Wedding Dress Colors

For the many decades, white wedding dresses were just not seen. For instance, if you were a bride during the medieval times, any color you wanted to wear was just fine. If you wanted, you could use black (now seen as a funeral color), bright yellow, girly pink, purple, red, blue, etc. Any color that was seen in a rainbow could be used on your wedding dress. If you wanted to mix and match it, no one ever said a word about it.

So who is to blame for the current white bridal gown movement? Look at Queen Victoria of the 19^th century. On Feb. 10, 1840 she married Prince Albert of Saxe. Albert was her first cousin, something many people nowadays see as incest. Queen Victoria wore a pale white off the shoulder gown with orange trimmings. After this time, many people, royals and commoners, have tried to copy her style. No, brides were and are not copying those orange trimmings but the color of her wedding dress.

Wearing white often meant wearing other items as well. Grooms expected brides to use fur, silk, etc. to accentuate their position in society. Wearing any color was fine but brides were often made to wear heavy to light fabrics with their gowns. When you glance at the past wedding pictures of many brides, you often see them with expressions that are not so joyous. Wearing so much on the wedding dress can be overwhelmingly heavy.

Wedding Horrors of the Past – The Shredding of the Dress

Be grateful that you are a bride of today instead of the medieval days. Why? Brides were expected to give up their virginity the night of their wedding day. Most often, they would find a room shortly after the wedding was over.  The wedding guests would also rip her dress to get a piece of it. The ripping of the dress was a symbol of good luck. Imagine the horror she went through, as she got ready to consummate her marriage and guests tore her dress.

Wedding Tokens of the Present – Garters and Bouquets

So what do wedding guests get as a prize for attending? Actually, brides will often toss their wedding bouquet and the groom will toss her garter out to the guests to catch. Those who do are often geared for good luck. This means a bride’s modesty is still intact and she doesn’t have to worry with her dress getting ripped up.

Most brides, if given a choice, would gladly throw out their garters and bouquets, get pelted with rice, pinned with money or deal with the wedding planner hassles that go along with saying “I do” as opposed to medieval bride times.

If looking at centuries past, women wore what would make them look brilliant and alluring on their wedding day. For high societal members who coudl afford it, most brides chose colors of purple, red and black.

The rich elite would wear furs and gems on their dresses so that everyone knew the bride when she made her presence known. Brides of rich families wore velvet and silk. Brides of a lower class would use linen or fine wool for their dress material. Certain colors were considered lucky and unlucky for a wedding dress. For instance, the shades of:

- Pink was unlucky for 11 months of the year except for the month of May

- Green was unlucky because it’s the color that invites fairies and/or rain.

- Blue was lucky because it represented the bride’s fidelity, purity and everlasting love. The color blue was often chosen because many people believed it made a man (groom) faithful to their wives through the entire marriage.

- White was unlucky and lucky depending on where in the world you were. Some countries believed it represented innocence. In other parts, it was concerned the color of bereavement.

- Yellow was seen as lucky because it was such as fashionable color.

- Red was unlucky because the color was used to represent scarlet women.

- Grey was neutral; women used the color on the bridal dress so they could use the dress any other time they saw fit.

- Black was unlucky because it was seen as the color of bereavement just like white was in some cultures.

When looking back through the decades, dresses came in a variety of colors excluding the colors of red and black.

When did white become fashionable for a wedding especially since it was considered taboo and only used for mourning? It would be during the 1800s when Princess Charlotte wore herself a white wedding gown when she married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.

Not very much longer after the princess/prince’s union, Queen Victoria chose herself a white silk wedding gown to wear. However, the color was chosen to add extras to the dress including lace she already owned. Her bridesmaids carried the train of her wedding gown. Would she use this wedding gown again? She did. During the Diamond Jubilee celebration she wore the gown over a black silk gown. Thus began the trend for women of today to use the color white on their wedding day.

When you begin looking at today’s wedding dresses, they come in a variety of colors including eggshell, ecru, ivory and the standard white. Wedding gown designs have changed with the times. Most women who wear a white wedding gown see it as a sign that white means purity.

The country of the United Kingdom has some of the most well known wedding dress designers living there. Many of these designers have a collection of antique wedding gowns. Designers will use antique wedding dresses to give a sense of a “fairytale” wedding in a fashionable way.

