I Won't Wear White

Happy Wednesday! Today, I'm browsing Pinterest, as usual, and checking out the Wedding category. One of my dream jobs is wedding planning, and I adore looking at dresses, flowers, decor, etc...I love reading Martha Stewart Weddings for fun (my sister collects them), and I have the Martha Stewart Ultimate Wedding Planner. I feel like people judge me for liking Martha Stewart, (for obvious reasons), but also because her ideas are extremely classy. Sorry that I'm not sorry for wanting an expensive-feeling wedding.
Anyway. 
My sister had her wedding at our home, in the machine shed behind our house. It was the coolest. For the reception, there was a large white tent in the front yard, laden with lights, ferns, and the entry way was flanked by two kiddie pools with floating candles. My next to oldest sister, Heather, made all of the bridesmaid dresses and was basically one of the chief designers of the whole affair. The wedding dress was gorgeous and flowy, and white, of course!
White dresses came en vogue around 1840. Queen Victoria wore white, and brides decided to start wearing white because the Queen wore white. Like when Kate Middleton wore a Peplum dress last year, and then all of us, her loyal admirers/subjects, decided to adopt it, just as the women did in the 1840s with the Queen's wedding dress.

Wedding dresses have changed and been adapted to fit the times, but the one thing that remains consistent is the color white. I've been to a few weddings, and every single bride has worn white. With the exception of one dress, that had a hot pink bow. Why? Because the bride had sex before she was married. We knew this because she was pregnant at the time of her wedding, not just because of the ribbon. Apparently, a different colored ribbon is the modern day equivalent to the Scarlet Letter. 

News Flash: White dresses were not originally intended to symbolize purity.

In fact, blue was the original symbol of purity and virginity, and it was linked to the Virgin Mary. Makes sense right? So how did white sneak its way into there as the "official" symbol of purity? I can't find any concrete evidence. In Christian circles there's a book called "And The Bride Wore White," which I own, but have never read, and today I found a brain-melting blog post about Christian, non-virgin girls not being "worthy" of a white wedding dress. (Lord forgive them.) I couldn't look for any further research because I didn't want to sin.
My theory is this: There is a passage in the Bible, and loosely translated it says this: "Christ makes your sins white [pure] as snow when you repent." To me this seems... counter-intuitive. Because, and this is a general opinion, if you have been sexually active before marriage, but if you've sought forgiveness....then white should be okay, right? Wrong? Indifferent? Like I said, brain-melting.

My point here is this: Wear whatever color you want at your wedding. If you want it to be white, go ahead! Blue for the super-traditional view of purity, do it! Short, long, lace, strapless, orange, purple, scarlet, or yellow, it's your dress, and it's a day of celebrating two families becoming one. And if you think someone is going to be silly enough to raise a stink about the color of your gown, pull them aside after you've chosen it and tell them of your decision. Be sure to include the history. But remember that you can't make everyone happy. Don't hate, celebrate! Use your wedding day tears for happiness, not frustration.

As for me? I guess you'll have to wait and find out!
Shine Bright!
-s.