Bridal Wear Inspiration From Around The World

On wedding day, all eyes are on the BRIDE. Every bride looks beautiful in her own unique way. Around the world, all brides wear a different wedding attire that signifies their culture.

Many religions have the white wedding dress as a long-standing tradition that has spanned centuries but it wasn’t until the 1840s when it became the norm in the Western countries. Every religion has its own explanation for every tradition in their wedding ceremony including the wedding outfit for bride.

Many brides choose to wear the traditional wedding dress of their ancestors. These wedding dresses often symbolize blessings from ancestors for love, prosperity, and fertility.

If you are looking for some bridal dress inspiration, here’s a quick look at how brides around the world dress up for their Wedding Day.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Korea

Brides from Korea wear a Jeogori, it is a short jacket with long sleeves with two long ribbons that are tied together to form an otgoreum and chima which is of full length, wrap-around, high waist skirt. Tied to the skirt or the ribbon on their jacket is a Hanbok decoration that is called thenorigae, which is a centuries-old tradition. Their wedding gowns are made up of simple lines, without pockets and vibrant colours.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Mexico

Mexican people are very humble in nature and the only must-do for them on wedding day is to take a shower and wear decent clothes. Mexican wedding dress sports handcrafted embroidery. The motifs on the dress are inspired by nature. Brides wear a chapel-length veil or mantilla that is typically edged with pretty lace. It falls from the bride’s head and is not gathered or layered. This bridal style is a significant influence of Spanish culture on Mexico. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Pakistan 

In Pakistani weddings, brides are allowed to wear a pantsuit and they are usually worn with a lovely flowing tunic-like long dress on top. It is also known as Sharara as it has a flowing divided skirt, that looks like a pant and a blouse or choli with a dupatta that is meant to cover the head. Brides from Pakistan wear different styles of sharara or lehenga depending on the region that they belong to and based on their personal preference. Introduced to the subcontinent during the Mughal rule, the traditional dresses are decorated with a special kind of embroidery known as Zardosi.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from China 

Brides from China traditionally wear a dress in red colours as the colour symbolizes love and prosperity in their culture. The traditional Chinese wedding dress in northern Chinese usually is a one-piece frock named Qipao, which is in red colour mainly and embroidered with elaborate gold and silver design. It has been witnessed that at many Chinese weddings, the bride wears more than one Chinese wedding dress. Traditional dresses in China are usually made from silk brocade with elegant oriental patterns.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Japan

At a traditional Japanese wedding, the bride and groom usually wear Japanese wedding kimonos. The bride wears a white wedding kimono called “uchikake” with a white headdress. The white wedding gown symbolizes purity and maidenhood. After the ceremony, the bride may then change into a red kimono to symbolize good luck. Brides also cover their faces in white with a powder known as Oshiroi. They even cover their head with a circular headdress called tsunokakushi that is made from a stiffened fabric.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Cambodia

The wedding attire in Cambodia is unique as Sampot is Cambodia’s national dress. The bride and groom wear different, yet colour co-ordinated outfits for various wedding ceremonies, finally culminating in an opulent all-gold silk outfit to represent the couple being treated like royalty.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Norway

Norwegian bridal attire is usually in tones of white and silver . The look is completed with a crown made up of silver or red with gold and will include a circle with tiny spoon-shaped bangles creating a melodic chiming each time the bride moves her head. Norwegian weddings today look similar to those of the U.S. and other European countries. The typical bride wears a long white dress and her groom will have a black tuxedo on. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Bulgaria 

Bulgarian brides’ faces are painted white and are decorated with sequins as per their wedding customs. This practice is one of the wedding festivities that survived the communist regime. Wedding festivities last for five days and include lots of singing and dancing.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Mongolia

Mongolian Brides traditionally wear a bright and rich coloured tunic with a beautifully ornate headdress. The tunic is usually red and is called deel, it is beautifully decorated with a lot of embroidery, jewellery and patterns on fabric. The extravagant headdress is embellished to signify the wealth of the bridal party. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from England

