I've been thinking a lot about wedding dresses lately. So my next few posts are going to cover my thought process on wedding dresses, how they make me feel, and why they shouldn't be such a big deal.
I won't lie. I am like a lot of women (and some men too!) who have imagined their wedding days since they were small children. Your wedding day is meant to be the happiest day of your life. You wear a beautiful white dress, you promise to love your honey forever and seal that promise with a kiss, and then after smushing cake in each other's faces, you dance your socks off! But through the course of being an expert bridesmaid and helping my girlfriends plan their special days, as well as spending a crazy amount of time planning Sam's and my special day, I have come to realize that there is no correct way to have a wedding and that every couple has the right to plan a wedding day that is personal.
This thought process was solidified last week, while I was watching a wedding show with Sam on television that pits four brides against each other in an effort to win a honeymoon at a resort in the Caribbean. These wedding shows are the crack cocaine of wedding planning - addictive, but deadly, and often in the end make you feel bad about yourself. I had to resist the urge to be sick all over my living room when one bride said her budget was $55,000 (It still gives me chills), but I resisted the urge to change the channel because I am glutton for punishment. One of the brides, heretofore referred to as "Turquoise" was planning a wedding for under $10,000, which having been in the planning process for a year, I consider to be small miracle and a girl after my own heart. Turquoise and her groom planned a morning ceremony and reception at a venue that looked over a pretty beach in order to save money (Great tip!) When the moment arrived for her to walk down the aisle to greet her groom, she surprised everyone when she appeared wearing a turquoise wedding dress. Turquoise wore the dress in memory of her mother, who passed away a few weeks after the girl became engaged. The color turquoise was her mother's favorite and was a way for the girl to incorporate her mother's memory into her special day. Turquoise solidified my full support when a self-proclaimed traditional bride in the congregation made a face that looked like she had been sprayed by a skunk as Turquoise walked down the aisle. She understood Turquoise's rational for the dress, but it wasn't the right choice for a wedding. The self-proclaimed traditional bride felt that a bride must wear white on her wedding day.
Yes, its tradition in modern, Western cultures to wear white on one's wedding day. Its obvious when you look at any wedding magazine, blogs, and bridal shops. But Google would have you know that white wedding dresses didn't become popular until after the Victorian era, when women married in any color and the dresses were meant to be worn again. White dresses, in our society, are typically believed to be symbolic of purity, but in fact, blue, not white, was the symbol of purity in the Middle Ages and is where the phrase "something blue" originated. With that in mind, I have one thing to say - Suck it, evil, self-proclaimed traditional bride!
Images are from Etsy Sellers: AwesomeToppers, Goose Grease, and SugarRushCakes
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