8 Great Reasons to Choose a Black Wedding dress!
It’s time to find your dream wedding dress!
You’ve browsed Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration and you see that coloured wedding dresses are gaining popularity in the Western world. More than that, you see that black wedding dresses in particular, are all the rage. Your interest is piqued…This opens up some opportunities that are kinder to the self-image and more in tune with your own modern self. But do you actually dare to fly in the face of tradition?
Have black wedding dresses ever been a thing?
Actually black may well have been the first white! It was the dominant colour for both the bride and bridegroom, during the Zhou dynasty about 3,000 years ago until the Han dynasty in 200BC. The black robe with red details “symbolised the unity between heaven and earth”, according to Siumerghe. So that’s many years of establishment right there.
In 16th century Roman Catholic Spain, brides would wear black wedding dresses to declare their love and loyalty to their husbands until death. While Eastern cultures traditionally favoured red, as the auspicious bridal colour, the point still remains that the solemnity of the ceremony is sacred, whichever colour is assigned.
The Traditional white wedding dress debunked
What the west has come to know as the “traditional” white wedding dress is actually not that old. It was as recent as 1840, when Queen Victoria wore a white dress to her wedding to Prince Albert. The royal couple were the paragon of domestic bliss, thus sparking the bridal trend that soon became a hardy tradition.
White came to represent purity, innocence, obedience and chastity and wearing any other colour on your wedding day, showed a flagrant disregard for those qualities. This fear still echoes today. Such a rebellion can still make traditionally-minded family elders light-headed and not all brides are ready for that.
What does a black wedding dress mean today?
Over the years, black attire has become linked with death and mourning. It can often be stereotyped as gothic or emo style, but needn’t be limited to that.
We know how chic a black dress can be, but what does the colour itself signify? I would assert that it trumps old-fashioned notions of the bride’s obedience and innocence. A black wedding dress is a statement. The wearer is modern, sophisticated and empowered.
Black wedding dresses – Need some more persuasion?
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Black is slimming!
If you are self-conscious about your shape, then this is the obvious one – Black is widely heralded as the most slimming colour. This is because shadows cast by any bumps in the silhouette do not show up readily. This in turn gives the viewer’s eye a relatively uninterrupted path down the length of the body, thus creating the illusion of height and drawing attention away from the width of the body.
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Be yourself!
If you don’t often normally wear white or ivory top to toe, why do you think your wedding day is the best day to give that a try? You will feel more comfortable and beautiful in a colour that you know suits you.
-
Don’t mind the dress!
White shades show up stains more easily. A black wedding dress is guaranteed to still look good after you’ve sat in the grass for photos, dragged the train across the ground, the groom has trodden on it a few times, you’ve eaten and danced…and the dry cleaning bill should be less expensive for it.
-
Restyle, re-use!
You are more likely to wear it again.
-
It’s the twenty first century!
You want to start your marriage as a confident, modern, sophisticated woman, rather than perpetuate old fashioned notions of the demure, chaste, submissive bride. Times have moved on people!
-
It’s not vanilla!
Black is very versatile and can lend itself to many unusual themes! You don’t have to limit yourself to gothic styles, you can channel the Hollywood glamour vibe, an elegant black and white scene, rock n’ roll chic or casino/James Bond style to name a few!
-
More exciting photos!
Photography has come a long long way since it was invented during Queen Victoria’s reign. At that time, white bridal dresses defined the bride well in their darker, sepia toned prints. This was another reason why white became solidified as the traditional bridal colour. You only have to look through glossy magazines and alternative wedding blogs to appreciate that black wedding dresses photograph beautifully in this day and age. There is also no doubt as to who is the bride.
-
Add a twist!
It doesn’t have to be full black. I recently made a black lace and tulle wedding dress, that featured an underlayer of midnight blue silk taffeta. This very subtle tinge of colour peeped through the layers of black tulle, adding a twist of sophistication.
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If you are still teetering on the brink at this point, I recommend that you examine what is still concerning you?
Is it :
-
- You are not sure if the church will allow it? Check with the priest or vicar first.
-
- Will Aunty Mabel have a heart-attack? Maybe try to convince her that a white wedding dress isn’t going to make you happy and it’s your day. Try explaining to her that it was fine for Catholic Spanish brides, so it will be perfect for you.
-
- You don’t want to look gothic? You absolutely don’t have to. Look at celebrity red carpet styles for black evening dress styles to persuade you that there is a black dress for everyone
It’s time to find your dream wedding dress!
