COVE

Before Queen Victoria’s wedding, it was rare to wear white to a wedding. Women usually wore a colorful dress that could be reused. White was only worn by the very wealthy because they could afford to have their clothing cleaned. When Queen Victoria married Albert, she chose to be married in white and specifically requested that no-one else wear white to the wedding. She stated that she wanted to be married to Albert as man and wife, not as a head of state. This decision immediately made the white wedding dress a symbol of innocence, romance, and purity. This underscored that women of the Victorian era were meant to come to marriage chaste and pure, and be devoted to their husbands ever after. Victoria exemplified this, often giving over the duties of ruling to Albert when she was pregnant. She wore her wedding veil often, at christenings and other familial events, and was buried in it.

However, Queen Victoria’s decisions were far more practical than the notions of purity and innocence. Her dress was made from “cream satin woven in the Spitalfields, the historic center of the silk industry in London” and her lace overlay, veil, and train were made from handmade Honiton lace. The industrial revolution was creating machines that could make lace faster and more cheaply, thus the artisans who created the handmade lace were facing financial ruin. Victoria’s choice of handmade lace was done in an effort to boost the sales of lace, and white was the best color to show it off

Photography hadn't been invented when Victoria and Albert were married, thus there are only paintings of the actual wedding. This photograph was staged later to make use of the recently invented camera. Today, when the actual dress is displayed, it is displayed without the lace overlay, as the second photograph shows, since the lace is too fragile to be handled.

The following articles are where my information and pictures came from.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-victoria-connection

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-queen-victorias-wedding-dress/

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/queen-victoria-royal-wedding

https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/royal-weddings/queen-victorias-wedding-dress