The History of the Wedding Dress
Have you ever wondered what the story is behind the traditional big white wedding dress? Why is the colour white now considered traditional? Where do the many different styles come from? Did you know that in ancient times it was a custom for guests to tear off a bit of the bride's dress and keep it for luck? In this day and age such an act would cause a riot and leave the bride in floods of tears!
Wedding Dress Fashions
Over the years wedding dresses have incorporated the various styles and fashion trends of the period such as the low-waist 1920's dress, high waist Empire style, Edwardian style, Princess line and Sheath dress. The Victorian wedding dress was a two-piece dress with a fitted bodice and a full panel skirt and narrow waist. High necklines and long sleeves have over the years transformed into less severe features such as off-the-shoulder, V-neck low cut or strapless, which have become very popular. Wedding dresses have also become more fancy and extravagant over time.
Changing wedding dress colours
Surprisingly, the white wedding dress has not always been the traditional choice of colour. In the 16th and 17th centuries there are pictures of brides wearing different shades of yellow, green, brown, blue, even black, according to their age, those colours would symbolise fertility or maturity. Some brides would just wear their best special occasion dress.
Brides from a wealthier background would certainly wear something more splendid. Back then, a bride in a white dress would be showing her poorer background and lack of money! Looking back over the years at the history of the wedding dress, we now seem to have returned to the original starting point of the pre-Victorian era when brides could let their imagination run free to chose the colour of their dress. Although entirely white or ivory dresses remain a popular choice, many brides choose gowns incorporating other colours either as part of the dress or completely for a more dramatic effect.
Trendsetting Royal Weddings
Royal weddings always cause much excitement and interest from the general public. The wedding of Queen Victoria had more of an impact than most and actually started an entirely new trend when she decided not to wear the traditional royal silver bridal gown. Instead Queen Victoria gave the white wedding dress completely new meaning and symbolism when she married her beloved Prince Albert in a simple dress, made of white satin, trimmed with Honiton lace, with Honiton long veil and a wreath of orange blossoms to represent purity.
It was then that white became the dominant, traditional choice, symbolizing purity and maidenhood. It also represented romance because of the unconditional love of Queen Victoria for her husband. That aspect appealed deeply to the romantic side of all women and it became fashionable to copy the Queen's wedding.
How romance changed the wedding dress…
Romanticism was taken even further with the impressive large skirted dresses which took inspiration from the luxurious fashion of the 18th century pre-revolutionary French dresses whose main features were a boned corset, thin waist and a vast skirt made of radiant fabrics. Now a long-standing favourite, the full-blown romantic dress with cathedral length veil and train is truly magical and dramatic for the bride's entrance to the Church.
Bridal fashion has also evolved to cater for different religions or ceremony locations other than the traditional Church, such as weddings abroad or smaller civil ceremonies where brides may choose a more simple, elegant gown or outfit.
