All About the Victorian Wedding Dress

Anyone can wear a Victorian wedding dress, but only a few know about how a Victorian wedding dress evolved and how the wedding dress came to be white in color. Did you know that prior to the Victorian era, it was quite a colorful ensemble? So, before you opt for a Victorian wedding dress, you must get to know a little bit about it and see how your counterpart wore her Victorian wedding dress a couple of hundred years ago. This information will also help your design an authentic Victorian wedding dress. And when your guests gasp in delight and ask you about it, drop little snippets of information that you garner from this article. Not only will they envy your beauty, your wedding guests will also admire your in-depth knowledge about the Victorian wedding dress

The Origins of the White Victorian Wedding Dress
When Queen Victoria got married in the year 1840, white became and has stayed put as the de facto color of wedding gowns and bouquets. Back then, brides would re-use her Victorian wedding dress for Court appearances after her marriage, more often than not teamed with another bodice.

The Early Victorian Wedding Dress
The early Victorian wedding dress came with a small waist, a fitted bodice, and a full skirt which was worn above hoops and petticoats. The Victorian wedding dress was made of different fabrics like tulle, lace, organdy, gauze, silk, linen, or even cashmere. The veil was mandatory and it was usually made of a super-fine gauze, pure cotton, teamed with lace. A reasonably priced Victorian wedding dress would cost approximately $500 in the 1850 with perhaps another hundred bucks for a good quality veil. However, in another 10 years or so, by the time the fashion became a rage, more elaborate Victorian wedding dresses were created and these cost upwards of $1500 if hand-made lace and other embellishments were added to it.

Weddings of upper class girls during this Victorian era were compulsorily all in white, and even the bridesmaid's dresses and veils were made in the same hue. Veils usually came attached to a flowery coronet, and the bride carried orange blossoms, contrasting nicely with the pure white bridal gown, while roses or other seasonal flowers were preferred for the attendants. The bride's accessorized a lot and carried white kid gloves, an embroidered hanky which usually had the initials of her maiden name on it. She also had expensive silk stockings which carried intricate embroidered in the front and she wore flat shoes which were embellished with ribbons or bows at the instep.

The Victorian Wedding Dress in America
The American bride of the same Victorian period made a choice from wool, cambric, or linen wedding dresses. She had a choice of very many colors and shades. Few American brides wore white wedding dresses during the Victorian period primarily because they used their dresses again while visiting the Church or for other special events and holidays. Scores of brides carried a colorful paisley or plaid shawl draped across her shoulders at her own wedding. She later used the shawl for social events, christenings, and even as a blanket during the harsh American winters. Back then, wives welcomed a shawl more than their own Victorian wedding dresses.

The Mid-Victorian Wedding Dress
The mid-Victorian wedding dress during the 1870s displayed the new middle-class wealth. There was a surfacing of new money, and with it, a grand display of new riches and fashion modes. The Victorian wedding dress was still white in color, but they were now designed in Paris and were considered to be the ultimate status symbol. Middle class brides, who could not afford Parisian fashion, then got home-made copies stitched and wore them. Trains now became part of the Victorian wedding dress, as did veils, bustles, intricate detailing and two bodices were used - a modest, high-necked one for the wedding ceremony as well as a low, plunging one for other parties.

The Late Victorian Wedding Dresses
The bustle vanished in the late Victorian wedding dress of the 1890s and a mini-train appeared with largish sleeves. Such a Victorian wedding dress was considered to be quite fashionable for the trendy bride. If the Victorian bride got married in a Church, then her wedding dress compulsorily came embellished with a train and a large veil which was of the same length as the train itself. This veil could be made of silk tulle or lace. 

Diamonds were always fashionable accompaniments for the Victorian wedding dress, along with pearls, frequently with a diamond tiara worn during the ceremony itself. Till today, diamonds have remained a bride’s best friend.

Now that you know a bit abut the Victorian wedding dress, explore online websites and the local library to know more about it.