Why Do Brides Wear White on Their Wedding Day?
- According to "Through the Wardrobe: Women's Relationship with Their Clothes," edited by Ali Guy, et al., 18th-century brides in Europe and North America wore different colored wedding dresses, including yellow, gold, blue and pink. White became a common wedding dress color around 150 years ago, as women began to follow the fashion trends of the Victorian era. In "Deeply into the Bone: Re-inventing Rites of Passage," author Ronald L. Grimes notes that the idea of brides wearing white grew in popularity after British Queen Victoria wore a white satin gown at her wedding to her cousin Prince Albert in 1840. After Victoria's wedding, it became more common for women to wear white wedding dresses in the United Kingdom and North America.
- The white wedding dress came to represent Victorian symbols of innocence and purity, according to "Through the Wardrobe." The traditional symbolism of the color white relates to a woman's virginity and girlhood innocence. Although women may wear white at their weddings in conformation with these traditional beliefs, some women are reinterpreting cultural meanings associated with the white wedding dress. Women may wear white on their wedding day not to emphasize sexual purity but to symbolize new beginnings.
- Weddings in North America are a rite of passage in which people invest their time, energy and money, according to "Deeply into the Bone." Although there are alternative forms of marriage, the image of the traditional "white wedding" still holds sway over society. This tradition emphasizes the white wedding gown and veil. It also includes the bride's father giving her away to the groom; a set of bridesmaids; a multitiered wedding cake; and a church ceremony. The custom of white bridal dresses is propagated by wedding etiquette books and magazines that consistently feature models in long white gowns.
- In "Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding," authors Cele C. Otnes and Elizabeth H. Pleck say 19th-century Christian missionaries spread the concept of the white wedding dress to other races and cultures. The missionaries incorporated into their evangelical teachings the concept of the white wedding dress, which was linked to Victorian ideas of cleanliness, purity and white superiority. In more modern times, Western exportation of bridal magazines and wedding films contributes to non-Western women adopting the white wedding gown custom. In Asia and the Middle East, for instance, some brides wear white and organize lavish traditional weddings.
