The Surprising Reason Why Brides Wear White

​For any bride who wanted to walk down the aisle in a rich hue, yet lost out to tradition (read: your mother), you have Queen Victoria to thank.

Before the trendsetting royal adorned herself in white for her nuptials to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg 176 years ago, red was the wedding-dress color of choice, according to TIME. White was actually associated with mourning before Victoria walked down the aisle, according The Washington Post.

Victoria set tongues wagging when she stepped out in a neutral gown of silk, satin and lace, and a wreath of orange blossoms in lieu of a crown. Members of the court felt the choice was too conservative. But the queen's subjects liked what they saw, and it wasn't long until the style traveled across the pond.

So, where do we get the idea that white represents purity, then? Not that the queen wasn't a bastion of morality — but, as far as her contemporaries were concerned, crimson would've communicated innocence just as much as a white. We can look to the media for that one.

Not even a decade after Victoria and Albert married, a popular American publication, Godey's Lady's Book, declared, "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."