Queen Crosses Boundary With White Gown

It wasn’t until about 1940 that wedding gowns reverted back to the designs of the Victorian age, with the trend continuing today. The color of wedding gowns prior to the wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots would have been bold colors of purple and reds. When she married Francois II of France she became the first to wear white. It was almost considered a slap at the French at that time as white was the official national color of mourning in France.

However, white wedding gowns did not catch on until the wedding of Queen Victoria and Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Her official wedding picture wearing a white gown was widely publicized and prompting many brides to opt for the color of their own gown. The amount of material used in the gown remained a symbol of the bride’s status in life with many of the poorer families proffering simple church dresses in white.

Through history white wedding gowns were considered a sign of innocence and purity and somewhere along the line was thought to symbolize virginity. This notion has slowly faded and most brides choose white wedding gowns regardless of the circumstance of the couple. It is not unusual for white to be worn during second and even third weddings to allow the bride to experience a white-themed wedding.