Womens Wedding Dresses

For a woman in any part of the world, one of the most expected days, of her life includes her wedding, involving months of preparation, large amount spent, all because to make the wedding day ever memorable. Planning the engagement rings, and, wedding invitation, cake, venue, rings, accessories and dress, requires lot of time and commitment.
 
The literal meaning of Wedding dresses is the dress, which is selectively and carefully chosen, by the would-be bride/groom, for the very special day of  life. The joy and excitement associated with the marriage remains the same, but the kind of wedding dress, which a person wears, alters, according to the country’s prevalent culture and the social status.

Wedding dress for brides
In western countries, the most popular wedding dress for a woman, is none other than the wedding gown. The wedding gown is a typical woman’s dress, which is  a tight bodice, with a large flair skirt, followed by a long piece of material, measuring 20 meter or more, traditionally carried by the bride’s maid, better known as wedding dress train.

History of white wedding dresses
The color of the wedding dress i.e. gown in the western countries, underwent a big transition, i.e. from deep colors (excluding black color, as it signifies mourning and red color, which signifies prostitute) in ancient times, to the white  and  shades of creamy color. This revolution in the wedding dress, can be attributed to Queen Victoria, who despite of being so royal, decided to wear white wedding dress, instead of the then contemporary royal wedding dress, of the riches i.e. robes, beautifully decorated with precious jewels. In-fact, queen’s decision shocked, the fashion world of that time. However, the tendency of the people to follow the footprints of the elite class, has given new meaning to the wedding dresses. Furthermore, white color signifies virginity, and hence, yet another reason, behind the growing popularity of white color in wedding dresses. In addition to it, the recognition of white color, as a symbol of purity, by the major religious institution, i.e. Church, further gave impetus to the use of white wedding dresses. The different shades of creamy color, too are used, in wedding dresses, which includes eggshell, ecru and ivory.

Classification of the wedding dress, i.e. wedding gown
• Fabric of the wedding dress i.e. ivory wedding dress, lace wedding dress, silk wedding dress etc.
• Formal/Informal wedding dresses
• Color of the wedding dress i.e. pink wedding dress, purple wedding dress etc.
• Strap wedding dress/strapless wedding dress
• Season i.e. winter wedding dress/ summer wedding dress
• Figure of the bride, i.e. size 8 wedding dress, plus size dress etc.

In addition to the wedding dress, the brides also pay a lot of attention, to their wedding accessories, as per their affluence, so as to acquire the status of the star, in the true sense. There are number of wedding accessories, available in the market, to add more beauty and glamour, to the wedding dress of the western culture.

Wedding Accessories for the western bride
• Elegant veils
• Cufflinks
• Foot Jewelry
• Necklaces, earrings, bracelets
• Bridal shoes
• Hair wedding accessory
• Bridal Gloves

As far as the Eastern culture is concerned, mostly wedding dresses are in red color, as it signifies auspiciousness and good luck. Furthermore, “brides-to-be” also prefer red color, as they are likely to look more beautiful in it. In India, the most traditional wedding dress for the bride is Lahenga-choli, followed by Saree. However, the color of the dress changes from red color in north India, to cream color in south India.
Wedding Accessories for the Indian bride

Bridal Footwear
Wedding purse
Other accessories include hair clips studded with semi-precious stone etc.

In China, the wedding dresses too has been influenced, by the process of westernization, thereby stimulating brides to wear white colored wedding dresses, than red colored wedding outfits. However, in an attempt to conserve old Chinese culture and heritage, brides also wear red color gowns, later in the day. Japanese brides wear numerous wedding dresses, during the wedding, but opt to wear traditional Kimono, during the celebration process.

Wedding dress for Grooms
It is a well known fact that, men are assumed to come from planet Mars, while women from Venus. But, men too leave no stone unturned, to be the talk of the town, by appropriately dressing up, for the wedding. Traditionally there are different kinds of wedding dresses, for grooms, belonging to different parts of the world. For instance, grooms prefer to attire, in tuxedo in U.S., top hat and tails in England, kilt in Scotland and sherwani in South Asia. However, now-a-days the grooms prefer to attire themselves in suit on the big day, irrespective of their cultural background. Men are considered to be very rational and diplomatic by nature, which is also reflected by their selection of suit, as a wedding dress.