English brides usually wear a white wedding gown with a veil, both of which are meant to symbolise purity. An interesting fact would be the choice of colour; white was not a popular option until Queen Victoria’s marriage in 1840. She wore a white gown so she could incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding photograph was widely published, and since after then, white wedding gowns became a thing. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Uzbekistan 

The traditional Uzbek bridal attire of an embroidered Khan-atlas tunic dress and wide trousers are beautifully accompanied with gold or silver jewellery. Traditional Uzbek dresses are often given as wedding presents. After the wedding, they are often hung on the walls of the house of the bride or her family so guests can drop by and admire them.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Tibet

The bride traditionally wears a nice Tibetan traditional wedding dress, jewellery and a special jewel that hangs from her forehead. The wedding dress is usually white in colour and is made up of woollen fabric. The bridal dress is heavily and beautifully layered with aprons and robes of bright colours and elegant embellishment. The dress is covered with layers so much so that it can be hard to spot the white dress beneath. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Indonesia

The traditional wedding attire of South-Sumatra Indonesia is called Aesan Gede adorned with a majestic gold headdress. The ornate and elaborate design of the attire is meant to symbolise the elegant and glamorous image of the kingdom of Srivijaya. The brides of Indonesia are also known as Balinese brides as they are characterized by their colourful clothes. These clothes of the bride are made of vibrant Prada textiles. This beautiful wedding attire is topped with a golden headpiece.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Scotland

The use of highland dress and the kilt, jacket, dirk and sporran in Scottish weddings has continued over the centuries, whilst the Scottish bride’s white gown and veil has its roots in more modern times. She might wear a horseshoe on her arm for good luck, or a pageboy might deliver one to her as she arrives at the ceremony. After the wedding ceremony, the bride wears a shawl emblazoned with her new husband’s clan colours to signify her transition into his family. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Nigeria

Nigeria is a big country that has around 250 ethnic groups and over 500 languages. Wedding ceremonies, therefore, undergo a change for every region, ethnic background, and religion. Nigerian brides often wear brightly coloured wedding clothes. In the southwestern part of Nigeria, brides wear aso oke. That wedding garment usually consists of 4 parts: the yoruba blouse called buba, the wrapped skirt called iro, the head tie called gele and the shawl or shoulder sash called iborun or ipele. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Turkey

Contemporary Turkish Bridal attire has come a long way from what it traditionally used to be. Nowadays, Turkish brides prefer to wear gowns in various colours, but one common feature is a red veil, which is worn during the final wedding ceremony. Two nights before the wedding there’s often a wedding party held in the bride’s Turkish home, especially when the couple are from two different villages or regions of Turkey.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Afghanistan

Afghanistan bride wears a salwar kameez that has elaborate and elegant handcrafted embroidery. Bright colours with hand embroidery is what bridal attires are all about in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan green colour is believed to be a colour that is associated with prosperity and paradise. The ceremony starts with the couple exchanging vows in the presence of a religious head. Brides from Afghanistan also wears a head-kerchief and traditional footwear that is called paizar to complete the whole wedding look. 

Bridal Dress Inspiration from Russia

Weddings in Old Russia used to be very colourful, with red being their popular choice. But contemporary Russian bridal wear has a lot of European influences. One distinctive feature to be noted is their crown which is placed on both the bride and the groom’s head by the priest during their wedding ceremony in Church. The bride’s dress is usually made from white fabric, as it is considered the colour of joy and the symbol of purity and chastity. Brides may wear a veil, a crown of gold, or pieces of fabric, satin, or taffeta in their hair.

Bridal Dress Inspiration from India

The Indian wedding outfit, no doubt, changes as per the region in the country. The Brides from North India wear an elaborate outfit on their wedding day that is called Lehenga-choli. It is a combination of a short blouse, a billowing skirt, and a headscarf that is extravagantly decorated with embroidery and brocade. Brides in India generally choose the shade of reds and pinks for their wedding dresses, as red colour is considered to be the most auspicious colour among Hindus and also symbolizes happiness and good luck. In some regions, brides wear a red wedding saree / sari or suit. 

For value-for-money A-Z of wedding planning and decorations, contact us at weddings.venuelook.com.

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