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Non-traditional Wedding Dresses


friendofJPII

Non-traditional wedding dresses  

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friendofJPII

I've noticed that the traditional white wedding dress is becoming a thing of the past. David's bridal is now featuring many dresses with splashes of color. Some dresses are particularly fitted. I have an opinion on this but I'm wondering your thoughts.

[url="http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2839&prodgroup=127"]http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_d...p;prodgroup=127[/url]

[url="http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2027&prodgroup=127"]http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_d...p;prodgroup=127[/url]

[url="http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2979&prodgroup=127"]http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_d...p;prodgroup=127[/url]

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I noticed this as well when I shopped for wedding dresses, but was not particularly disturbed by it. ([url="http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=2306&prodgroup=159"]Here is the dress I ended up getting.)[/url] It's ivory/champagne, so close to white but not quite. White doesn't do good things with my skin color. The white dress has really only been popular for about 175 years; there's nothing that says a bride must wear white, and honestly the symbolic purity of white has little meaning today. In my own wedding research, I've seen so many different dresses; one of my favorites was a blue one done in honor of Mary.

More disturbing to me was the fact that most dresses are totally immodest. It is nearly impossible to find a dress that is not strapless. I bought a wrap to wear with mine. I would have preferred to have something with sleeves, but honestly time and money were not my friends in this search.

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friendofJPII

yes, but we wear white at our baptism, first holy communion, should a bride not wear white to her wedding? Perhaps, I'm uncomfortable with this break in tradition (even if it hasn't been a long standing one), but in our Church, white [b]is [/b]a symbol of purity. And even if the bride hasn't been the perfect model of chastity for her entire life, should not white symbolize her pure intentions from this day forward as she enters into the sacrament?

Edited by friendofJPII
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Still doesn't bother me. Chastity is an important aspect of marriage (before and after) but it is not the only thing a couple might wish to highlight in their wedding. Perhaps a bride might wear a splash of red (or a red dress) as a testimony to the saving sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Or, as I said, the blue gown chosen in honor of Our Lady.

Besides, you have to acknowledge that many people wear white who should not ... the symbol does not have the power that it once did.

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friendofJPII

[quote name='Barbarus' post='1604149' date='Jul 20 2008, 06:05 PM']Still doesn't bother me. Chastity is an important aspect of marriage (before and after) but it is not the only thing a couple might wish to highlight in their wedding. Perhaps a bride might wear a splash of red (or a red dress) as a testimony to the saving sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Or, as I said, the blue gown chosen in honor of Our Lady.

Besides, you have to acknowledge that many people wear white who should not ... the symbol does not have the power that it once did.[/quote]


yes, but I'm not talking symbol in the sense that "Oh, she is wearing white so she must be a virgin"..."now hers is ivory because she had a baby," not that sort of thing, but white meaning that our souls should be pure at that moment when we receive the sacrament. When I speak of purity I'm not speaking from a strict "sexual-history" sense. I think a bride [i]should[/i] wear white even if she is not a virgin, if she has made a commitment to chastity in this relationship. I can deal with a blue sash in honor of Mary, but if you look at some of the latest styles we can see that things are getting reallly out of hand....

[url="http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2999490/0~2376776~2374327~6005464~6005465?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6005465&P=1"]http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2999490/0~2376...6005465&P=1[/url]

Legnth is a factor too. Some of these dresses look like outfits I would wear to a BBQ.

Edited by friendofJPII
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Mine was white, but had trim in green and gold. It was a celtic style gown, so it was appropriate. I guess I don't mind a little color. It's the bride's special day. What is special to her should be the only thing that matters.

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friendofJPII

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1604152' date='Jul 20 2008, 06:16 PM']Mine was white, but had trim in green and gold. It was a celtic style gown, so it was appropriate. I guess I don't mind a little color. It's the bride's special day. What is special to her should be the only thing that matters.[/quote]


it's the bride's special day, but I don't think that gives her the license to wear what ever she wants. I think she needs to respect tradition.

Edited by friendofJPII
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[quote name='friendofJPII' post='1604151' date='Jul 20 2008, 07:16 PM']yes, but I'm not talking symbol in the sense that "Oh, she is wearing white so she must be a virgin"..."now hers is ivory because she had a baby," not that sort of thing, but white meaning that our souls should be pure at that moment when we receive the sacrament. When I speak of purity I'm not speaking from a strict "sexual-history" sense. I think a bride [i]should[/i] wear white even if she is not a virgin, if she has made a commitment to chastity in this relationship. I can deal with a blue sash in honor of Mary, but if you look at some of the latest styles we can see that things are getting reallly out of hand....

[url="http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2999490/0~2376776~2374327~6005464~6005465?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6005465&P=1"]http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2999490/0~2376...6005465&P=1[/url]

Legnth is a factor too. Some of these dresses look like outfits I would wear to a BBQ.[/quote]
That particular dress is actually (in my view) more modest than several I've seen.

Two things: Both the sites you've linked to are secular sites, and dress people other than Catholics. It's hard to hold non-Catholics to the same level of "purity of soul" that you might hold a Catholic too -- especially since many Catholics don't exhibit that any more than they (we) exhibit chastity.

Second, I still think it is entirely appropriate for a bride to wear a color other than white, for the same reasons I laid out above. Again, purity (sexually or of the soul) is not the only virtue that is important to a healthy marriage, and if a couple wants to bring in other aspects, and their priest has no conflict, then they should be allowed to do so.

