White Weddings: What's The Meaning?

A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding that originates from Great Britain. The term comes from the colour of the wedding dress, which symbolises purity and innocence. In Western culture, the colour white is often associated with new beginnings.

The tradition of wearing a white wedding dress is commonly credited to Queen Victoria, who wore a white lace dress when she married Prince Albert in 1840. However, Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown a few centuries earlier in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France.

White weddings are traditional formal/semi-formal Christian weddings

The white wedding style was given another significant boost in 1981 when 750 million people watched the wedding of Diana Spencer to Charles, Prince of Wales, with Diana wearing an elaborate white taffeta dress with an 8-metre train. White weddings today typically include printed or engraved invitations, musicians, decorations, and clothes and flowers for the wedding party. A large white-iced wedding cake is also common, and the term now encapsulates the entire Western wedding routine, especially in the Christian tradition.

The colour white is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity and virginity, and is often considered the colour of perfection. In colour psychology, white is the colour of new beginnings, representing a blank canvas. It is also a common colour used to express high religious commitment and purity.

In addition to the bride and groom, a white wedding requires a marriage officiant, who is a religious or civil authority figure. The wedding party also typically includes groomsmen or ushers, bridesmaids, a flower girl, and a ring bearer. During the ceremony, each partner makes marriage vows to the other in front of the officiant, and there may be hymns, Bible readings, and Holy Communion, depending on the Christian denomination.

After the ceremony, the couple, officiant, and witnesses sign the wedding register or marriage license, which is required for the marriage to be legal. Guests then cheer the couple's departure with confetti, rice, or bubbles, before shifting to a reception with food, speeches, and dancing.

White is associated with purity and virginity

The colour white is associated with purity and virginity in many cultures and religions. In Western cultures, white is the most common colour for wedding dresses, symbolising purity and virginity. The tradition of wearing a white wedding dress is commonly credited to Queen Victoria, who wore a white lace dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. Debutantes had long been required to wear white court dresses and long white gloves for their first presentation at court, and so the colour white became associated with new beginnings, purity, and high religious commitment.

In ancient Egypt and ancient Rome, priestesses wore white as a symbol of purity, and Romans wore white togas as symbols of citizenship. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a white unicorn symbolised chastity, and a white lamb sacrifice and purity. In the early Christian church, white was adopted from the Romans as the colour of purity, sacrifice, and virtue. It became the colour worn by priests during Mass and by monks of the Cistercian Order. Monks of the Order of Saint Benedict dressed in the white or grey of natural undyed wool, but later changed to black, the colour of humility and penitence.

In Islam, white clothing is worn during the required pilgrimage to Mecca, and in the Shinto religion of Japan, brides traditionally wear a white wedding kimono. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, white clothing is worn to symbolise purity, innocence, and cleanliness, and in temple ceremonies, all participants wear white to symbolise unity and equality before God.

In some Asian and Slavic cultures, white is considered a colour that represents death. In China, Korea, and some other Asian countries, white is the colour of mourning and funerals. In India, it is the colour of purity, divinity, detachment, and serenity. In Tibetan Buddhism, white robes are reserved for the lama of a monastery.

In English heraldry, white or silver signified brightness, purity, virtue, and innocence.

White weddings are derived from Queen Victoria's wedding dress

The white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding that originated in Great Britain. The term "white wedding" comes from the colour of the wedding dress. Although Queen Victoria was not the first royal to be married in white, she is commonly credited with the large-scale popularity of the white wedding dress.

On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She chose to wear a white wedding dress made from heavy silk satin, designed by William Dyce and constructed by Mary Bettans. The dress was made from Spitalfields silk and Honiton lace, and was trimmed with a deep flounce and trimmings of handmade lace from Honiton and Beer in Devon. The lace motifs were appliquéd onto cotton machine-made net, and the dress was also trimmed with orange blossoms—a symbol of fertility.

Queen Victoria's choice to wear white broke from royal custom and set a precedent for Western bridal fashion. The gesture, and the notion of the Queen as an adoring and innocent bride, captured the public imagination. Victoria's decision to wear white was also a practical and patriotic one: she wanted to support and stimulate Britain's lace industry, which was facing poverty due to the invention of machine textiles. The colour white was the best way to showcase the handmade lace.

The visual ideal of the bride dressed in pure white spread quickly, largely due to the rise of print media and newspapers, and their vivid descriptions of society weddings. With print media came commercialisation: fashion plates, adverts, valentine cards, and sheet music all sold the image of the white dress and lace veil as a model of romantic propriety and purity. As a result, if a bride was marrying for the first time and could afford it, a white wedding dress became the norm.

White weddings are a display of wealth

A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding that originated in Great Britain. The term comes from the colour of the wedding dress, which was popularised by Queen Victoria when she wore a white lace dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840. The white wedding style was further popularised by Princess Diana when she wore a white dress at her wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981.

The full white wedding experience also includes other costly elements, such as printed or engraved invitations, musicians, decorations, clothes and flowers for a wedding party, and a large wedding cake. These elements contribute to the display of wealth that is often associated with white weddings.

In addition to the financial cost, a white wedding also has cultural and social implications. The colour white is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. The choice of a white wedding dress, therefore, conveys a message about the bride's character and intentions. By adopting this tradition, the bride and her family signal their alignment with these values and their commitment to a new beginning.

The white wedding has become so popular that it is now considered the "classic" wedding style worldwide. Its enduring appeal and association with royalty have turned it into a global phenomenon, influencing wedding traditions in various countries and cultures.

White weddings are a new beginning

The white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding that originated in Great Britain. The term comes from the white colour of the wedding dress, which was first popularised by Anne of Brittany in 1499 when she married Louis XII of France. However, it was Queen Victoria who made it fashionable when she married Prince Albert in 1840. She wore a simple white gown to show that she was marrying him as a woman in love, not just as a queen. The white dress also highlighted the delicate lacework, made from British-made materials, which she chose to support the declining lace industry in Devon.

The white wedding gained further traction in 1981 when 750 million people watched Lady Diana Spencer marry Charles, Prince of Wales. She wore a grand white taffeta dress with an 8-metre train.

Today, the full white wedding experience includes printed or engraved invitations, musicians, decorations, flowers, and clothes for the wedding party. It is common to have a celebration after the ceremony, usually featuring a large white-iced wedding cake.

White weddings are a time-honoured tradition, symbolising a new chapter in the lives of the couple and their families. They are a testament to enduring love and the power of new beginnings.

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