Christ after the Resurrection is traditionally portrayed dressed in white. The color white is a blank canvas, just waiting to be written on.” White is the color in Western culture most often associated with beginnings. As for other significant meanings for white on a wedding day, “” says, “In color psychology, white is the color of new beginnings - wiping the slate clean. White is also often considered to be the color of perfection. “Color Wheel Pro” describes white in association with light, goodness, innocence, purity and virginity. It continues to be prevalent amongst contemporary brides and as Wedding Wire, a wedding company reports, about 85 percent of brides still choose to wear a white wedding dress because in its typical fashion, it has remained steady through the years. Western culture has long followed the tradition of wearing white on one’s wedding day. Today, Western brides frequently wear white, cream, or ivory dresses for any number of marriages the color of the dress is not a comment on the bride's sexual history. Through the earlier parts of the 20th century, Western etiquette prescribed that a white dress should not be worn for subsequent marriages, since the wearing of white was mistakenly regarded by some as an ancient symbol of virginity, despite the fact that wearing white is a fairly recent development in wedding traditions, and its origin has more to do with conspicuous consumption from an era when a white dress was luxurious, even prodigal, because of difficulties with laundering delicate clothes. įor first marriages in Western countries, a white wedding dress is usually worn, a tradition started by Queen Victoria, who wore a white court dress for her wedding. Previously, until at least the middle of the 19th century, the bride generally wore her best dress, whatever color it was, or if the bride was well-off, she ordered a new dress in her favorite color and expected to wear it again. Usually, in the ' white wedding' model, the bride's dress is bought specifically for the wedding, and is not in a style that could be worn for any subsequent events. In Europe and North America, the typical attire for a bride is a formal dress, veil and gloves. From that time onward, wedding dresses have been based on Victorian ballgowns.

Up until the late 1930s wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day.

The woman to the far right is wearing a typical wedding dress from 1929.

The bride