White Wedding Gown Become a Symbol of Virginity

Over the years the white wedding gown has become perhaps the most recognized symbol of a bride’s purity.  while families also enjoyed the attendant pride that came with affording (or seeming to afford) a white gown for the bride. Of course, the idea of white as a symbolism for wealth is also exclusive to Western cultures.
Does today’s bride think about a white gown largely as a symbol of purity? “I don’t think brides consider that relationship anymore,” says designer Reem Acra. “The idea of wearing white is really based in tradition more than anything else. From there the bride looks at a variety of ways to make her gown and her own wedding style unique.”
In the Catholic church, for example, white has long been identified with ideas of purity, virtue and virginity. Think of the white robes worn by priests at Christmas and Easter, or the white lilies associated both with Easter and the Virgin Mary. The color’s religious symbolism ultimately was applied not only to the wedding dress, but also christening and communion dresses, other significant events in the churchgoing life that are closely associated with purity and innocence.
Ultimately, no matter how you choose to define the meaning of a white wedding gown, consider that the bride gliding down the aisle has formulated her own theory, one that might be based on family heritage, religious background, personal taste, her desire to be the center of attention, a demonstration of wealth, or any combination of the above. Acra laughs. “Even if it wasn’t white, I think we would have found some other way to let brides know we’re there for them, for whatever they might need.”