If you want a truly unique bridal dress on your wedding day, you can look for inspirations from the wedding attire of different cultures. You can veer away from the traditional white gown, the trendy strapless bodice, the long veil, and the seed pearls and embroidery of your peers’ wedding gowns. Of course, you will need a certain unorthodox spirit to carry out your inspired wedding dress plus a husband who will cater to your whims. If he is of the culture you borrowed your inspiration from, then better for you!
The Indian Sari
You have seen a sari worn by Indian beauty queens like Aishwarya Rai. You cannot deny how these flowing garments emphasize feminine grace and attributes while leaving plenty to the imagination. Add in colorful threads and embellishments and you have one head-turning dress!
For Indian weddings, the traditional colors are red and white that symbolizes fertility, wealth and purity. Instead of an all-white bridal dress, you can inject touches of red – a ribbon or hem embroidery perhaps. If you want to take it one step further, you can design a sari-inspired wedding gown. You would have dispensed of stiff petticoats and restraining corsets and just be comfortable during the wedding ceremony and the reception.
The Irish Blue
The traditional Irish bridal dress is blue, which symbolizes purity. Lest you think that it should be green since it is the color of Ireland, it is actually considered bad luck for the bride to wear green. (Thus, if invited to an Irish wedding, avoid wearing green, too). You can wear a blue-hued dress, if you want. Better yet, you can always use the finest Irish lace in your wedding dress. Not only do you go haute couture, you also have an exquisite dress on your wedding day!
The Scottish Tartan
Fortunately for you, The Scottish bridal dress is traditionally white or cream. However, you can add touches of tartan to your dress – tartan ribbons on your bouquet, tartan trimmings, tartan shawl, or a tartan waist sash. This livens up an otherwise all-white ensemble with tradition particularly when your family or that of your husband’s has Scottish origins. Or if you do not want a tartan, you can always have Celtic knot work embroidered on your wedding gown to symbolize eternal love. At the very least, you have ancient patterns with meanings instead of the customary flowers and leaves.
The Hispanic Heritage
If you are of Hispanic heritage, the tradition about wearing something borrowed takes on a different meaning. Your wedding dress might very well be the wedding dress of your mother and your grandmother, with a few revisions to suit your bodily measurements. This reflects your pride of family, a trait highly valued in Hispanic society.
The Spanish traditional wedding gown represents a radical departure from the customary white of Western weddings. The Spanish bride wears a black gown and a lacy mantilla veil to symbolize her devotion to her husband until death. If you choose a Spanish-influenced gown vis-a-vis color, you do not need to despair. You can sew in ribbons of yellow, blue and red into your lingerie or infuse touches of these colors into your gown.
Of course, when you do choose a foreign influence as inspiration for your bridal dress, do not make the mistake of turning it into a hodgepodge of clashing ideas. You want a timeless appeal with a traditional touch to your wedding gown!
