Why brides wear white dress on weddings in Europe?

Why brides wear white dress on weddings in Europe?

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

                White wedding dress came into vogue during reign of Queen Victoria in 1800s. It was introduced as symbol of wealth. It was preferred to show the world that the bride’s family was a wealthy. Royal bride before Victoria used to wear heavy brocaded gown embroidered with white and silver thread.

               Before Victoria, the brides used to wear almost any colour, except black which was attached with mourning, and red associated with prostitutes. Brides who wanted to wear a symbol of their purity wore blue.

           The tradition of wearing white bridal dress gained popularity on February 10, 1840; when Queen Victoria of England married her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coberg. She wore off-white, silk-satin gown incorporated with some lace that she owned. Selecting to wear the creamy-hued confection was a far-reaching decision at the time as silver was go-to color for royal wedding dresses, and blue and yellow bridal dress were also popular — but certainly not white. So, at that time, a white wedding dress was exceptionally uncommon, and it was not a sign of purity, but a sign of wealth.  Only very rich women could afford a dress that could never be worn again as cleaning a white dress was not so easy on those days and cotton was a costly commodity. 

            

          Later on, many women copied the queen's style for their weddings proving saying: “masses follow the footstep of their rulers”. In mid of 20th century, white wedding dress got popularity as the pictures, videos and accounts of  weddings of the world's wealthiest and  famous celebrities came to public knowledge. This trend then spread like a jungle fire and became a common practice.

            Many consider white dress as a symbol of purity, piety and piousness but in reality; it was more a symbol of vanity than virginity. Many say that the virginal connotations for white wedding gowns are pure magazine editorial fiction. 

             Why not! People dare to drift away from the history and drag in the wide range of symbolisms of white colour to pay an unmatchable gift to the wedding women and wish her all the blessings attributed with white hue. White dress denote inherent positivity, purity, virginity, innocence, light, goodness, heaven, safety, brilliance, illumination, understanding, cleanliness, faith, a successful beginnings, spirituality, possibility, humility, sincerity, protection, softness, and perfection. May these symbolisms transform into reality for the nuptial bride; entering into a new avenue of her life!