Many brides-to-be dream about the day they get to wear a white dress for the day and express their love for someone. Have you found yourself wondering about the tradition? It could be time to learn about the history behind white wedding dresses.
Thanks To The Queens
461 years ago, the history behind the white wedding dress began thanks to Mary Queen of Scots. Although the queen wore white for her big day, it wasn’t until Queen Victoria chose a white gown that things started to catch on. Queen Victoria wed Prince Albert in 1840 and paved the way for many future white wedding dresses to come.
Working Through The Classes
Many people often wore dark colors for their wedding due to a lack of laundry techniques or layers of bright colors for luck and love. However, the white wedding dress trend took off after Queen Victoria’s gown. The elite Americans and Europeans latched onto the trend, but it took a while to work its way through the rest of the classes. It wasn’t until 1981 when Princess Diana walked down the aisle with Prince Charles that others wanted to recreate the look for their big day.
Not A Global Trend
Although many parts of America and Europe still say a white wedding dress is their favorite choice, it seems as though the trend is changing – and has always been that way for many places around the world. In Japan, brides typically wear a white gown before changing into a red one later on in the ceremony, while people in Ghana usually opt for brightly colored wedding dresses to celebrate their day.
People across the world are now embracing alternative colors to bring their wedding day to life. However, the history behind the white wedding dress shows there is more to the tradition that we ever believed.