Why wedding dresses are white
Brides haven't always worn white wedding dresses.
The trend is believed to have originated with Queen Victoria, who wore a white lace and silk-satin gown when she married Prince Albert in 1840.
The dress outraged English aristocrats as white was traditionally the color of mourning.
In the years that followed, it became fashionable for brides to wear white.
If you've ever flicked through a bridal magazine, you'll notice that wedding dresses come in a range of styles. But almost all of them — especially in western countries — are white.
However, wearing a white wedding dress hasn't always been popular.
The trend can be traced back to Queen Victoria, who wore a white gown when she married Prince Albert on February 10, 1840.
On her wedding day, the royal bride opted for a white lace and silk-satin gown that she designed herself, according to the Washington Post.
It was a crucial moment for fashion in the history of royal weddings, though Victoria's choice of a white dress was frowned upon by English aristocrats because white traditionally symbolized mourning, according to Rebecca Rissman's 2016 book "Women in Fashion." As Rissman writes, royal wedding gowns were typically red at the time.
The queen also thwarted tradition by wearing a wreath instead of a crown in her hair, and ditching the fur-trimmed velvet robes that were usually worn by royal brides.
Even Victoria's 12 bridesmaids wore white. As the Washington Post noted, this color scheme appeared at Kate Middleton and Prince William's wedding in 2011, when Pippa Middleton wore a cream-colored gown.
Here's a portrait of Victoria on her wedding day.