“A Woman can never be too fine while she is all in white”
Jane Austen
“There is something exquisitely poetical about the idea of a June wedding. It is the very month for softer emotions”.
Starr Ockenga shared Victorian sentiments and their fascination of the symbols ‘that tell the story of the heart…the veil, the flowers, the ring.
Victorian Wedding customs:
“A very pretty effect is produced…if the bride wears pure white, and the bridesmaids white with flowers and trimmings of a different color…green leaves…blue ribbons and forget-me-nots…or pink roses and ribbons.” (The Ladies Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness 1872)
“It was Queen Victoria who began the fashion for all-white wedding clothes; before her 1840 nuptials, a bride chose a pretty dress that she would continue to wear on other fine occasions. But Victoria married in rich white satin, her veil of Honiton lace caught by a wreath of orange-flower blossoms. In 1863 the maids in flounces and flowers, who attended her son’s bride, Princess Alexandra, are admired by their present to the bride-a bracelet with their painted miniatures identified by initials in diamonds.
Members of a bridal party might receive a special gift – like ornamental handkerchiefs, but everyone went home with some cake. An 1888 book tells how slices were sometimes laid under pillows at night so young persons would dream of their future spouses.
Now, I am in the mood to watch either, ‘The Age of Innocence’ – a beautifully made movie that demonstrates the beauties of the Victorian era. Or,
Young Victoria – a sentimentally, lovely movie about Queen Victoria.
Originally posted on A Delightsome Life.