Whilst scanning the internet today I came across an interesting article on http://www.wedding-news.co.uk. Apparently 10% of young brides would marry in red. RED…..? I’m assuming the women asked in this survey weren’t married (they were answering a question ‘what would they get married in?’) so when it came down to it would they really? I’m struggling to think if I’ve seen a red wedding dress. Hmmmm…. Kat Slater is coming to mind when she married Alfie Moon on Eastenders and of course Paula Yates, but after a quick search on Google I couldn’t find anyone else. I confess, I own a pair of red stiletto shoes that have never been worn outside the house. Why bother buying them? Well, when I wear them and look down at my feet they make me smile; which doesn’t happen very often. Red is definitely attention grabbing and where-as my feet could do with less focus, is that real the reason for brides turning to such a bold colour as their choice for a wedding dress?
This got me thinking. Why do brides traditionally wear white? It turns out white wedding dresses only became popular after photographs were published of Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert. Before then, it was very much the choice of the bride who was commonly seen wearing bold colours and layers of expensive materials and furs. It’s thought that a white wedding dress signifies virginity but even this isn’t true. Blue is the colour associated with purity, so there isn’t really any significance behind the white wedding dress. What we think of as ‘traditional’ is based on a wedding dress designed from lace. Queen Victoria simply liked it and it strikes me that maybe we should choose the colour and material of our wedding dresses in the same way.
Happy wedding dress shopping.
