The Red Wedding Dress

The tradition of the white wedding dress was actually started by Queen Victoria when she married her cousin Albert in 1840. Since women of the day wanted to be like the queen, they decided that they wanted to get married in white too.

Before Queen Victoria's marriage, a woman would get married in the best dress she owned. People simply didn't go out and buy extravagant dresses for their weddings.

Although white is now associated with purity and joy when it comes to weddings, the symbolism was only established after the fact. If a white dress symbolized anything, it was wealth. You had to be rich to afford a dress you could only wear once! People didn't have washing machines or dry cleaners back then, so a white dress was impossible to keep clean.

Some brides showed their support for the American Revolution by wearing red dresses on their wedding day. Apparently it wasn't too scandalous for the late 1700s, which is ironic if you think about it. People had different expectations of women back then. Modern society doesn't blink if a woman decides to move in with her boyfriend, but if she wears anything other than white on her wedding day, my oh my!

In Eastern cultures, red has long been the traditional color for wedding dresses. It's associated with joy and good fortune.


Looking over the shoulder in the Red Dress by IsisoftheEast
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According to Red Hot Brides, colored wedding gowns are becoming a trend for the year 2008. In particular, green wedding dresses seem to be in style!

There are pictures on the blog showing women in stunning gowns of vivid green, brilliant blue, and bright red. Have a look!

There's a quaint old rhyme that a young lady might use to choose the perfect color for her wedding dress. It goes something like this:

Married in white, you have chosen right
Married in grey, you will go far away
Married in black, you will wish yourself back
Married in red, you will wish yourself dead
Married in green, ashamed to be seen
Married in blue, you will always be true
Married in pearl, you will live in a whirl
Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow
Married in brown, you will live in the town
Married in pink, your spirit will sink

Heavens, no. Many brides are in love with the idea of wearing a traditional white dress on their wedding day, and there's nothing wrong with that. If a woman wishes to wear a white wedding dress, then by golly, she should.

This article is really about the freedom to make your own choice when it comes to your wedding day. If you want to wear white, you should wear white. If you want to wear red, blue, green, or any other color, why not? If you follow a tradition, do it because you want to, not because you're afraid of what other people will say if you dare to be different.


Vintage Bride with Flower Girl by YesterdayCafe
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If the idea of a completely red wedding dress sounds a little overwhelming, a little splash of red against a snow white dress would be stunning too. Here are some ideas:

Red shoes. I know of at least one bride who wore red ballet slippers with her wedding dress. Although the dress itself was white, it was also very short and accompanied with red fairy wings. It was quite novel.
Red jacket. I always thought a simple white dress accompanied by a red Bolero jacket would be elegant.
Red accents. Perhaps some deep red trim to add a splash of the dramatic to your wedding gown.

Red and Rose Peep Toe Pumps on Lace by EHPlesser
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