Modest Wedding Gowns: The History

The Western culture has a very interesting history of their wedding gowns and wedding ceremony. Ever wonder why the Western brides wear white for their wedding? Or why they have to wear laurel crowns and put transparent bridal veils on their faces? Why do the brides have to stand on the Groom's left side? And whoever came out with the idea of tossing the bouquet of flowers?

wedding gowns

In the early Roman times, the colour white signified a joyous celebration. White took an additional meaning of purity at the beginning of the 20th century. But what made white wedding gowns famously worn by the Westerners is because Queen Victoria started the fashion on her wedding day in 1840. Her simplicity amazed the world when the official photo of herself and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg was published outside the United Kingdom. It was known that the royal brides usually wore majestic colours like red, purple and gold.A laurel crown or wreath is a crown made out of laurel leaves - which was a plant that represented the Greece's love goddess, Aphrodite. Hence, it symbolizes recognition, victory and reward for the brides.The bridal veil was introduced by the ancient Romans who had superstitions that evil spirits would be attracted to the bride. In Latin, it literally means `I veil myself' when referring to the female verb `nubo' or marry. Other empires believed that it represented the bride's submission and willingness to obey her husband.

The bride would stand to the left of her groom so that the groom's sword arm was free to defend his bride during the wedding ceremony. This custom was practiced by the Anglo-Saxon England people.The tossing of flowers summarizes the ceremony when brides fling their bouquet of flowers to the unmarried ladies. Before flowers took their place to denote prosperity and repulse evil spirits, aromatic bunches of garlic, fruit blossoms, herbs, and grains were carried by brides centuries ago. The tradition was twisted when guests tried to get a portion of the bride's wedding gown as a symbol of good fortune. So the brides contemplated on some alternatives and the bouquet toss commenced. At the same time, the ritual of the groom removing and throwing at the garter to the unmarried men also started.It is indeed enjoyable and worth it to plan how your wedding gowns will look on you. Before you get all excited, it is best you appreciate the history of that beautiful piece of wedding gown if you want your wedding day to be stunning and at the same time symbolical.