Wedding Dress Styles of the United Kingdom

If you are looking for a wedding dress with a touch of the United Kingdom style, you will have plenty to choose from. In fact, looking at some weddings, you may notice some wedding gown styles that have a look of the 16^th century to the early 20^th century.

During weddings of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the bride often wore a colored wedding dress. It wasn’t until the 20^th century that the traditional white color was implemented.

Each generation would be handed the family wedding dress heirloom and continue to preserve it for the next generation to wear. You can see these dresses in museum collections with their lace and satin still in tact and in close to perfect form

Dresses during the Victorian and Edwardian eras have yet to be equaled with anything presently known. Victorian dresses have a style of elegance, spirit and morality attached to it…mainly due to its continuous display.

Many Victorian wedding gowns can be seen in art museums around the world. Want to learn more about the British history and traditions regarding these eras? Take a gander at the Internet.

English Wedding Gown Design – Corsets

Around the 18^th century, a new wedding design was implemented called a corset. What is a corset? It’s dress that’s got a simple shape to wear that doesn’t put pressure on the modern bride’s diaphragm and waist. Going with the British style, the corset is designed to show off some cleavage of the bride’s bust. It’s also designed to give an illusion of a small waist. This illusion is further illustrated by the decorations that are designed on.

These days, corsets are often cut with the use of the original patterns. However, they can be altered to mirror the modern era with waists cut a bit lower and have elastic inserts added so that the bride is comfortable when she wears the dress.

An English wedding corset that’s been property cut will have a soft finish all the way to base of the dress. Corsets can be designed using any kind of fabric and they can be creatively decorated so that not one has to be similar. It also comes with a vast array of sleeve forms.

Medieval-Type Wedding Dresses – Evelyn and Estella

Looking for wedding gowns that have medieval tones? Try Evelyn and Estella. Estella gowns are quite modern with a slim fitting fishtail that has the grace of a Victorian dress. Evelyn is a dress with an arm gauntlet, toning skirt and hanging sleeves.

Most all of the wedding dresses in the English era have undergone some alterations to fit the wedding ceremonies of present. However, these dresses still have that classic English design that’s apparent to guests.

Chinese Bridal Dress

Many Chinese brides will choose a traditional one-piece frock to wear. This is known as a Qi Pao. It’s embellished with gold and silver designs.  Brides in Southern China will wear two-piece wedding dresses. These are known as Qun Gua Kwa or Cheongsam. They are adorned with phoenix and golden dragon designs. All three wedding dresses are typically red because the color is a symbol of good luck to ward off evil spirits.

Going with traditional times, a red veil was used as part of the wedding dress outfit to cover the bride’s face while the ceremony was taking place. Why are the phoenix and dragon designs so important to the wedding dress? It’s a symbol of female to male power. One of the most interesting things to know about Chinese wedding ceremonies regarding the bride’s wedding dress is that she will typically wear up to six different dresses during the event and night as opposed to the American tradition of one, maybe two. Thus, the wedding dress is often the most important feature for the blessed event.

Picking Out a Chinese Wedding Gown

When you decide to have a Chinese wedding, it’s important to choose your wedding dress carefully. Remember that the dress you choose will set the tone of your wedding so it’s imperative that you have a dress that makes you feel special and relaxed. For this reason above, consider looking to a designer who has done this sort of wedding dress before. However, do not commit to any purchase until you set a budget and find out all your options. Consider renting a gown for this occasion if you are looking to save money.

If you are going with a medieval or renaissance wedding dress, you may want to do the entire wedding ceremony in this theme. Some couples will actually do the whole set up as if their romance blossomed in the past to the present. It’s important that the dress you choose will accentuate your wedding as well as yourself. There are all kinds of Chinese wedding dresses that you can choose that will accentuate your features. You can choose a Chinese wedding dress that has a floral pattern and add in some beadwork and embroidery to it.

Be sure that the gown you get is measured just for you. If you are ordering it off the Internet or elsewhere, make sure you give your correct body measurements. If there are problems with it, be sure to correct them before the big day.

Remember that your wedding is a special moment in time and that the gown that you choose is to signify the importance of this ceremony. Choose a Chinese wedding gown you are comfortable in for your special day.

