History Main / UnconventionalWeddingDress

-->'''Blanche:''' Me in white? Even I couldn't keep a straight face.

Factors can include time and financial restraints, as it may take several months and thousands of dollars to make depending on the embellishment for a dress that can be worn only once. The situation could take place on a WartimeWedding. It can also be where a ThemedWedding may take part where a dress may be impractical for the theme. It may also be the bride's choice to break tradition and to wear any style and color they want, even black. And it may be where the bride is on a second or third marriage or so.

Of course, the tradition of the white wedding dress is [[NewerThanTheyThink a relatively new tradition]], with brides during the [[RegencyEngland early 19th century]] starting to wear white dresses, with white being a symbol of ConspicuousConsumption as white dresses were expensive and difficult to clean, and UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria [[TropeCodifier popularized and solidified it]] after marrying Prince Albert in 1840 as a symbol of [[VirginInAWhiteDress purity]] and [[SimpleYetOpulent elegance in simplicity]].

Prior to 1840, brides would have worn their best dress in whatever of color, save for black, and they would have worn them again for several occasions. The most popular and ideal color was blue due to being [[TrueBlueFemininity a feminine color]], and this is where the "something blue" part came from OldNewBorrowedAndBlue.

In India and China, [[LadyInRed red]] is an ideal bridal color as it symbolizes love. The unconventional part for an Indian bride or a Chinese bride would be to wear the Western white, as white for those cultures are reserved for ''mourning''. Brides with a PatrioticFervor would wear a dress based on their national clothing. And the more modern thinking bride would wear either very short skirts or even ''pants'', or anything that would be inappropriate even for outdoor weddings.

When it comes to weddings, everyone will expect the arrival of the bride all dressed in white. Whether in a straight, a lesbian, or [[GayGroomInAWhiteTux a gay marriage]], the image of a bride's white dress is so prevalent, and media will also often incorporate it with such.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': When Cyclops and Jean Grey got married, Jean's dress was white, but it was [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0c/03/86/0c03862da9547ac0a9df53ef50117065.jpg mermaid-style]] rather than a poofy ballgown, with a white scarf instead of a veil. Even though it [[https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/image.png invoked the traditional look]], Jean did it on her own terms, which tied into her character arc at that time.

** Brides in the franchise, such as Avatar Roku's bride Ta Min in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and Ursa in ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', wore white-and-red wedding dresses with more traditionally Asian-inspired designs, so there is precedent for it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In " A Bicyclops Made For Two", Leela wears a purple wedding dress, to match her [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair purple hair]] for her wedding to Alcazar.

* In UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland's second and third weddings, she wore black for the ceremony itself, symbolizing that she came to the marriage as a widow and not a virgin, and only changed into something cheerier once she was officially married to someone new. (Oddly enough, this is inverted for her first marriage: eyebrows were raised when she wore white to her first marriage to the future Francis II of France, as white was France's traditional color of ''mourning''.)

[[folder: Theatre]]
* In ''Theatre/{{Jenufa}}'', Jenufa wears a simple dark-colored dress for her wedding, because she is mourning her illegitimate son who died a couple of months earlier. His very existence is kept a carefully-guarded secret, so when one of the guests expresses surprise at Jenufa's choice of clothes, her stepmother claims that in high society, every lady marries in a plain dress.

* In Series/Wildflower2017, Ivy wears a black gown instead of a traditional white gown on her wedding day with Arnaldo, much to Emilia's chagrin. Arnaldo, who's not aware of Lily/Ivy's [[{{Revenge}} motivation]], doesn't mind what she wears.

* ''Film/TheVow'': In the film, Paige's wedding dress is short and pink.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}: The Wedding Album'', when Lois is choosing a dress, she tries three on. Apart from an ultra-traditional one that she hates but her mother likes, the other two are a sleeveless dress cinched at the waist, which Ellen Lane thought was a bit ... modern for a wedding dress, and what is basically a white minidress with an open skirt fastened over it, although by that point she was basically {{troll}}ing Ellen. Her actual dress was more traditional, although not as absurdly so as the "bad fairy tale" one.

* On ''Series/{{Psych}}'', Marlowe was introduced as TheVamp but quickly became a [[{{Adorkable}} lovingly unconventional]] LoveInterest to [[UptightLovesWild the normally uptight Carlton]]. On their wedding day, she wears a vibrant red dress with her special infinity necklace, and Carlton wears a white suit and tie with a matching red boutonniere.

