Wearing black to a wedding
Wearing black to a wedding was long frowned upon, since black was the color of mourning. Today it is a standard choice for night weddings, so the real question is who you dress for.
What it may mean
For much of the nineteenth century, black meant mourning, and widows wore it for years. Wearing it to a wedding could look like grieving the match. Bridal fashion moved too: Queen Victoria's white gown in 1840 helped make white the bride's color, and over time white became the one shade guests were told to avoid. Black slowly took on a new sense as the elegant color for night events, and today it fills receptions without comment in many places. The rule changed because what the color says changed. The old superstition leads to a good question about what to wear to an occasion: do you choose clothes to honor the couple, to blend in, to stand out, or to look like yourself? Most guests want all four. Customs vary widely, so the kindest step is often to ask the couple.
Depending on how you saw it
A black dress at a night wedding
At a formal night wedding, black is often the most fitting choice, and a bright accessory softens it if the family is traditional. The same dress says different things at noon and at midnight. Which of your habits fits well in one setting and jars in another?
Wearing white as a guest
White remains the one color most couples would rather guests avoid, since it can look like competing with the bride. Even a pale dress can photograph as white. When have you overshadowed someone without intending to?
Wearing red to a wedding
In Chinese tradition, red is the color of joy and the bride often wears it, so a red outfit signals celebration there. Elsewhere some guests avoid red as too loud. Which choice of yours reads completely differently depending on the room?
A bride wearing pearls or black
A 1903 collection of superstitions warned brides against pearls, opals and any trace of black. Many brides now wear all three happily. Which warning that once shaped your choices have you outgrown without noticing?
Why it happens in nature
Black became the standard color of mourning in nineteenth-century Europe and America, which is why it once seemed wrong at a wedding. Queen Victoria's white wedding dress of 1840 helped make white the bride's color, and wider adoption came later. Dress codes have since loosened, and black is now common at night receptions, while white is still avoided by most guests.
What folk beliefs say
Bohemia
In Bohemia, a bride was not to make her own wedding dress, since she would be sewing her shroud.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 1 (1903), vol. 1, p. 50. View the page
To reflect on
When you dress for someone else's big day, who are you really dressing for?