Wedding dresses didn’t use to be white.

On the contrary, during the Renaissance women often wore the best dress that they had at the time, to their wedding. The higher up you were in the social class, the more elaborate your dress would be.

It wasn’t until Queen Victoria got married in 1840, wearing a white wedding dress, that the idea of a white wedding dress took hold in society. In the years that followed, more and more women across Europe and America started embracing the idea of a white wedding dress for their wedding.

While white wedding dresses continue to be the norm at most Western weddings, I have had one wedding bride turn up to her wedding day in a red wedding dress.

Read more: The History of Wedding Dresses