Dear The Bridal Guru,
I am curious, why do brides wear white? When and where did this custom of wearing a white wedding dress originate?
Curious
Dear Curious,
As early as the 15th century, trends were being established. This trend had its beginning in France when Anne of Brittany wed Louis XII of France. This was the first known white wedding dress to be worn by a bride. However, the trend did not take shape until the 19th century when other French brides followed suite. Brides from French aristocracy and bourgeoisie began wearing white dresses, trimmed in gold or silver embroidery, similar to today’s brides. Previously brides wore their best dress and of any color. With printing and newspapers and reports of these major social weddings, word spread and the common practice of a bride wearing her best dress of any color faded into history. The white wedding dress became the rage.
Queen Victoria started the trend in England when she wore an elegant all-white wedding gown in 1840. This soon spread to other countries. You might say, thanks to Queen Victoria, she safeguarded the white dress from being a short-lived trend. The trend was further advanced when in 1853 Empress Eugenie, fiancée of Napoleon III, wore a white wedding gown. From then on, wealthy women wore their white wedding dresses only once. This ended the custom of brides changing the color or style of the wedding dress after marriage to be worn as an everyday dress.
Today, white is a universally popular dress color among brides due to so many dress choices of high-profile women and brides. White stands for a variety of emotions which adds to the mystique of wearing white on your wedding day. In biblical times, white represented joy. The Greeks saw white as a happy color. On the contrary, white symbolizes mourning for the Chinese and Japanese people. A bride in these countries views white as an appropriate color to wear since she is leaving her family of birth and symbolically dying with her old life to start a new life by joining her husband’s family. Surprisingly, the modern belief that the white dress is a token of purity and innocence is a fairly new concept. Regardless, for today’s bride, the white dress sets her apart and creates a stunning look for a woman beginning a new life.
Curious, I hope I have answered your question about the tradition of the white dress in today’s weddings. The Bridal Guru
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