You’ve browsed Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration and you see that coloured wedding dresses are gaining popularity in the Western world. More than that, you see that black wedding dresses in particular, are all the rage. Your interest is piqued…This opens up some opportunities that are kinder to the self-image and more in tune with your own modern self. But do you actually dare to fly in the face of tradition?
Have black wedding dresses ever been a thing?
Actually black may well have been the first white! It was the dominant colour for both the bride and bridegroom, during the Zhou dynasty about 3,000 years ago until the Han dynasty in 200BC. The black robe with red details “symbolised the unity between heaven and earth”, according to Siumerghe. So that’s many years of establishment right there.
In 16th century Roman Catholic Spain, brides would wear black wedding dresses to declare their love and loyalty to their husbands until death. While Eastern cultures traditionally favoured red, as the auspicious bridal colour, the point still remains that the solemnity of the ceremony is sacred, whichever colour is assigned.
The Traditional white wedding dress debunked
What the west has come to know as the “traditional” white wedding dress is actually not that old. It was as recent as 1840, when Queen Victoria wore a white dress to her wedding to Prince Albert. The royal couple were the paragon of domestic bliss, thus sparking the bridal trend that soon became a hardy tradition.
White came to represent purity, innocence, obedience and chastity and wearing any other colour on your wedding day, showed a flagrant disregard for those qualities. This fear still echoes today. Such a rebellion can still make traditionally-minded family elders light-headed and not all brides are ready for that.
What does a black wedding dress mean today?
Over the years, black attire has become linked with death and mourning. It can often be stereotyped as gothic or emo style, but needn’t be limited to that.
We know how chic a black dress can be, but what does the colour itself signify? I would assert that it trumps old-fashioned notions of the bride’s obedience and innocence. A black wedding dress is a statement. The wearer is modern, sophisticated and empowered.
Black wedding dresses – Need some more persuasion?
1. Black is slimming!
If you are self-conscious about your shape, then this is the obvious one – Black is widely heralded as the most slimming colour. This is because shadows cast by any bumps in the silhouette do not show up readily. This in turn gives the viewer’s eye a relatively uninterrupted path down the length of the body, thus creating the illusion of height and drawing attention away from the width of the body.
2. Be yourself!
If you don’t often normally wear white or ivory top to toe, why do you think your wedding day is the best day to give that a try? You will feel more comfortable and beautiful in a colour that you know suits you.
3. Don’t mind the dress!
White shades show up stains more easily. A black wedding dress is guaranteed to still look good after you’ve sat in the grass for photos, dragged the train across the ground, the groom has trodden on it a few times, you’ve eaten and danced…and the dry cleaning bill should be less expensive for it.
4. Restyle, re-use!
You are more likely to wear it again.
5. It’s the twenty first century!
You want to start your marriage as a confident, modern, sophisticated woman, rather than perpetuate old fashioned notions of the demure, chaste, submissive bride. Times have moved on people!
6. It’s not vanilla!
Black is very versatile and can lend itself to many unusual themes! You don’t have to limit yourself to gothic styles, you can channel the Hollywood glamour vibe, an elegant black and white scene, rock n’ roll chic or casino/James Bond style to name a few!
7. More exciting photos!
Photography has come a long long way since it was invented during Queen Victoria’s reign. At that time, white bridal dresses defined the bride well in their darker, sepia toned prints. This was another reason why white became solidified as the traditional bridal colour. You only have to look through glossy magazines and alternative wedding blogs to appreciate that black wedding dresses photograph beautifully in this day and age. There is also no doubt as to who is the bride.
8. Add a twist!
It doesn’t have to be full black. I recently made a black lace and tulle wedding dress, that featured an underlayer of midnight blue silk taffeta. This very subtle tinge of colour peeped through the layers of black tulle, adding a twist of sophistication.
If you are still teetering on the brink at this point, I recommend that you examine what is still concerning you?
Is it :
-
- You are not sure if the church will allow it? Check with the priest or vicar first.
- Will Aunty Mabel have a heart-attack? Maybe try to convince her that a white wedding dress isn’t going to make you happy and it’s your day. Try explaining to her that it was fine for Catholic Spanish brides, so it will be perfect for you.
- You don’t want to look gothic? You absolutely don’t have to. Look at celebrity red carpet styles for black evening dress styles to persuade you that there is a black dress for everyone
- The alternative wedding dresses are my absolute favourites to work on!
- I love thinking out of the box to deliver something original and deliciously outrageous, or quietly chic and glamorous, according to your personal requirements. Contact me today to discuss your black wedding dress!