Victorian Wedding Dresses

White wedding dresses were popular long before Queen Victoria; at least among the wealthy nobility. The white textiles were more to show wealth of the brides family, than they were about purity and romance. Actually, blue was the color originally connected to purity. Also, white was a valued colour before the invention of bleaching techniques, as it was hard to maintain. The jewlery and jewels sown onto the dress were the sign of nobility, too.

Silver was also a popular colour - nothing means wealth more than a gold or silver fabric. Charlotte, Victoria's cousin (and aunt, because she married Victoria's uncle) was married in a metallic gown, as well as many others before her. The dress was in silver lace, 'net', as they called it back then, with white silk underneath. It was cut in the apron style, which was very popular.

Princess Charlotte's wedding dress 

The Museum of London; part of  the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection

(1816)

(source: http://historicalhussies.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/regency-weddings.html)

The reason why Victoria did not follow the 'tradition' and wear a gold or silver dress is because she wasn't an ordinary royal bride - she was the Queen. Her white lace trimmed dress symbolised practicality and patriotism, rather than her wealth, purity or even beauty. She chose handmade Honiton lace and the white colour for the dress mainly to showcase the lace. Also, she had a garland made our of orange blossoms and myrtle - symbols of purity, love and domestic happiness. These flowers were used as the decoration on her wedding cake, too.

Queen Victoria in her wedding dress 

(1842)
Oil on canvas
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter

(source: http://thedreamstress.com/2011/04/queen-victorias-wedding-dress-the-one-that-started-it-all/)

Not everyone in the 19th century could afford a wedding dress. Lower and middle classes wore the best dresses they owned, until bleach came along.

http://www.victoriana.com/bridal/bridal-welcome.htm

http://historicalhussies.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/regency-weddings.html

http://thedreamstress.com/2011/04/queen-victorias-wedding-dress-the-one-that-started-it-all/
reference found on feb 7/8/9th 2015