By Jerry Leung

Ask anyone who has been a part of this world since the 70′’s what comes first to their minds at the mention of the word ”wedding gown” and in all probability they will recall the most famous wedding held in the 1980`s.On 29th July 1981, Lady Diana Spencer walked into everybody’’s hearts wearing a spectacular dress with a twenty five foot train which seemed never ending as she entered the cathedral to be married to the Prince of Wales.

David Emanuel and The Elizabeth puff ball meringue wedding dress with big puffed sleeves had a long skirt made of ivory silk pure taffeta with flounces, bows and old lace and was hand embroidered with 10,000 sequins and pearls. The flowers she held in her hands also set the trend for big bouquets, with trailing greenery. Many young ladies at that time were immensely inspired to replicate what everyone thought was the wedding of the century. Of course not everyone had the royal factor in their lives which could have maybe helped them pull it off.

Wedding gowns have never been just ivory or white as many would assume. In the 1800′’s, brides were known to wear other colors like blue, pink, and burgundy and in some rare cases even black. It was believed to be more practical for brides belonging to not so wealthy families to wear darker colors. Grey were a common shade favored by brides of lower classes as the dress could be re-used. White linen dresses were worn for weddings during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as they were homespun and could be used as Sunday best dresses or on other occasions even after the wedding.

In medieval times, a royal marriage was more of an alliance between two countries rather than two individuals and the attire worn by young royal brides was considered as a reflection of the status of her country. In the 1940′’s women preferred to marry in suits or borrowed and rented wedding dresses and dresses made of parachute silk as a show of sacrifice and support during World War II. Military brides married in uniform. In the 1920′’s Coco Chanel brought in a revolutionary change in wedding gowns with the short wedding dress. Going one step further many years later a modern and daring Pamela Anderson preferred to get married in a white bikini.

Probably what made weddings gowns change color and settle for a permanent white or ivory, with few exceptions was the 1840 wedding of 20 year old Queen Victoria with her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Royal brides before this wore heavy state robes made of materials like velvet and brocade. The Queen set the trend rolling wearing orange blossoms in her hair and a white wedding dress and was the first royal bride who had bridesmaids to carry her train. And white has remained the traditional color for wedding gowns till date. A wedding is perhaps the most significant event in any young woman’’s life and today a white wedding gown is an emblem of virtuousness and purity and is something that every girl dreams of getting married in.

About The Author

Jerry Leung design Chinese Wedding Invitation in Hong Kong. Be sure to check Unique Wedding Favor Ideas and his tips on Poems for Wedding Vow Renewal.