This Is The Surprising Reason Why Bridesmaids All Wear The Same Color

Tying The Knot

Life is full of strange traditions, many we don't even think of because they're so commonplace. We don't examine the reasoning or origins of the mundane yet curious things we do. This is even more applicable to traditions surrounding celebrations, holidays, or other community events that we share with others.

An easy place to look for interesting practices with long history is weddings, which have evolved a ton since over the centuries we've been hosting them for.

Complimentary Outfits

Here's a detail about weddings you might not have thought about before, why exactly do bridesmaids all wear the same color? Oftentimes, all wearing the exact same dress?

There's much more to it than just looking nice for photos or making the bride stand out. The history of bridesmaids and what they wear is rich, fascinating, and steeped in superstitious beliefs that have long since been forgotten but still influence the way we conduct these ceremonies.

A Safeguarding Technique

Originally, bridesmaids weren't meant to match each other; they were meant to match the bride! They would all wear white, often wearing copies or almost-copies of the bride's gown.

They did this to confuse evil spirits that people believed would go after the bride, protecting her from harm as the spirits wouldn't know who to latch onto. A little darker, there were also periods of history where brides were often kidnapped for ransom, so having multiple women all dressed as brides helped prevent both physical and metaphysical harm from taking place.

Around For Centuries

There's evidence of this custom in ancient Rome and feudal China, so not only is it an old tradition, but it happened across continents and cultures! Then, it was more common for brides to travel quite a ways to their wedding destination, so multiple women all dressed as the bride also helped confuse potential thieves or scheming rival lovers on the way to the altar.

Brides wearing veils also comes from a similar belief, masking her face until the unifying moment to hide herself from evil spirits and evil people.

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Into The Modern

Though the supernatural origins have long since faded from memory, the custom has stuck around. It had a prominent place in the Victorian era even! During Queen Victoria's wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, all 12 of her bridesmaids wore matching white gowns to complement the Queen's own.

Since then, the idea of anyone else wearing white to a wedding has become pretty taboo. So, the tradition shifted, and instead of bridesmaids all wearing white alongside the bride, they're instead expected to match the wedding colors or wear whatever else the bride dictates.

Safer, Happier Weddings

Thankfully, bridesmaids don't have to worry about fending off evil spirits on behalf of the bride anymore, nor is there a common risk of being robbed or kidnapped on your wedding day.

Instead, traditions have changed, developed, and grown to fit the modern day. Seeing beliefs and reasoning change over the years is fascinating and grants us a lot of insight into how now-archaic beliefs can still be adapted to the current world! Bridesmaids get to wear nice colors, brides get their unique dresses on their big day, and we all get to fear ghosts a little bit less.