowadays many women opt not to wear red, and choose other colors. South Indian weddings traditionally use white or cream colored saris. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (like lehnga, choli, et cetera).
A white wedding is a term for a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding. This term refers to the white color of the wedding dress, which became popular in the Victorian era and came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood. Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity.
This article discusses the rise of the conventions of a "White wedding," their perceived symbolism, and their contemporary application.
The tradition of a white wedding is commonly credited to Queen Victoria's choice to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert. In fact, an early photograph, recorded some 14 years after the fact, may be a recreation of her wedding for the new camera technology. Queen Victoria was not the first royal bride to wear a white wedding gown, but the first of the modern era. White had been a traditional color of royal mourning, and although not often utilized as such, white was not considered a suitable choice for a royal wedding. Victoria's choice popularized the white gown as no other had before her. Previously, brides wore their best clothes or the most expensive new clothes they could afford. Gold or gold-threaded dresses became popular with royal brides; the rank-and-file wore dresses that reflected their station. White was one of many choices, pastel shades were also popular.
Until the mid-twentieth century, many brides in the United Kingdom did not wear a traditional wedding dress, merely a specially bought dress that could later be worn as an evening dress. This was also the case in pre-20th century America, where working and frontier brides often opted for a formal look that was practical and could be used again on special occasions. In fact, before the white wedding dress became standardized an old poem (which seems to favor blue) sang the praises or woes of various color choices.
“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in grey, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen, Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”
After World War I, as full-scale formal weddings began to be desired by the mothers of brides who did not have a permanent social secretary, the position of the "wedding planner" who could coordinate the printer, florist, caterer, seamstress, began to assume importance. Bride's Magazine began to be published in 1934 as a newspaper advertising insert called So You're Going to Get Married! in a column entitled To the Bride, and its rival Modern Bride began publishing in 1949. Now a whole industry surrounds the provision of such weddings. The groom may be a mere detail: the new editor of Modern Bride began her inaugural column, without irony: "I really did have the wedding of my dreams, the wedding that had been floating around my head for years before I met my husband."
Emily Post's Etiquette was first published in 1922, as a guide to the "new" people of the post-war boom, who meant to get the unfamiliar details right, and the conservatively evolving nature of a formal wedding can be traced in its various editions. A 4th edition of Peggy Post's Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette: Cherished Traditions and Contemporary Ideas for a Joyous Celebration is still in print, along with a wide range of wedding planners and guides to second weddings bearing the Post name. A subtle shift in the requirements for a wedding can be detected in the modern blurb for Emily Post's Weddings "creating a wedding experience that demonstrates the bride and groom's commitment and uniqueness." "Uniqueness" is a modern addition to a wedding's requirements. Judith Martin has published Miss Manners on Weddings.
The full white wedding experience means that an organist, a choir, flower arrangements, flowers for lapels and commemorative wedding leaflets with the Order of Service need to be arranged and purchased.
Any selection or all of the following might be a part of the ceremony as well; a hymn or popular song, a Bible reading or popular poem.
During Medieval times, a wedding was more than just a union between two people. It was a union between two families, two businesses and even two countries. Weddings were more a matter of politics than love. Brides were required to dress in a manner which cast their families in the most favorable light, for they weren't only representing themselves. Medieval brides of an elevated social standing wore rich colors and expensive fabrics. It was common to see well-to-do brides wearing boldly colored layers of furs, velvet and silk. Those of a lower social standing wore fabrics that weren’t as rich, though they copied the elegant styles of wealthier brides as best they could.
Throughout the years, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status---always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained was a reflection of the bride’s social standing. The more material used and the longer the train, the wealthier the bride’s family was represented to be.
In modern tradition, the color of western-culture wedding dresses is white. Used in this sense, 'white' or 'wedding white' includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory.
The popularity of this color can be traced back to 1840 and the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. The Queen chose to wear a white gown for the event.
The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published and many brides opted for a similar dress in honor of that choice. The tradition continues today.
Prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). The white dress came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood.
Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity (and also regarded as a symbol that the bride is happy), but this guideline is often ignored with brides wearing white dresses for any number of marriages. It was originally the color blue that was connected to purity.
Many wedding dresses in China are colored red, the traditional color of good luck. In modern Chinese weddings, particularly in Western countries, the bride usually opts for the white Western dress or changes from a red gown to a white gown later in the day.
In northern parts of India the traditional color of women's wedding garments is red, a color symbolizing auspiciousness. Green, a colour symbolizing fertility, is also commonly used. Nowadays many women opt not to wear red, and choose other colors. South Indian weddings traditionally use white or cream colored saris. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (like lehnga, choli, et cetera).
A white wedding is a term for a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding. This term refers to the white color of the wedding dress, which became popular in the Victorian era and came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood. Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity.
This article discusses the rise of the conventions of a "White wedding," their perceived symbolism, and their contemporary application.
The tradition of a white wedding is commonly credited to Queen Victoria's choice to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert. In fact, an early photograph, recorded some 14 years after the fact, may be a recreation of her wedding for the new camera technology. Queen Victoria was not the first royal bride to wear a white wedding gown, but the first of the modern era. White had been a traditional color of royal mourning, and although not often utilized as such, white was not considered a suitable choice for a royal wedding. Victoria's choice popularized the white gown as no other had before her. Previously, brides wore their best clothes or the most expensive new clothes they could afford. Gold or gold-threaded dresses became popular with royal brides; the rank-and-file wore dresses that reflected their station. White was one of many choices, pastel shades were also popular.
Until the mid-twentieth century, many brides in the United Kingdom did not wear a traditional wedding dress, merely a specially bought dress that could later be worn as an evening dress. This was also the case in pre-20th century America, where working and frontier brides often opted for a formal look that was practical and could be used again on special occasions. In fact, before the white wedding dress became standardized an old poem (which seems to favor blue) sang the praises or woes of various color choices.
“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in grey, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen, Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”
After World War I, as full-scale formal weddings began to be desired by the mothers of brides who did not have a permanent social secretary, the position of the "wedding planner" who could coordinate the printer, florist, caterer, seamstress, began to assume importance. Bride's Magazine began to be published in 1934 as a newspaper advertising insert called So You're Going to Get Married! in a column entitled To the Bride, and its rival Modern Bride began publishing in 1949. Now a whole industry surrounds the provision of such weddings. The groom may be a mere detail: the new editor of Modern Bride began her inaugural column, without irony: "I really did have the wedding of my dreams, the wedding that had been floating around my head for years before I met my husband."
Emily Post's Etiquette was first published in 1922, as a guide to the "new" people of the post-war boom, who meant to get the unfamiliar details right, and the conservatively evolving nature of a formal wedding can be traced in its various editions. A 4th edition of Peggy Post's Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette: Cherished Traditions and Contemporary Ideas for a Joyous Celebration is still in print, along with a wide range of wedding planners and guides to second weddings bearing the Post name. A subtle shift in the requirements for a wedding can be detected in the modern blurb for Emily Post's Weddings "creating a wedding experience that demonstrates the bride and groom's commitment and uniqueness." "Uniqueness" is a modern addition to a wedding's requirements. Judith Martin has published Miss Manners on Weddings.
The full white wedding experience means that an organist, a choir, flower arrangements, flowers for lapels and commemorative wedding leaflets with the Order of Service need to be arranged and purchased.
Any selection or all of the following might be a part of the ceremony as well; a hymn or popular song, a Bible reading or popular poem.
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