Recent Trends in Wedding Dresses and Accessories, of the western brides
• Black plus white, magic continues
Black color was the hot favorite in the year 2007, made its way into wedding dresses in 2008, and is now ready to caste its magic, in association with white color, in 2009 as well. The two color hybrid accessories too, is  set to rule the hearts of the  would be brides. However, the choice of the aforementioned wedding gown, is unconventional and hence, best suited for bold brides-to-be, who are mentally prepared to face the criticism from traditionalists.

• Lighter Fabric
This year the wedding dresses of the brides, i.e. wedding gowns, are ready to take the bride to greater heights of joy and excitement , as fabric in the wedding dresses, will be very airy and convenient to handle. For instance, chiffon, organza and taffeta will be more used, so as to give more flare in the wedding dress.

• Strapless out, one shoulder in
This year strapless wedding dresses, are out of fashion, while one shoulder wedding dress is ready, to exhibit the style and glamour of the stylish brides.

• No more Tiaras, to  add more shimmer to wedding dress
The brides feel like princess, after wearing tiaras on their wedding day, but tiaras are out this wedding season. Hence, in order to have elegant and beautiful looks, the “brides-to-be” can go for other kinds of wedding hair accessories.

• Add bright colors to your wedding life
Bright colors in different shades of res, yellow and orange, are all in the fashion, to make the special day, all the more special. The aforementioned colors can be used in bridesmaid’s dress, wedding themes, cakes etc.

• Brocades and beads, means to add more glitter to the occasion
The year 2009 has enabled the would be brides, to reflect their happiness, by using beads and brocades extensively in their wedding dress.

• Eco-friendly wedding, a boon for future generations!
The term eco-friendly implies the use of all the nature friendly materials, in the wedding, ranging from jewelry, invitation cards, decorations to bridal shoes. Such a wedding will definitely go a long way, in giving clean environment to the future generations, after all wedding is the precursor to parenthood. 

• Empire waist bridal dress, a gift to plus size bride-to-be
The empire waist bridal dresses, was a hot cake in 2008, and will still continue to be a fashion statement in the year 2009, as well. The wedding dress is sure a gift from the fashion world, for plus sizes women, who always wished to take the attention off from their wide or undefined waist.

• Carry two bridal looks
The wedding is a one time affair, and hence, the hot trend for 2009, for brides-to-be, is to carry two different wedding dresses, separately in wedding and reception. If you aren’t comfortable with the idea of changing the wedding dress, for one reason or the other, a U turn in the wedding hair style is capable of making the lot of difference.

Recent Trends in Wedding Dresses and Accessories, of the Indian brides

• Go colorful this wedding season
Red color has been dominating the bridal wedding dress for long, but this is the time to experiment with other contemporary colors, of the season. For instance, royal hues like purple, cream, gold and peacock blue, are all set to give the beautiful, yet new look to the Indian bride-to-be.

• Add royal touch to your wedding through jewelry
Significance of jewelry can’t be overlooked in India, wherein it is not only used for adornment purpose, but for bringing more auspiciousness in to a woman’s life, as well. This wedding season Polki diamonds, jadavs and big traditional jewelry is in, to give the royal touch, to the wedding dress.

• Backless are back!
It is suggested to all the brides-to-be, to wear backless blouse, with Saree or Lehanga , as they are back in fashion. There are various styles, which can be chosen from, ranging from  tie-up blouses ,low-backed ones to halter-necked ones, amongst others, making the Choli, all the more stylish and attractive.

• Time for graceful wedding dress getup 
The year 2009 has re-introduced fabrics like georgettes, chiffons and silks, in the wedding dresses, so as to make the wedding dresses, more elegant and graceful, for the brides-to-be.