Wedding dress

What it is

A wedding dress, or bridal gown, is worn by the bride at a wedding ceremony. In Western countries white is the usual colour, though a dress can be an off-white shade, including what is called eggshell, ecru or ivory. Elsewhere other colours are traditional: Chinese and Indian brides commonly wear red, because red is thought to bring good fortune. In India the bridal garment is a sari, usually red with gold brocade, red being linked with married women. A few regions and castes use other colours, such as red and white checks in Tamil Nadu.

How white became usual

White did not begin as the ordinary colour. Brides once dressed to match their family's standing: wealthy women wore furs, velvet and silk in strong colours, while poorer brides put on their best church dress. The earliest royal bride recorded in white was Philippa of England, whose white silk tunic and cloak, edged with squirrel and ermine, were worn at her 1406 marriage to Eric of Pomerania. Mary, Queen of Scots, also married in white in 1559. Neither started a general fashion. Then in 1840 Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in a white gown trimmed with Honiton lace.

Styles through time

Queen Victoria's wedding was drawn and printed in many papers, and well-off brides began to copy her. Black had been a common choice in Finland, and any colour was acceptable, but the white gown took hold among Victorian elites and then spread further. Dress styles followed ordinary fashion. By the early 1900s bridal clothes carried plenty of trim, lace and frills. In the 1920s a dress was often short at the front with a longer train behind, worn with a cloche-style veil. That habit of copying the day's fashions lasted into the late 1960s, when long, full skirts like Victorian ones came back.

Around the world

Not every bride wears white. In India the wedding sari is usually red with gold brocade, and red is the colour linked with married women there; some regions and castes choose differently, as with the red and white checks worn in Tamil Nadu. Kurdish brides followed their own rules: a first-time bride wore red, connected in Kurdish tradition to the bleeding of first intercourse, while a woman who had married before wore pink. Many Kurds now associate red dresses with poor rural life, and the practice is uncommon. Chinese brides, too, have favoured red, the colour of good fortune. In the West white is still the expected choice.

How Wedding dress is kept

A wedding dress is worn by the bride on her wedding day. It is chosen before the ceremony; in the past a bride was expected to dress according to her family's standing, and women from wealthy homes wore costly fabrics such as silk, velvet and fur, while poorer brides wore their best church dress. She puts the gown on for the ceremony and wears it while the marriage takes place, in front of the guests who have gathered. Colour and shape follow the custom of her community or country.

When and where

It is worn on the wedding day, during the ceremony itself. There is no season or fixed date attached to the dress: the bride wears it whenever her wedding is held, and the colour and shape follow the customs of her community at that time.

Wedding dresses are worn wherever marriages are held. The white gown is strongest in Western countries and in places shaped by Western fashion. Red bridal dress is well established in India, where the sari is usual, and in Chinese weddings. Kurdish communities have their own colour rules. In Finland black was once a common bridal colour.

What Wedding dress means

What a bride wears carries meaning. White in the West has stood for a formal, dignified wedding since Queen Victoria's day. Red in India and China is a colour of good fortune, and in India it is tied to married women, so a red sari announces that the bride is entering married life. In Kurdish custom the colour once spoke about a woman's history: red for a first marriage, pink for a bride who had married before. Dress also marked rank, since rich fabrics showed family standing.

Questions people ask about Wedding dress

See also

ChuraA set of bridal bangles worn across South Asia at weddings and in early marriageMangalasutraA necklace tied by the groom at a wedding, worn through married lifeSherwaniA long buttoned coat for men, worn at weddings and state occasions in South AsiaTurbanCloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identity

Good reading and sources

• Traditional Mexican dress · V&AV&A, Article
• Traditional Mexican dress · V&AV&A, Article

• Wedding dress on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-11.