Wearing a splendid dress is the dream of many women, who yearn for the day of their wedding since they are little girls. Beyond design and desire to be beautiful, tradition plays a leading role in the choice of wedding dresses; depending on the culture where the marital union occurs, they have a wide range of meanings, associated with love and prosperity of the couple.
Wedding dresses are usually the focus of the religious ceremony where bride and groom seal their commitment of love. Most women choose designs that make them look beautiful and reflect the joy of this special day. In Western culture, wedding dresses vary in design, but not in color, as most prefer white or some slight variation in the same range of pastel shades, always associated with purity.
However, this tradition is different in many parts of the world, where white is not even an option. Weddings are an expected celebration around the world, but in Morocco, this ceremony is one of the most important social events. A marriage can last from three to seven days and given its importance, one must respect the protocol, like the bride dress that traditionally is in bright colors like gold, orange and red, with and henna designs that adorn feet and hands to ward off the evil eye.
In the ancient Chinese culture, red was the star of the wedding dresses. Although women are allowed to wear white or Western style dresses nowadays, the new proposals failed to overcome the use of the designs in mermaid style, princess style, with or without veil, always in red, as a symbol of passion.
Japan is another exemple of how to vary the styles in wedding dresses from one country to another in the same continent. The bride wears three dresses during the ceremony. The first one is called “Shiromuku”, which literally translates as pure white. This dress is worn together with a cap, which according to Japanese culture, hides the horns of jealousy and is a symbol of obedience.
After the religious ceremony, the bride wears red for the party. In Japanese culture, red means good luck in this new stage of women’s life. Unlike what happens in Western culture, in India white is the color to attend funerals. Orange, purple and red are the favorite colors of Hindu brides.
Wedding dresses have a great importance throughout the world and in every culture, women look at them under the illusion that marks the beginning of a new stage with their life partner.
the 2nd dress from right to left from the second picture is just gorgeous, reminds me of Venezuela’s flag.. probably the reason I’m biased towards it…
Such an interesting article, Moroco’s weddings seem fun, I mean.. three to seven day celebrations? Also, I did not know that in China’s tradition was to use a red dress, it actually looks cool!