Your wedding in Italy, and the most important dress you’ll ever wear!

In 1849, American publication Godey’s Lady Book, which was the Good Housekeeping of its day, announced to future brides that ‘Custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one’.

The trend towards white as the colour of choice for a wedding dress was already very popular in Europe, thanks to Queen Victoria’s decision to wear a white dress for her wedding to Price Albert. Previously, European brides had tended towards a choice of wedding dress style, fabric and colour that reflected their wealth and social status.

As such wealthier brides would often wear very elaborate, ornate and boldly colourful creations while less well-off brides would wear their ‘Sunday best’ as their wedding dress.Towards the end of the 1940s Victorian style wedding dresses became popular again, but prior to this wedding dresses tended to follow the fashions of the period.Victoria chose white for her wedding dress so she could incorporate a favourite piece of lace and so doing, revolutionised the world of wedding dresses.

White is a natural choice of colour for a wedding dress, symbolising innocence and purity and nowadays, Western wedding dresses are predominantly white or similar shades such ivory, eggshell, ecru and blush. However there is a real spirit of experimentation and self-expression among today’s brides….think about the time of year! If you are marrying abroad the heat at your chosen time of year is a very important factor, you don’t want to feel uncomfortably hot or have difficulty moving on a summer’s day. So, thinner fabrics, less layers and strappy or strapless dresses are usually the perfect choice.