The white dress is one of the strong symbols of marriage. However, for their big day, some women are reluctant to don a white wedding dress for fear of offending protocol and tradition. In which cases can one marry in white? Point.
The symbolic white wedding dress
In some parts of the world, white is a color associated with mourning and brides prefer other colors to it. Conversely, in the West, wearing a white dress on her wedding day is a custom followed by many brides.
It has not always been so. In the past, the majority of women married with their most beautiful dresses, all colors combined. Red was widely represented. Women also wore pretty regional dresses on the occasion of their marital union. Only the wealthiest could buy white dresses, deemed too messy and therefore too unsustainable to be worn “in everyday dress” by others.
The white wedding dress imposed itself in marriages in the 19th century. In particular, Queen Victoria chose to wear one for her wedding, all in white satin enhanced with a few touches of lace at the neckline and sleeves. Which, embellished with simple jewels and a crown of orange blossoms rather than a tiara, caused a sensation because of its unusual color and its chic and sober rendering for a sovereign.
Also, a persistent parallel has often been made between immaculate white, assimilated to a symbol of purity, and the virginity that the young woman was deemed to have preserved for her future husband, until the wedding night.
The weight of these habits and customs, like a tradition, leads future brides to wonder about the relevance of getting married in white in certain situations: for their second weddings, if children are born out of wedlock when renewing their wishes, or even because of their age.
Remarry in white?
Which dress for a remarriage? Is the white wedding dress allowed or should you set your sights on a colorful wedding dress? The debate remains open.
Conformity has long dictated that women who remarry wear a purple dress rather than a white dress. Whether widowed or divorced.
In practice, this provision is no longer followed with as much rigor. Women dare to wear white to marry in second marriages. Sometimes more nuanced, towards creamy white, ivory, ecru dresses…
A white dress to get married after having children?
Nowadays, many couples start a family long before formalizing their union. The symbol of the virginal dress no longer arises.
However, it is only a question of symbolism and not of a law engraved in stone. The arrival of one or more children in the home does not mean that you have to give up the white wedding dress of your dreams.
This is even for a religious marriage. Going to church to marry in white after having children is accepted by the dioceses, and many couples have already united under these conditions.
What dress for less young brides?
Love is a universal feeling, which can touch at any time. And age is just a number. However, after a certain age, some hesitate to marry in white when the time comes.
It would seem that for some people, wearing a long white wedding dress over 50 would be inappropriate, to say the least. Once again, this precept has absolutely nothing official about it. This judgment engages only those who are convinced of it. Especially since the average age to get married is around 30 years old.
Renew her wedding vows all dressed in white?
Some lovers choose to renew their vows. The question of the dress often arises. And again, it all depends on each person.
Depending on whether it is a second less formal ceremony or a reception with great fanfare, the choice will not necessarily be on the same dress.
The majority of brides who renew their vows choose not to wear the dress from their first wedding for a second time. It is nevertheless possible, with a high probability of having a white wedding dress, this color being mainly chosen for the first weddings. Some will even take the opportunity to follow the recent trash-the-dress trend, where white will quickly take on a new shade.
White color can also be chosen for a new dress. Which can be a princess or mermaid dress, very elaborate or more sober, a cocktail dress, a dress found in a ready-to-wear store, or even a mottled dress.
Today, wedding dress designers do not shy away from color, on all or part of the wedding dress. Customs are changing and current couple photos are modern, vibrant, and colorful… a trend seen on the My Shooting Photo site, for example.
White as a wedding theme
Another cliché is that white is reserved for the bride. Many couples throw off this popular doctrine by making white the theme of their wedding. This includes the dress code, which the bride cannot avoid.
An excellent solution to cut short the procrastination, remarks, and concerns vis-à-vis the white dress.
The crush
If there is an occasion for which it is better to listen to your heart rather than your reason, it is when choosing your wedding dress. And in a wedding dress boutique, falling in love is not uncommon, quite the contrary.
Also, a bride-to-be can be seduced by a white dress to the point of forgetting her brakes and restraints.
Today, brides have the advantage of being able to choose their dress freely, both in shape and color. This, whatever the conditions under which their marriage must be celebrated. To find the wedding dress of your dreams, just let yourself be dictated by Love and your desires, ignoring what people will say.