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Goin’ to the Chapel of Love,
Potential Danger and
Flying Bouquets:
Why Wedding
Dresses Are
White and Other
Wedding Traditions
by chandra blackwell
Whether your wedding bells are
echoes from the distant past,
still pealing in your newlywed
ears, or softly chiming in your future, one
thing’s for sure—you will always remember
your wedding as the day you embarked upon a
lifetime of love—togetherness and occasional
befuddlement about why your beloved spouse
does the things he or she does. But did you
ever stop to wonder why we do the things we
do at the wedding itself? How certain wedding
traditions came about? Some of the answers
may surprise you, but most of these traditions–
just like love itself–have stood the test of time:
All Dressed in White
Prior to the mid-19th century, a bride’s
attire was simply the best clothing she owned,
in any color. Whereas today, the “layered
look” isn’t something we normally associate
with a wedding, a bride in those days often
piled on layers of fur, silk and velvet, in order
to convince her husband-to-be that she came
from a well-to-do family. Then in 1840, Eng-
land’s Queen Victoria stepped out in a white
gown trimmed with orange blossoms for her
wedding to Prince Albert, thereby becoming
well-known not only for representing an era of
emphasis on morals, modesty and decorum,
but also for influencing the fashion choices of
brides for centuries to come. From that point
on, ivory-clad brides abounded, and white
became the color of choice for weddings (and,
ultimately, P. Diddy parties) the world over.
Something Old,
Something New
Queen Victoria’s influence on weddings
didn’t stop at the dress, however; the Victorian
era also spawned the famous (and poetic)
tradition whereby a bride wears certain items
which, combined, are said to bring good luck.
The “something old” forever links the bride
to her past and to her family (even oddball
Cousin Eddie, who took to wearing smoking
jackets in fifth grade), while the “something
new” represents a new life with a new family
(weirdos included, but hopefully only
encountered on Thanksgiving). The borrowed
item, if loaned by an already-happily-married
wife, is said to grant a bit of good marriage
mojo to the new bride. The color blue represents
a host of qualities ideal for a successful
marriage, like faithfulness and loyalty—but
also, by coincidence, matches the color of the
The borrowed item, if
loaned by an alreadyhappily-married
wife,
is said to grant a bit of
good marriage mojo
to the new bride.
ocean, which represents an ideal honeymoon
spot. And finally, the penny (originally a sixpence)
in the bride’s shoe is, of course, said to
bring the newlyweds good fortune—and thus
the means to finance that ocean view.
14 HERLIFEnewyork.com