A wedding dress seen at Thornbury Castle, England

A wedding dress or wedding gown is clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown depends on the religion and culture of the participants.

Western culture

In modern tradition, the color of western-culture wedding dresses is white. Used in this sense, 'white' or 'wedding white' includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. The popularity of this color can be traced back to 1840 and the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. The Queen chose to wear a white gown for the event. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published and many brides opted for a similar dress in honor of that choice. The tradition continues today. (See white wedding.) Prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). The white dress came to symbolize purity of heart and the innocence of childhood. Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity which is false. However it was originally the color blue that was connected to purity.

Eastern culture

Taiwanese couple dressed Western-style for keepsake photos in the park (1989).

Many wedding dresses in China are colored red, the traditional color of good luck. In modern Chinese weddings, particularly in Western countries, the bride usually opts for the white Western dress or changes from a red gown to a white gown later in the day.

In northern parts of India the traditional color of women's wedding garments is red, a color symbolizing auspiciousness. Nowadays many women opt not to wear red, and choose other colors.