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Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill in their wedding clothes, Stockholm, 2013

A wedding dress or wedding/bridal gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures, brides often choose white wedding dress, which was made popular by Queen Victoria in the 19th century. In eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.

Western culture

Wedding dress from 1891

Weddings performed during and immediately following the Middle Ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light and befitted their social status, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. It was common to see them wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk. Brides dressed in the height of current fashion, with the richest materials their families' money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount and the price of material a wedding dress contained was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests.

The woman to the far right is wearing a typical wedding dress from 1929. Until the late 1960s, wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day. From that time onward, wedding dresses have often been based on Victorian styles.

The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding dress for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with squirrel and ermine in 1406, when she married Eric of Pomerania.^[1]^[2]Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding dress in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis, the Dauphin of France, because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens.^[3]^[4]

This was not a widespread trend, however: prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia.^[5]

White became a popular option in 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg, when Victoria wore a white gown trimmed with Honiton lace. Illustrations of the wedding were widely published, and many brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.^[6]

Even after that, for a period, wedding dresses were adapted to the styles of the day. In the early 1900s, clothing included a lot of decorations, such as lace or frills. This was also adopted in wedding dresses, where decorative frills and lace was common. For example, in the 1920s, they were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era.

Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white,^[7] though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory.

Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention: it was the color blue that was connected to purity, piety, faithfulness, and the Virgin Mary.^[8]

Current fashion

A fashion designer (right) walks with a model wearing a bridal dress created by her, 2016.

About 75 percent of wedding dresses on the market are strapless dresses or sleeveless, in part because such dresses require less skill from the designers and are easier to alter to fit correctly.^[9] However, the sleeved wedding gown as well as wedding gowns with straps have both become more popular in recent years.

Eastern culture

Many wedding dresses in China, India (wedding sari), Pakistan (heavily embroidered shalwar qameez or lehngas) and Vietnam (in the traditional form of the Ao dai) are red; the traditional colour representing good luck and auspiciousness. Nowadays, many women choose other colours besides red. In modern mainland Chinese weddings, the bride may opt for Western dresses of any colour, and don a traditional costume for the wedding tea ceremony.

Qing dynasty styled traditional Chinese wedding dress with phoenix crown (鳳冠) headpiece still used in modern Taiwanese weddings.

In modern Taiwanese weddings, the bride generally picks red (following Chinese tradition) or white (more Western) silk for the wedding gown material, but most will wear the red traditional garment for their formal wedding banquets. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol (specifically called "xi-jiu," confusingly the same as what the wedding banquet itself is called) consumed during both banquets. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a symbolic gesture of "thanks" and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles) and those who will continue to be there to help the bride and groom in the future. Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally.

Red wedding saris are the traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Sari fabric is also traditionally silk. Over time, colour options and fabric choices for Indian brides have expanded. Today fabrics like crepe, Georgette, charmeuse, and satin are used, and colors have been expanded to include gold, pink, orange, maroon, brown, and yellow as well. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (lehnga, choli, etc.).

Japanese formal wedding dress still used today.

A Japanese wedding usually involves a traditional pure white kimono for the formal ceremony, symbolizing purity and maidenhood. The bride may change into a red kimono for the events after the ceremony for good luck.

The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik.

In the Philippines, variations of the Baro't saya adapted to the white wedding tradition are considered to be wedding attire for women, along with the Barong Tagalog for men. Various tribes and Muslim Filipinos don other forms of traditional dress during their respective ceremonies.

Native American culture

Apache bride

The indigenous peoples of the Americas have varying traditions related to weddings and thus wedding dresses. A Hopi bride traditionally had her garments woven by the groom and any men in the village who wished to participate. The garments consisted of a large belt, two all-white wedding robes, a white wedding robe with red stripes at top and bottom, white buckskin leggings and moccasins, a string for tying the hair, and a reed mat in which to wrap the outfit. This outfit also served as a shroud, since these garments would be necessary for the trip through the underworld.

A Pueblo bride wore a cotton garment tied above the right shoulder, secured with a belt around the waist.

In the traditions of the Delaware, a bride wore a knee-length skirt of deerskin and a band of wampum beads around her forehead. Except for fine beads or shell necklaces, the body was bare from the waist up. If it was a winter wedding, she wore deerskin leggings and moccasins and a robe of turkey feathers. Her face was painted with white, red and yellow clay.

The tribes of Northern California (which include the Klamath, the Modoc and the Yurok) had a traditional bridal dress woven in symbolic colors: white for the east, blue for the south, yellow (orange) for the west; and black for the north. Turquoise and silver jewelry were worn by both the bride and the groom in addition to a silver concho belt. Jewelry was considered a shield against evils including hunger, poverty and bad luck.

Gallery

Historical European wedding dresses

Detail from The Marriage by Nicolo da Bologna, 1350s.

Helena Fourment, second wife of Peter Paul Rubens, painted by Rubens in her wedding dress, 1630.

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark's wedding dress, 1766. The Royal Armoury in Sweden.