Time-honored Indian Wedding Gowns

There are many wedding gowns that fall into the traditional Indian wedding gown category. Many of these bridal gowns, zari and embroidered sarees and gem embroidered gowns are made in varying styles, making what they can of the traditional fabric that includes: brocade silk, zari, crepes and much more. The bride’s gown is made with elegance and craftsmanship designed to present her with royalty and style. The color red is often used for traditional wedding gowns.

Modern Indian Wedding Gowns

Presently, traditional Indian wedding gowns aren’t so fashionable to use during the bridal event. Most Indian brides consider an array of ideas that happens to include unordinary gowns and ceremonies that have a theme. Modern designers will utilize both the present and traditional look to come up with a bridal design that looks conventional but maintain an air of modernization to it. Most bridal gowns come in a multitude of colors. During the winter or cooler months, the popular colors are: red, maroon and rust. During the summer or warmer months, the colors gold, pink or cream are popular choices.

Popular Indian Wedding Gown Styles

For Indian brides looking at wedding gowns, there are three popular styles to choose from. They are:

- Gaghra choli

- Salwar kameeze

- Saris

When an Indian woman wears a gaghra choli, she’s basically wearing a long shirt on a short blouse called a choli. It exposes some of the bride’s stomach that can, if she wishes, to cover with a dupatta. When a woman chooses to wear a sari, the more popular wedding gown choice, she wears a long fabric over her shirt or a skirt wrapped around her body. Her styles can be simple or elaborate, whatever she feels like going with. Most of the time an Indian bride will choose her dress based on the culture she is from. Most bridal dresses are very exotic and doesn’t take much difficulty to wear nor are they costly.

However, if you are looking for something a bit diverse for your wedding gown, use the traditional style. Traditional dresses have a vast array of styles that helps give the whole ceremony plus other nuptial events a unique but exciting touch. Have you made up your mind to go with an Indian wedding gown? Look to the Internet to find yourself a wedding gown. It’s not impossible to find one in a bridal shop but keep your eyes open.

How To Choose an Indian Wedding Gown

The country of India is vast with a large array of traditions and customs including in the areas of marriage. For women, a wedding is a vital occasion. Her dress will contribute to making the event a memory to remember. When a bride is picking out her dress, her tastes should reflect her personality. She may choose metallic colors for her wedding dress or go with a golden color. She can use rich fabrics to design her dress such as silk or velvet.  An Indian bride may even go with transparent fabrics that are lightweight.

The Pakistani Wedding Dress Features

Wedding Dress Colors

When you first look upon the Pakistani wedding dress, you’ll notice that it’s quite simple. However, it’s dotted with customary symbols that symbolize the Pakistani way of life. While minute, these symbols have cultural relevance. Brides are welcome to choose wedding dress colors but many often wear the color red.

Wedding Dress Fabrics

There isn’t just one fabric for a Pakistani wedding dress. It can range from jamawar to chiffon to silk. Silk can either be used alone or with other materials like katan.

Wedding Dress Fabric Designs

A Pakistani wedding dress often has a vast array of designs including the kora, resham, gotta and dabka. They often have sequins, flowers and neckline sleeves.

Choosing a Pakistani Wedding Dress Design

There are tons of wedding dress designs for Pakistani brides to choose from. Some Pakistani brides will choose to go with the Artemesia. The Artemesia has a silk crepe top with an embroidered strap. Other Pakistani brides may choose to go with the mermaid lehenga, which has a sweetheart neckline with a body rapper, and zip closure. Some may choose to go with the gala lehenga.

This is a long shirt that has a keyhole at its neckline. This happens to be the more popular wedding dress design for many Pakistani brides. However, the artemesia, lehenga and gharara are rapidly encroaching on the design. Still, there are more traditional fashions that are still being used. They are the lengha choli and chorida pajamas. Any one of these

Kinds of Hawaiian Wedding/Bridal Gowns

There are all kinds of floral prints used on Hawaiian bridals gowns. Some of these designs include:

- Alii,

- Beach,

- Ginger shadow,

- Tangerine kealia,

- Moon halekala, and

- Cloud pele.

There are other kids of Hawaiian floral wedding gowns that put together color and the island chain charm. These include:

- Honeymoon,

- Milk,

- Ivory paradise,

- Calla kahanu, and

- Cream Waikoloa.

