It's fun to see the type of wedding gown brides from all over the world wear on their big day. It is extremely different than the typical North American bride. Many multi-cultural brides living in North America wear their traditional gown and tie it into a North American wedding. This blog covers brides in China, India and Africa. Traditions from these countries will amaze you and might also influence you on your wedding day preparations.
China
The color red is considered good luck, and is seen as a strong color that can drive away evil spirits. Brides in China usually decide on a red wedding dress because of this association. The traditional Chinese wedding dress is a one-piece frock named Qi Pao. Along with the stunning red colours of the dress, it also consists of embroideries made up of gold and silver designs. Older traditions would have newlyweds see each other's face for the very first time on their wedding night.(Can you imagine?!) Like some over the top weddings in North America; Chinese brides will change dresses at least 3 times on the wedding day. The first is a traditional wedding gown that we see in North American weddings, the bride then changes into a traditional Chinese bridal dress for the tea ceremony and reception, and then finally a cocktail dress called Song Ke to the party.
India
In India brides will wear different traditional dresses based on the location that they are from, or their religious beliefs. Below are a few of the different gowns the Indian bride will don on her wedding day.
Punjabi Bride: The traditional bride in Punjab can wear either a sari or a Lehenga. The colours that you will see on these dresses are red, orange and/or magenta. The Punjabi bride wears tons of gold jewelry and chude which is a set of red and ivory coloured bangles.
The Bengali Bride: The traditional Bengali bride is draped in a Benarasi sari with a wide zari boarder and a red cheli or veil on her head. Along with the sari, the bride wears a head piece called sholar mukut which is made from a tree. Like the Punjabi Bride the Bengali bride wears gold jewellery.
The Muslim Bride: The Muslim bride wears a red bridal robe called a Lehenga or the Salwar Kameez. These robes are embroidered with golden designs and made in silk. A Ghungat is used to cover the brides head and upper body during the ceremony.
The Catholic Bride: The Indian catholic bride is no different than catholic brides across the globe. White is the color of choice since it symbolizes purity. The traditional catholic bride wears a traditional bridal gown with a delicate veil.
Africa
Like the North American tradition, African brides wear white on their wedding day. White in Africa plays a strong role in both the African Christians and African Muslims. White represents purity, salvation and equality. Some Africans choose to wear blue- the colour of peace, or purple- the colour of royalty. Both bride and groom wear the same colour on their wedding day. The African wedding gown is referred as a wrapper set; it is worn for the wedding ceremonies. It consists of a buba which is a traditional African blouse, an iro which is a long wrap skirt, and gelee which is a head-wrap. Although the wrap itself isn’t an exquisite piece, the textiles and colours used, make the wrap a true work of art.
Since Canada is so multi-cultural and diverse, we are seeing unique and individual ways of representing every aspect of the bride and groom. The best part about planning a wedding is being able to custom design it to satisfy every little piece of you and your partner! Might as well have fun with it.
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