A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Saxon cultural spheres, the wedding dress is most commonly white, a fashion made popular by Queen Victoria when she married in 1840. In Eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.
The wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon took place on 26 April 1923 at Westminster Abbey. The bride was a member of the Bowes-Lyon family, while the groom is the son of King George V.
On 6 July 1893, Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck were married at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London, England.
The wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth was worn at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Given the rationing of clothing at the time, she still had to purchase the material using ration coupons. The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. Hartnell's signature was said to be embroidery, and he enjoyed "working with soft, floating fabrics, particularly tulle and chiffon, and with plain, lustrous silks". The dress was made of Chinese silk, with a high neckline, tailored bodice and a short train. Without straps and with long sleeves, it provided a "fit and flare silhouette".
The wedding dress of Princess Alexandra of Denmark was worn at her wedding to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales on 10 March 1863 in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It was the first in British royal history to be photographed while being worn. The gown was made by London dressmaker Mrs James of Belgravia. It is now part of the British Royal Collection. In 2011, the dress was part of a display of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace.
The wedding dress of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck is the gown worn by the future Queen Mary at her wedding to Prince George, Duke of York on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London. The dress now belongs to the British Royal Collection and is part of a collection of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace in London.
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 1840. She chose to wear a white wedding dress made from heavy silk satin, making her one of the first women to wear white for their wedding. The Honiton lace used for her wedding dress proved an important boost to Devon lace-making. Queen Victoria has been credited with starting the tradition of white weddings and white bridal gowns, although she was not the first royal to be married in white.
On the event of her wedding to Prince Henry of Battenberg at Saint Mildred's Church at Whippingham, near Osborne, on 23 July 1885, Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom wore a wedding dress of white satin, trimmed with orange blossom and lace, the lace overskirt held by bouquets of the blossom entwined with white heather. There was lace on the pointed neck line, and on the sleeves, for the Princess was a lover of, and an expert on, lace. One of her most treasured possessions was a tunic of old point d'Alençon which had belonged to Catherine of Aragon. Knowing her daughter's love of lace, the Queen allowed Princess Beatrice to wear the Honiton lace and veil which she herself had worn on her wedding day. It was a very precious possession to the Queen, and Princess Beatrice was the only one of her daughters to be given the opportunity to wear it. Her veil was emblazoned with a diamond circlet with diamond stars, a wedding gift from her mother.
The wedding dress of Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia was worn by her at her wedding to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on 13 March 1879. Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The wedding dress of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom was worn during a period of court mourning for the death of her father.
The wedding dress of Victoria, Princess Royal, was worn by the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria in 1858.
The wedding dress of Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont was worn by the bride at her wedding to Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, on 27 April 1882 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Prince Leopold was the youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Princess Helen was the daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Helena of Nassau.
The wedding dress of Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's sixth child and fourth daughter, was worn by her at her wedding to John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, the heir-apparent to the 8th Duke of Argyll, on 21 March 1871 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The wedding dress of Sophie Rhys-Jones is the bridal gown worn by her at her wedding to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex on 19 June 1999 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The dress was designed by Samantha Shaw.
The wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took place on 10 February 1840 at Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London.
The wedding of Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, and Sofia Hellqvist took place on 13 June 2015 at Slottskyrkan, Stockholm.
The wedding dress worn by Meghan Markle at her wedding to Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 was designed by the British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy. The bride's veil was embroidered with flowers representing the countries of the Commonwealth; the California poppy, in honour of Markle's home state of California; and wintersweet, a flower that grows at Kensington Palace.
A royal christening gown is an item of baptismal clothing used by a royal family at family christenings. Among those presently using such a gown are the royal families of the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. In most of these families, the tradition goes back over a century: as of 2019, the Swedish gown has been in service for 113 years, the Dutch gown for 139 years, and the Danish gown for 149 years; the current British gown has been in use since 2008. The Spanish gown has been in use for 81 years.
The wedding dress of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was worn at her wedding to Prince George, Duke of Kent on 29 November 1934. The couple was married first in an Anglican ceremony at Westminster Abbey, followed by a private Greek Orthodox ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Princess Marina was the youngest daughter of Prince and Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark. Prince George was the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary.
The wedding dress of Princess Maud of Wales was worn at her wedding to Prince Carl of Denmark on 22 July 1896 in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. Maud was the youngest daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales; Carl was the second son of Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Louise of Denmark.
