Line #82 Main/UnconventionalWeddingDress


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6	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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17	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheVow https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_rachel_mcadams_channing_tatum_the_vow_movie_image_1.png]]]]
18	[[caption-width-right:350:A blushing bride, dressed all in...pink?]]
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21	When it comes to weddings, everyone will expect the arrival of the bride all dressed in white. The image of a bride's white dress is so prevalent, and media will also often incorporate it with such.
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23	But she's wearing something else other than white, not ''even'' off-white, and not ''even'' a hint of pastel. She's even wearing the same color as her bridesmaids. Everyone stares at her for her choice for the occasion. Both the bride and groom don't care; it's their mutual love, commitment, and trust that matters, not the outward appearances and judging eyes.
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25	Factors can include time and financial restraints, as it may take several months and thousands of dollars to make 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 conventional 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. Or even wear it again for other occasions.
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27	The tradition of the bride wearing a white wedding dress is [[NewerThanTheyThink relatively new.]] It only started in the [[RegencyEngland early 19th century]] when white dresses were a form of ConspicuousConsumption since they were expensive and difficult to clean. UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria [[TropeCodifier popularized and solidified it]] after marrying Prince Albert in 1840 as a symbol of [[VirginInAWhiteDress purity]] and [[SimpleYetOpulent elegance in simplicity]].
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29	Prior to 1840, brides would have worn their best dress of any color save black, and the same dress would be worn for other special occasions. The most popular color was blue due to being [[TrueBlueFemininity a feminine color]], and this is where the "something blue" part came from OldNewBorrowedAndBlue.
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31	In India and China, [[LadyInRed red]] is the favored 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''.[[note]]UsefulNotes/HongKong is a special case where a western wedding with a white dress is more common (often at a church [[EveryoneIsChristianAtChristmas despite only 10% of Hongkongers are Christian]]) due to being westernised. Couples from wealthier backgrounds may even have ''both'' a western and a Chinese wedding ceremony with both dresses.[[/note]] 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.
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33	And there will be some brides who will [[EdibleThemeClothing combine the wedding dress AND the wedding cake]].
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35	Contrast VirginInAWhiteDress and FairytaleWeddingDress.
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37	!!Examples:
38	[[foldercontrol]]
39
40	[[folder:Comic Books]]
41	* ''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.
42	* In ''Comicbook/SupermanTheWeddingAlbum'', 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.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
46	* In ''ComicStrip/OnTheFastrack'', Dethany, in keeping with her PerkyGoth style, wore a black wedding gown.
47	* ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'':
48	** Ming wore a black wedding dress, and, swear to God, that was the most ''normal'' part of her very unconventional wedding. (Consider the following, when she 'walked' down the aisle, she was also wearing a helmet...because she actually got ''shot out of a cannon''.) Also, in lieu of lifting a veil, Ming removed her then-trademark sunglasses, vowing to never wear them again as she wants to see her husband and the world clearly from now on. (This delights Dave, as now he gets to keep his wedding present to Ming-a gross of sunglasses.)
49	** The wedding guests at Remora's wedding ''think'' Remora is doing this by wearing a mermaid costume instead of a wedding dress. Only the main characters know she's ''actually'' a mermaid.
50	** Samantha ''tried'' to do this by considering a wedding gown that looked more like a lab coat, 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).
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Fan Works]]
54	* ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'': It's known for certain that Hekatia the Necromancer wore a purple dress to her wedding, ([[https://www.deviantart.com/jgss0109/art/A-Wedlock-Toast-960935760 as this picture of her wedding night shows]]) and it's implied that other queens before Luna the Child wore wedding dresses in various colors, given how Luna was the one to establish the white dress (with accents in the color of their cheek marks) for future monarchs/heiresses to wear at their wedding.
55	* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/214973/where-is-my-love Where Is My Love?]]'': When Rarity is meeting Derpy to arrange the latter's wedding dress, she freaks out at first when Derpy says she doesn't want to wear white until Derpy explains that it wouldn't be proper, since she has had a foal already (and is expecting a second) and thus doesn't qualify for VirginInAWhiteDress. While the fic itself doesn't say the final color, a piece of associated fanart shows her in blue.