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friendofJPII

[quote name='Barbarus' post='1604157' date='Jul 20 2008, 06:27 PM'][i]That particular dress is actually (in my view) more modest than several I've seen. [/i][/quote]

It's modest on top, but it's way short for a wedding dress!

[i]Two things: Both the sites you've linked to are secular sites, and dress people other than Catholics. It's hard to hold non-Catholics to the same level of "purity of soul" that you might hold a Catholic too -- especially since many Catholics don't exhibit that any more than they (we) exhibit chastity. [/i]

But I've seen Catholics in some of these dresses! Should the Church not hold some guidelines as to what dress is accpetable to wear at a nuptial mass? Wedding dresses traditionaly (for almost 200) years have met the standard of white, long, modest, and elegant. It should bring out a woman's true femine beauty.

Perhaps I am speaking more out of personal preference than out of dogma, but I'm really disturbed by this trend, esp. since, by the time I get married I am afraid there will no long, white, pricess-like dresses left! :sweat:

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TotusTuusMaria

[quote]Perhaps I am speaking more out of personal preference than out of dogma, but I'm really disturbed by this trend, esp. since, by the time I get married I am afraid there will no long, white, pricess-like dresses left![/quote]

You can have one made! :)

[url="http://imageshack.us"][img]http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/4006/v2979ow0.jpg[/img][/url]


[url="http://imageshack.us"][img]http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/4584/imgql0.jpg[/img][/url]


....

I don't mind a little color, especially like a blue sash or something in honor of our Lady. I think it is odd to have a deep, solid red wedding dress, but ... I've never seen a Catholic bride with that one yet. White means something and I think it is nice for a bride to keep that meaning in mind when going shopping for her gown. I don't think a little, tiny bit of color (while 98% of the rest of the dress is white) is too bad though, especially if it blue! :) It is there special day... if a tiny 2% of color makes them happy and will mean something special to them... I don't see a big problem.

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friendofJPII

I like this:

[url="http://www.beautifullymodest.com/store/wedding-dresses/ball-gown/3725m/"]http://www.beautifullymodest.com/store/wed...all-gown/3725m/[/url]

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[quote name='friendofJPII' post='1604182' date='Jul 20 2008, 08:04 PM'][quote name='Barbarus' post='1604157' date='Jul 20 2008, 06:27 PM']
[i]That particular dress is actually (in my view) more modest than several I've seen. [/i]

It's modest on top, but it's way short for a wedding dress!

[i]Two things: Both the sites you've linked to are secular sites, and dress people other than Catholics. It's hard to hold non-Catholics to the same level of "purity of soul" that you might hold a Catholic too -- especially since many Catholics don't exhibit that any more than they (we) exhibit chastity. [/i][/quote]

But I've seen Catholics in some of these dresses! Should the Church not hold some guidelines as to what dress is accpetable to wear at a nuptial mass? Wedding dresses traditionaly (for almost 200) years have met the standard of white, long, modest, and elegant. It should bring out a woman's true femine beauty.

Perhaps I am speaking more out of personal preference than out of dogma, but I'm really disturbed by this trend, esp. since, by the time I get married I am afraid there will no long, white, pricess-like dresses left! :sweat:
[/quote]
I don't have an issue with the length. That would be perfectly acceptable for an afternoon, summer wedding. Not my taste, assuredly, but then neither are dresses with long, full trains. To each her own ...

And Catholic churches do have standards regarding wedding attire. My deacon told me that dresses should be modest. "And you know what that is." Color did not enter into the discussion.

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Archaeology cat

My dress was ivory (white does not work with my skin colour) with embroidered flowers on the bodice, hem, and train. I can't say I thought much about whether there should be colour at the time, but I still don't think it's a problem to have some colour. I also think having a blue dress (blue being a traditional symbol of virginity) would be appropriate.

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puellapaschalis

The whole white wedding dress thing as a "tradition" is a misnomer. It started up in the late nineteenth century or thereabouts as a Victorian (I think) fashion bandwagon, and Victorian (I think) ladies of a certain bank balance all jumped on (well, I guess wearing white at least meant they looked a bit more like the sheep that they were).

Before then there were [b]centuries[/b] of wearing your "best dress" to your wedding (unless you were nobility in which case you got a new one made, likely in red or something equally flashy). The modern-day frenzy about white white white ivory white white white is pointless, a complete waste of money, and a flat-out denial of a real historical link with the past.

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friendofJPII

[quote name='puellapaschalis' post='1604348' date='Jul 21 2008, 03:25 AM']The whole white wedding dress thing as a "tradition" is a misnomer. It started up in the late nineteenth century or thereabouts as a Victorian (I think) fashion bandwagon, and Victorian (I think) ladies of a certain bank balance all jumped on (well, I guess wearing white at least meant they looked a bit more like the sheep that they were).

Before then there were [b]centuries[/b] of wearing your "best dress" to your wedding (unless you were nobility in which case you got a new one made, likely in red or something equally flashy). The modern-day frenzy about white white white ivory white white white is pointless, a complete waste of money, and a flat-out denial of a real historical link with the past.[/quote]


Even if the tradition is relatively "new" (but 175 years is a rather long time). 6-7 generations of women have associated a white wedding dress with a new bride. Considering that our country isn't much older, I think it is safe to say that the long, white wedding dress has been an American tradition.

Edited by friendofJPII
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