Marriage of Napoleon I and Marie Louise. France, 1810.

Wedding dresses from different areas of the world

Traditional Japanese wedding robes worn by the Crown Prince of Japan, Akihito and Michiko Shoda for their marriage, 1959.

Wishram (North American Indian) bride around 1911

Traditional Finnish farmer wedding dress in Jomala

Traditional Kazakh wedding dress

Hutsul wedding dress

Traditional Armenian wedding dress

18th-century wedding dress from Kymi, Greece (Collection of PFF, Nauplio)

Bride in a wedding dress, Podhale, the Tatra Mountains

Middle Eastern dresses

Jewish Yemenite bride in Israel, 1950's

Wedding of Tewfik Pasha and Emina Ilhamy, Cairo, Egypt, January 1873

East Asian dresses

Chinese couple wearing traditional wedding hanfu

Reenactment of the royal wedding ceremony of King Gojong and Queen Myeongseong

South Asian dresses

Indian Hindu bride in red Sari

West Bengali bride

Indian Christian bride in white Sari

Bangladeshi bride in formal matrimonial Sari

Bride at a Nikah ceremony wearing typical South Asian red head covering and jewellery

A Nepali bride in wedding dress

Nepali bride of Kathmandu, 1941

Wedding dresses and other Asian couture in London

Modern Western-style dresses

A bride in 1968, wearing a dress reflecting the styles of the time

Taiwanese couple dressed Western-style for keepsake photos in the park, 1989

Opulent wedding dress of Soraya Esfandiary, created by Christian Dior

Patricia Nixon Cox with her father Richard Nixon, 1971

American bride marrying a Scotsman wearing a kilt, 1996

New Orleans bride wearing a strapless, sleeveless gown, 2006

References

^ "Wedding white doesn't mean what you think it means". Ivy Bridal Studio. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Princess Philippa of England is the first recorded princess to have worn white during her wedding in 1406, with her attire consisting of a tunic and cloak in white silk, but it wasn’t until Queen Victoria that the white dress would explode in popularity.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

^ "The History of Matrimony". Amalfi Wedding Planner. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006.

^ "Mary, Queen of Scots' first wedding day". Madame Guillotine. 24 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Mary’s choice of a white wedding dress was an unusual one, particularly as white was more traditionally worn by royal ladies when they were in dieul blanc mourning but in this as in other things the strong willed Mary may well have been an innovator, keen to not just impress her own taste on her wedding day (after all, she hadn’t been allowed the privilege of choosing her groom) but also emphasise her virginity and show off her famously pale redheaded beauty, which would have been accentuated by a pure white dress.

^ "Elizabeth I Facts". The Elizabeth Files. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Her favourite dress colours were white and black which symbolised purity.

^ Pelo, June. "Old Marriage Customs in Finland". Sydaby.eget.net. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

^ "Royal Weddings 1840-1947". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

^ Stewart, Jude (14 February 2011). "The Bride Wore Chartreuse: Why (Most) Wedding Dresses are White". Print. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

^ Ashliman, DL (2004). Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook–Greenwood Folklore Handbooks. ABC-CLIO. p. 9. ISBN 9780313058592.

^ Goldstein, Katherine (17 May 2012). "Say Yes to a Different Dress: Down with the strapless wedding gown". Slate. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

External links

Fashion Plates of Wedding Dresses from 1820-1929 from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

Wedding Dresses at Chicago History Museum Digital Collections

Wedding dress, 1900, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database

Wedding dress, 1951, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database

[1] "Wedding white doesn't mean what you think it means". Ivy Bridal Studio. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Princess Philippa of England is the first recorded princess to have worn white during her wedding in 1406, with her attire consisting of a tunic and cloak in white silk, but it wasn’t until Queen Victoria that the white dress would explode in popularity.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

[2] "The History of Matrimony". Amalfi Wedding Planner. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006.

[3] "Mary, Queen of Scots' first wedding day". Madame Guillotine. 24 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Mary’s choice of a white wedding dress was an unusual one, particularly as white was more traditionally worn by royal ladies when they were in dieul blanc mourning but in this as in other things the strong willed Mary may well have been an innovator, keen to not just impress her own taste on her wedding day (after all, she hadn’t been allowed the privilege of choosing her groom) but also emphasise her virginity and show off her famously pale redheaded beauty, which would have been accentuated by a pure white dress.

[4] "Elizabeth I Facts". The Elizabeth Files. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2014. Her favourite dress colours were white and black which symbolised purity.

[5] Pelo, June. "Old Marriage Customs in Finland". Sydaby.eget.net. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

[6] "Royal Weddings 1840-1947". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

[7] Stewart, Jude (14 February 2011). "The Bride Wore Chartreuse: Why (Most) Wedding Dresses are White". Print. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

[8] Ashliman, DL (2004). Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook–Greenwood Folklore Handbooks. ABC-CLIO. p. 9. ISBN 9780313058592.

[Goldstein-9] Goldstein, Katherine (17 May 2012). "Say Yes to a Different Dress: Down with the strapless wedding gown". Slate. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

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