Native Hawaiian Bridal Gown – Holoku

The holoku is a native Hawaiian bridal gown that is floral in nature, fused together with eternal silhouettes and is made up of uncomplicated fabrics. Those brides that wish to hold a wedding that is a not so traditional but want the feeling of a traditional wedding will often choose the holoku wedding gown for their dress.

Most brides will often go with the traditional wedding dress: white, flowing gown with a bonnet, train, veil and much more.

Remember that the holoku is a native Hawaiian dress. Thus, it is a dress that goes wonderfully with any color including white or black. It’s a dress that does well with any bride’s body type because it can be worn loosely or tightly. If a bride chooses the loose fitting side and has a beach wedding, the wind will sway the gown… a perfect beach wedding sight.

Styles of Hawaiian Wedding Gowns

Many women who decide to hold a beach wedding and wear the holoku with a ruffled bottom look obsequious. However, there are other styles of wedding gowns that many brides to be will choose to use. One such dress is the mermaid style dress. The mermaid style is made to show off the bride’s curves with a wider edge and figure-hugging silhouette.

What are the other kinds of wedding gowns that Hawaiian brides often choose to wear on a beach wedding? They include:

- Strapless,

- Spaghetti straps, and

- Halter.

Hawaiian Wedding Gowns and Colors

It’s important that the wedding gown the bride chooses to wear accents the island’s passionate and tropical personality. Thus colors of the wedding gown must be chosen delicately. If a bride chooses to use a black gown, using colors of green, yellow and red is a must for the surrounding. If pale colors for the dress are chosen, then pale shades of green, pink, blue and/or yellow with flowers in the setting do well.

Hawaiian Wedding Gowns Accessories

It’s important that your Hawaiian wedding dress is finished off with some kind accessory. You can do all kinds of things including silk flowers, fragile shells and lei shells. You can also make your own jewelry out of shell strands, pearls, freshwater pearls, mango wood, etc. There are all kinds of accessories that can go with your dress. It’s up to you to decide what accessory will accent your wedding dress.

If you choose to go with a Samoan wedding dress, there are things you need to keep in mind. They include: the bride’s body type, price and kind of wedding being held.

Samoan brides and Samoans’ wedding dress fabrics

When a Samoan bride is putting together her dress, she’ll often use a tapa cloth. Tapa cloth is made from mulberry bark. However, some Samoan brides will choose the siapo cloth, which is made from hardwood bark. Siapo fabric is vital to wedding ceremonies if the culture stresses the bride to design her wedding dress with this fabric.

Village chiefs and maidens will dress in the siapo cloth when giving gifts to the newly married bride and groom. During the teulia festival, Samoans will wear siapos and tapas fabrics. To get the Siapo fabrics, designers will cut and soak the hardwood tree bark in water. They do it until they become pulpy. Once it does, they lay the fabric on the ground and rub out the water, using a number of shells.

Once the water has been rubbed out of the fabric, it stays in the sunlight for about two hours. Afterwards, red clay is applied and rubbed in. The clay makes the fabric soft so it can be stitched together to design the wedding dress. Some modern wedding dresses have Samoan designs and/or patterns but are made from silk fabric.

Going Online to Get A Samoan Wedding Gown

If you are interested in obtaining a Samoan wedding dress, you’ll have to look to the Internet in your quest. You can purchase and/or rent one by blogging on websites that actually sell them and how you can purchase/rent one at a decent/fair price.

Once you have a list full of websites, visit each one to see which one offers the best dress for the best price. Be sure you get pictures of what the Samoan dress looks like. Don’t forget that you will need a current credit/debit card to purchase your wedding dress.

Most online stores do provide extra services including: transporting the dress to the buying customer. Other online stores will offer discounts to consumers who buy so many items from the website.

Picking Out Your Samoan Wedding Dress – What Color, What Pattern

Most Samoan wedding dresses have patterns. These patterns often make their dress prettier. If you are choosing a Samoan wedding dress, you have the selection of picking certain background colors for the dress. These colors are often: white, brown, cream and black. A conventional Samoan dress is colorful due to the barks that are used to design them. For instance, a white dress can have brown patterns bestowed upon it.  Most siapo designers will decorate the wedding gown approximately two days before the ceremony is to commence.

