Its a Nice Day for a White Wedding

Wedding Season is upon us! 

But what does that mean exactly? Why are weddings so lavish these days? What makes White the perfect color for a brides dress? All these and more will be answered in this post about the superstition around the wedding industry. 

It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding

Well how funny we should be talking about a white wedding, when until the 1800's, a bride wore almost any other color than white to her wedding. The tradition was to wear the best gown out of your wardrobe and that would be your wedding dress.

For me, that would be my favorite pageant dress from 2013. A light blue color, with ruffles and beaded mesh top, its delicate, fun, flirty and above all comfortable, which is my favorite part. If i lived in 1790 and got married tomorrow I would wear that dress! Thankfully Queen Victoria came along and gave us the tradition of a white gown for the wedding. Her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840 was not only grand, but a huge turning point in the world for how weddings were conducted. With her choices to have a long white gown, veil, and flower bouquet, she set the stage for the modern bride. 

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's wedding was not only the wedding of the century but the number one most influential wedding of all time, even next to Kate Middleton and Prince William who's royal wedding took over London and has been long since talked about.

The lace was mounted on a white satin dress. The plain, cream colored satin gown was trimmed with a deep flounce and hand-made lace. The dress embodied wealth, power, and beauty and with orange flower blossoms all over the dress, a symbol of fertility, also trimming the dress, she was sure to empress. Her veil witch matched most of the dress, was 4 yards long and .75 yards wide. That is a lot of fabric to be  

"I wore a white satin dress, with a deep flounce of lace, an imitation of an old design. My jewels were my Turkish Diamond necklace and earrings and dear Albert's beautiful sapphire brooch."

                                                                     -Queen Victoria

Now upon entering a bridal salon, there are rows and rows of white gowns, all waiting to be worn down the isle on the best day of someones life. Every woman who has tried on a dress knows, that there is a perfect fit for every woman out there.
I will admit that the white dress tradition is rather fun. How often do you wear white on a regular day? Not very because it gets dirty, and hard to clean. I am excited to wear a white dress for my wedding. It will be a fun, beautiful, romantic and exciting way to share my love with someone.

Now, the fashion trend has been to explore more pinks, blushes, and cremes for wedding dresses, moving away from the traditional white to more softer colors. My favorite wedding dress ever is pink. I have no problems with pink as a dress, but I did always think my dress would be white. At least I have plenty of time before I need a dress. :)

Veil 

The veil is a very important fashion accessory today for most brides, but its roots in Ancient Rome are far more interesting that. The veil was used to protect the bride as she needed to hide from evil spirits who wanted to do her harm. The ideas that you could hide the bride until she was married, she would be safe from corruption and greed. 

I do have to say that the Ancient Romans didn't seem to have a lot of respect for the woman, as she may be corrupted by evil spirit, but her husband to be is free from their judgement.  

The veils of old were long, ornate, heavy, and beautiful, but that doesn't mean that every bride in 2014 wants to have a large veil like this as she walks down the isle.

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

        Dr. Seuss 

One trend becoming more popular is the idea of wearing a small, fishnet veil with accents such as a hat or a small tiara. I love this because it doesn't take away from the dress, it only finishes it and allows you to see the full dress for what it is. 

With so many options is not surprise brides get frustrated trying to get down the isle on the big day. 

Bridesmaids 

do you know what the original traditional bridesmaid did in a western ceremony? she and a few to countless other girls would dress up exactly like the bride and walk down the isle with her. 

The idea behind this was 

• A witch could not cast a curse upon a bride if she was hidden
• This would confuse evil spirits and keep them away
• Most grooms would be confused and then excited since many time they had not meet their future wife. 

It was not until after the Salem witch trials, the industrial revolution and some fabric dye did the modern idea of bridesmaid dresses form. Traditionally they are still dressed uniformally and more often than not. in something really horrible looking. sometimes even in worse dresses than you could ever imagine and the bridesmaids will wear them to please their bride. 

Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue.

The traditional rhyme dates back to the court of King Henry VIII, who is famous for his six wives, 3 of whom he killed. Not to put a negative spin on the wedding.

Something Old:

represents the brides past, the life she leaves behind upon entering the marriage state and many times its a necklace or other jewels from the brides family.

Something New: 

its the brides future she will have with her husband, more often that not its a gift to the bride from her groom and is to be worn on the day of the wedding. A modern and confident bride could also choose something out for herself upon entering marriage. It doesn't have to be a gift. 

Borrowed:

a gift to the bride from a happy couple that have enjoyed many years of marriage and their good fortune is to rub off on the bride and her groom. 

This is probably one of the coolest things to have at your wedding. 

Blue: 

just a little token to represent fidelity and love in marriage. for the modern bride. she has free range over blue, like her shoes, jewels, undergarments, or even a sash on her dress in a nice blue is more common today. 

"Within you I lose myself 

Without you I find myself

Wanting to be lost again." 

Themes

weddings never used to have themes, the theme was get the bride and groom together so we can save the family. Today there are all sorts of themes the bride and grooms can come up with. I have worked on some unique weddings, including star wars, forest gump, and those who have multiple ceremonies.

Themes can be elegant, classic, and make a statement about the couple getting married, many times this is shown through the love they have for each other, but also through the family and friends who help make the day special.

This is an example of a shabby yet chic weeding. where the mixture of old, new, rustic, and bloom make for a truly romantic wedding that suits the couple and their friends and family. the goal is not perfection in appearance, but in the love of the bride and groom. 

Now, that we have heard about the weird traditions of weddings, lets enjoy wedding season and wish all the brides and grooms well. 

Love, KaLib