* In the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Busman's Honeymoon'', Harriet wears gold lamé rather than white when she marries Lord Peter.

When it comes to weddings, everyone will expect for the arrival of the bride all dressed in white. Whether in a straight, a lesbian, or [[GayGroomInAWhiteTux a gay marriage]], the image of a bride's white dress is so prevalent, and media will also often incorporate it with such.

** Samantha ''tried'' to do this by considering a wedding gown that looked more like a labcoat, saying it was just like her to do so. Her talking cat, her mother, and even the 'design your own wedding gown' website rebelled against the idea though, and Samantha went with something more traditional (designed by a reader who won a contest to do so).

* ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': Joked about in "Family Portrait". Jean and Rose are discussing Jean's wedding suit when Rose notices that [[NotListeningToMeAreYou Lucien isn't listening]] and remarks that "vivid purple was a bold choice". Jean replies "It will match the shade of violet I'm planning to dye my hair". This gets Lucien's attention with a "Did you say you're dying your hair v...?" before realising he is being pranked. However, as a widow entering her second marriage in 1950s Australia, Jean would not have been wearing white any way, hence why she was buying a wedding suit rather than a wedding dress.

* In ''ComicStrip/OnTheFastrack'', Dethany, in keeping with her PerkyGoth style, wore a black wedding gown.

[[folder: Film]]

* In the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Busman's Honeymoon'', Harriet wears gold lamé rather than white when she marries Lord Peter.
* ''[[Literature/{{Temeraire}} Empire of Ivory]]'': While not the ''least'' conventional aspect of the [[MarriedAtSea shipboard wedding]] between CPT Tom Riley, Royal Navy and CPT Catherine Harcourt, Aerial Corps; the fact that the bride did not trouble herself to find a dress at all but showed up to the ceremony in trousers left unfastened to accommodate her [[ShotgunWedding baby-well-past-a-bump]], a bottle green military greatcoat, and (it is heavily implied) combat boots would not go unremarked ''now'', let alone on the way back to RegencyEngland.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': When Phoebe gets married in the final season her dress is lavender rather than the traditional white. Phoebe was never one for tradition anyway and had already been married once, to a gay ice dancer who [[CitizenshipMarriage needed a green card]].
* In ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', Blanche's wedding dress when she married her late husband George was a bright red number that only went to her knees.
-->'''Blanche:''' Me in white? Even I couldn't keep a straight face.
* On ''Series/{{Psych}}'', Marlowe was introduced as TheVamp but quickly became a [[{{Adorkable}} lovingly unconventional]] LoveInterest to [[UptightLovesWild the normally uptight Carlton]]. On their wedding day, she wears a vibrant red dress with her special infinity necklace, and Carlton wears a white suit and tie with a matching red boutonniere.
* In ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' Grace wears a lilac dress with a purple veil for her wedding to Thomas Shelby as a sign she's in mourning, as her first husband died. It's more for the sake of properity, as she always loved Thomas more than [[MarriageOfConvenience her first husband]] and planned to leave him anyway after she found out [[spoiler:she was pregnant with Thomas' child]].
* ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': Joked about in n "Family Portrait". Jean and Rose are discussing Jean's wedding suit when Rose notices that [[NotListeningToMeAreYou Lucien isn't listening]] and remarks that "vivid purple was a bold choice". Jean replies "It will match the shade of violet I'm planning to dye my hair". This gets Lucien's attention with a "Did you say you're dying your hair v...?" before realising he is being pranked. However, as a widow entering her second marriage, Jean would not have been wearing white any way, hence why she was buying a wedding suit rather than a wedding dress.

* ''WebComic/AnsemRetort'': Due to the limitations of the medium, this being a sprite comic based on ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', Aerith's wedding dress was just [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle's]] ballroom gown. Which was still better than Axel, who just wore the same cloak he always does.

* ''WebComic/AnsemRetort'': Due to the limitations of the medium, this being a sprite comic based on ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', Aerith's wedding dress was just [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle's]] ballroom gown. Which was still better than Axel, who just wore the same cloak he always does.

** Ming wore a black wedding dress, and, swear to God, that was the most ''normal'' part of her very unconventional wedding.