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58	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
59	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': When Tiana and Naveen get married they're frogs, so they're not wearing clothes at all, though when they kiss they become human again and Tiana magically gains a green and yellow dress based upon a waterlily; it's not a typical wedding dress though it's definitely still a PimpedOutDress. {{Subverted\|trope}} when she marries Naveen a second time as a human; this time, she's wearing a white 1920s-style dress with a veil.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
63	* ''Film/AboutTime'': Mary wears red on her wedding day. While nobody comments on it in the film, WordOfGod [[http://www.mtv.com/news/1716643/about-time-rachel-mcadams/ is that]] he had a feeling she would go for something unusual.
64	* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'': When Beetlejuice and Lydia are planning to get married, Lydia's dress is red because of the association with {{Hell}}.
65	* When Elle Woods gets married at the end of ''Film/LegallyBlonde 2: Red, White and Blonde'' her wedding dress is pale pink instead of white. She's seen trying on a more traditional FairytaleWeddingDress earlier in the movie but ultimately decides to go with her [[PinkMeansFeminine signature color]].
66	* ''Film/MaryQueenOfScots2018'': For her third wedding Mary wears a black gown (which is TruthInTelevision), both because she's a recent widow (twice-widowed in fact) and to show her disdain at being [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forced to marry]] Bothwell.
67	* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'', Julia marries Ethan in [[ExaggeratedTrope blue medical scrubs]] because they impulsively decide on an impromptu wedding at the hospital where Julia works, performed by the hospital chaplain, before Ethan leaves on his latest mission.
68	* When ''Film/{{Ophelia}}'' marries Hamlet, she's wearing a plain, unremarkable light gray gown. This is [[JustifiedTrope intentional]], as she and Hamlet had to disguise themselves as peasants to [[SecretRelationship get married]]. Neither of them seems to care in the slightest.
69	* ''Film/TheVow'': In the film, Paige's wedding dress is short and pink (providing the page image).
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Literature]]
73	* ''[[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.
74	* In ''Literature/{{Jackdaws}}'', Flick and Paul both wear military uniforms when they get married due to it being a WartimeWedding.
75	* In one of the ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' books, ''These Happy Golden Years'', due to Laura and Almanzo needing to AltarTheSpeed before Almanzo's sister comes to De Smet and tries to plan an extravagant wedding they can't afford, Laura ends up marrying in her black cashmere dress. Ma's unhappy about this, because as the saying goes: "married in black, you'll wish yourself back." Laura counters that it's the 'new' in her OldNewBorrowedAndBlue ensemble, and they both decide there might not be much merit to these sayings anyway. (It should be noted that Laura and Almanzo's married life, particularly in the beginning, was full of strife, disaster and tragedy. Make of that what you will.)
76	* In the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Busman's Honeymoon'', Harriet wears gold lamé rather than white when she marries Lord Peter. [[FridgeBrilliance Possibly because she wasn't a virgin]].
77	* In the first book of ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad The Malloreon]]'', Garion quickly resolves the crisis in Arendia between Mandorallen and a rival knight who is the heir to the land of a recently deceased noble, and was about to offer the nobleman's widow to his friends, which pissed Mandorallen off. Mandorallen had been pining for the said widow, Nerina, for so long, but [[CourtlyLove they mutually kept their romance platonic]] even long after her husband died. Garion ordered his friend Mandorallen to quit pining and just marry Nerina anyway. After a quick negotiation about the dowry and other wedding formalities, Mandorallen married Nerina while he was still on his armor and she was wearing widow's black and a tablecloth for a veil.
78	* Jane [[Literature/RizzoliAndIsles Rizzoli]] wore a white pantsuit for her wedding to Gabriel Dean (and her bridesmaids wore gray ones), having always been a tomboy who hated dresses.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
82	* When ''Series/AllMyChildren'''s Edmund and Maria renewed their vows on their 1st anniversary, she wore a pale green evening gown. Interestingly, when they renewed their vows a second time after her coming BackFromTheDead, she wore white, but a much simpler dress than she'd worn on her 1st wedding day. Years later, Kendall showed up at Ryan and Greenlee's wedding and pushed her into a fountain, but the ceremony went on anyway, with Greenlee now wearing jeans. . . and a white shirt.
83	* ''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 anyway, hence why she was buying a wedding suit rather than a wedding dress.
84	* ''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]].
85	* ''Series/FrontierHouse'': The participants have to [[HistoricalReCreation dress and live according to 1800s US western pioneering]] families in rural Montana. The Brooks, who get married partway through the project, plan a period-appropriate gingham dress for Kristen because a white gown would be prohibitively expensive for the setting. [[spoiler: Nate's family "bought" her a white gown anyway.]]
