If you think that wedding dresses have always been unfailingly in the white color range and untouchable by anyone else except the groom, you have another think coming. In the olden days, the wedding dress was anything but these things! Read on and find out how lucky you are as a modern bride of the 21st century.

The Color

In the olden days, bridal gowns were not the customary white of today. In fact, had you lived in medieval times, you could wear any color you fancy. You can wear funereal black, chirpy yellow, girlish pink, garish purple, and all the colors of the rainbow splashed on your wedding dress for all anybody cared! In other words, you can have fun and fantasy with your colorful wedding dress.

If you yearn for those olden times, you can blame Queen Victoria for setting the white wedding dress trend. On the 10th day of February 1840 when dear old Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe (an incestuous marriage by our standards since he was her first cousin), she wore a pale white off-shoulder gown with orange blossoms trimmings. And from then on, commoners and royals alike have fallen all over their feet to copy her! The color of the wedding dresses, not the orange blossoms, of course, unless you want to appear like a wood nymph come down from the forest to marry in the lowlands.

Still, white is not such a bad color considering that in the olden days, grooms expected their brides to pile on the fur, silk velvet and other accoutrements of wealth! You might be allowed to wear any color but along with that privilege was the burden of fabrics and funfare to wedding dresses. Now you know why bridal portraits of old often showed the bride in a less-than-happy facial expression – it must be from her smell under all that weight.

The Horror

You should be thanking your lucky stars you were not a medieval bride. In the olden days, you would be witness to wedding dresses ripped right out of the brides’ bodies for good luck.

After the couple recited their vows, they were to immediately consummate the marriage. They would go into an available room where they can seal the deal on their marriage and open the door on a new chapter of their lives. Unfortunately, guests will grab the bride’s clothes to get pieces of her clothes while she is on her way to conception, er, consummation. Simply put, you will appear bedraggled before the roll and you will lose your modesty before your virginity! Que horror, right? Fortunately, you can just throw your bouquet and your groom can throw your garter to lucky guests as good luck tokens. Now, you can have your modesty intact. Well, except if you go for one of those bridal dresses with plunging necklines and it decides to do a wardrobe malfunction on you.

Indeed, compared with the color-happy and weight-happy wedding dresses ripped to shreds by guests, you would gladly take bouquet throwing, garter pulling, rice pelting, money pinning, and all the hassles of wedding planning any time of day. Or at least, you would except that those luxurious furs, smooth silks and decadent velvets sure could be your next best friend after the diamond on your engagement ring!