One thing that the Mexican wedding dresses express is the Spanish influence that is on the Mexican fashion. However, there’s still some innovating that can be done. For instance, a white full-length wedding dress (often seen in the American culture) may not quite fit into their style. For the Mexican culture, the huipil is the dress of choice. The huipil is actually a dress that can add color to a wedding theme with its extravagant designs and patterns. Should the wedding be situated at the beach, the dress should be considered as well. What would do nicely for a wedding dress on the beach? The dress that would go well with it would be a seamless design that goes well with the sand, surf and sun.

A conventional Mexican wedding dress is likely not to do well in a beach setting. It may clash with the kind of theme you are intending to have as well as gather dust, dirt and small amounts of debris. Mexican men often use a guayabera that is similar in boldness to the Mexican woman’s wedding dress.

Conservative Couples and Mexican Wedding Gowns

If you want to be more conservative with your Mexican wedding, you still have some things to choose from. If you want a gown that screams out innocence, then you can find gowns that can right to the floor and will have sleeves and veins. Most Mexican dresses of this type are made of silk. Silk is comfortable fabric and is sleek in its style.

Styles of Mexican Wedding Dresses

Flamenco Wedding Dress – What is a Flamenco Wedding Dress? It’s actually a fitted dress with a bolero jacket. For the groom, a matador jacket completes the ensemble. The perfect outfit to the matador jacket is to wear skintight trousers.

If you are to have bridesmaids and flower girls, they may add ruffles to their dress to complete the entire wedding setup. There are plenty of accessories that can be added to the wedding dress and the rest of the ensemble. If the wedding date is in the winter months, a quechquémitl can cover the bride. What is it? It’s a thick cape that drapes off the bride’s shoulder and drops to the floor easily.

If you care to wear a skirt, try the enredo. It gives some protection from the cold air while still maintaining a sense of style. If you are the adventurous type, mix and match your wedding dress.

Wedding Days

Every culture around the world has their unique way to celebrate a wedding. Their styles differ and the way they plan it is different. How they are made can vary by how difficult they are to make. Mexican wedding dresses are easy to make and can be bought in many bridal stores.

What do Celtic wedding dresses symbolize? It symbolizes independence and fervor. In fact, marriage traditions of the Irish are rooted into the medieval Irish Celtic folklore. Glasgow Celtic wedding gown designers usually make renaissance to medieval gowns for brides to wear on their wedding day. Each one is custom made and has been given exclusive attention and personality to it.

Some brides will look for designers who can design a wedding gown based on historical themes such as gothic, medieval or other historical style. Wedding dresses of these times have quite unique and are very enthralling. Wedding dresses of the Celtic origin help to put forth the heritage of the bride while putting importance on the renaissance livelihood and dress styles. Renaissance clothing has grown in an immense popularity so finding a wedding dress geared toward this style can be simple.

Celtic Designs for Wedding Dresses

If you are of Celtic background and wish to celebrate it with your loved ones, there are many Celtic-wedding dresses to pick from. Dresses of this time period send the bride back to a time that chivalry, romance and knightly qualities ruled the world. There is no need to worry with the formality or informality of a wedding when picking out a Celtic wedding dress. These dresses can be worn in any kind of wedding, formal or informal. It may simply be an overdress that’s being worn over a bodice or another dress.

What is most Celtic wedding dresses designed with? Celtic wedding dresses typically have flowing fabrics made with lace, silk, cotton or velvet. They can be very intricate or simple in design. Many modern Irish Celtic wedding dresses will use designs like a vast array of colors that were influenced by fantasy or medieval fashions.  Brides may incorporate these techniques into their wedding dress or event.

Picking Out a Celtic Wedding Dress

If you want to find a Celtic wedding dress but realize that no store in your area sells them, don’t despair. Instead, look to the Internet to find your gown. For instance, you can find a Glasgow Celtic wedding dress to wear. It’s based on the 18^th century Corset while utilizing embroidery to give it some style. If you plan to have a huge wedding, this is the wedding gown for you. However, if you are looking more for a medieval Celtic wedding dress then a corset dress is perfect. It’s typically used alongside the Gothic dress.

The Celtic heritage is quite elegant and for brides looking for wedding dresses of this time period with no such luck, wedding dress designers can help you create the one that is perfect for you. Celtic wedding dresses often signify the couple’s eternal love for each other. If you are looking to purchase a custom-made Celtic gown, it’s imperative you find a person who has had experience in this field.