Formal, Bridal

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. more...

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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.

History and traditions

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."

Read more at Wikipedia.org