If you are about to get married or you know someone who is going to do it, it is possible that the dress that the bride is going to wear has already been chosen and that it is as tradition marks, white, but where does this custom come from? ? Why do brides wear white on their wedding day?
Why do brides wear white on their wedding day?
Whenever we hear someone talk about the design of a wedding dress, and when an allusion is made to the color, it is usually added or added, “as tradition dictates,” but the truth is that this custom of wearing a wedding dress is white is not as old-fashioned as we might think. In fact, in ancient times women married in dresses that could be of other colors and it was not until the 15th century that the use of white for brides’ dresses began.
Thus, in Greek and Roman times , for example, brides wore tunics down to the feet and a saffron surcoat; the tunic was also tied at the waist thanks to a woolen band whose knot had to be untied by the husband during the wedding night.
In the Middle Ages, it was customary to embellish the bride with precious and colorful dresses, a symbol of wealth. In fact, the more color it had, the more linked to wealth it was understood.
To see the first white wedding dress appear, you have to wait until 1406 , when Princess Philippa of England was married. After her, it was the turn of Maria Estuardo (Maria I) who married Francisco II of France in 1558, who chose to dress in white , although surprisingly at that time this was the color of mourning.
Later, in 1840, the marriage of Queen Victoria of England , also saw how the bride wore white and in fact it was from this royal wedding when the wedding dress began to be imposed in white for the rest of the brides of all the world.
Over the years and since weddings were all celebrated by the Church until recently, the white of the wedding dress ended up being linked to the fact that the woman married a virgin since her wedding dress represented her purity
The history of the wedding dress veil
If the wedding dress has a very long tradition, the wedding veil also has its story to tell.
The tradition of the bridal veil has its roots already in Ancient Rome , when the woman wore it next to the altar as a sign of good omen : during the ceremony, in fact, the veil – called felummum – was also placed on the head of the groom, so that the protection was for the couple.
The Roman wedding veil had the colors of fire, therefore yellow or red. A crown of myrtle and orange blossom was also placed on top, symbolizing the bride’s victory against the temptations of passion; that is to say, that she came to the marriage as a virgin.
On the other hand, the meaning of the wedding veil in the Middle Ages was different: fastened to the head with gold threads and beads, it was believed that it served to protect the bride from evil spirits and bad omens.
In more recent times, when marriages were still arranged , the bridal veil was used to hide the bride, to cover her face especially if she was less beautiful and charming: only after having said yes, at the end of the ceremony , her husband could lift the veil and thus reveal the face of his new wife. The veil was already white to match the dress.