86	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': It's hard to tell what Talisa wore when she says "I do" to Robb Stark, because her outfit is hidden by a long, plain gray cloak. Given Talisa's penchant for practical, unadorned gowns and that this was a hastily-planned secret wedding, she probably didn't have time or opportunity to get anything fancier to wear (nor does Talisa much care for luxury items).
87	* On ''Series/GeneralHospital'', the wrong wedding dress was delivered to Lucy Coe as she prepared marry Alan Quartermaine. With no time to get the correct one, she walked down the aisle in a ''flaming red'' dress, complete with hat, much to everyone's shock. Felicia Jones' aborted wedding to Mac Scorpio had her in a pale yellow gown, while their second completed one had her in pink.
88	* 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.
89	-->'''Blanche:''' ''Me'' in white? Even ''I'' couldn't keep a straight face.
90	* ''Series/Lucifer2016'': Mazikeen has always been a fan of [[HellBentForLeather black leather clothing]] so her wedding she dons a black leather dress. Her bride, [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Eve]], sticks to the traditional off-white for her own dress.
91	* In an episode of ''Series/TheMunsters'', in an attempt to marry off Marilyn, Lily dresses her up in an all-black wedding dress.
92	* 'When ''Series/OneLifeToLive'''s Marty married Patrick, she wore a pale green dress. Aside from it being her second wedding, she was also honoring her groom's Irish heritage.
93	* 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 propriety, 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]].
94	* On ''Series/{{Psych}}'', Marlowe was introduced as TheVamp but quickly became a 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.
95	* ''Series/SayYesToTheDress'' will occasionally feature brides who want unconventional wedding dresses, which will invariably put them at odds with their more traditional family members or entourage. Usually they'll get the style they want or compromise with the dissenters to find something in the middle.
96	** In one episode, bride-to-be Christalyne fought against her Indian family's wishes, as she wanted an ivory or champagne gown when in India white is reserved for widows.
97	** Former Music/{{Prince}} bassist Nik West, who wanted something futuristic, ended up with a beaded white catsuit with a detachable skirt.
98	* ''Series/SexAndTheCity'''s Miranda married Steve in a burgundy suit, refusing to wear anything white/ivory--"I have a child! The jig is up!"-- and having always hated anything frilly or lacy.
99	* In ''Literature/TheThornBirds'', Meggie marries Luke in the "ashes-of-roses" dress that she wore to Mary Carson's birthday party, rather than the typical white dress, as it's her best and favorite.
100	* 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.
101	* The German show ''Zwischen Tüll und Tränen'' features multiple bridal stores, among others a store for the goth scene with mainly black dresses and suits and one for Dirndls (a [[{{Oktoberfest}} South German]] folk dress) in all colors.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Magazines]]
105	* Referenced in ''Trains'' magazine; an article about the disastrous Penn-Central merger (which in 1970 became the biggest bankruptcy until Enron) was titled "The Bride Wore Black".
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
109	* In 2004, Wrestling/{{Lita}} is forced to marry Wrestling/{{Kane}}. To show her spite for him for the occasion, she wore black.
110	* The then WWF wedding of Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon to Test, where she is wearing a white dress, is interrupted by her "drunken wedding" video of her marrying Wrestling/TripleH in red top and jeans in a car. When Main/LifeImitatesArt 4 years later, she was wearing white.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
114	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': In ''Innistrad: Crimson Vow'' [[VampireMonarch Olivia Voldaren]] arranges a political marriage to [[MonsterProgenitor Edgar Markov]] in order to unify the two most powerful vampire bloodlines on Innistrad. Her wedding dress is, er, [[https://media.wizards.com/2021/images/daily/kecQb7w1WA.jpg this]] -- a massively [[PimpedOutDress pimped-out]] red and gray thing with an enormous, spiky collar held up by ''the souls of her victims''.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Theatre]]
118	* 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.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Video Games]]
122	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' allows players to dress for their wedding however they like. While the game offers a wedding dress to female players (which, if paying for the wedding, can be dyed in any color), it is possible to marry naked, in full armor, or in a GoofySuit.
123	* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' has a [[https://i.redd.it/8vrpg34fo2361.png wonderful event]] describing a same-sex marriage ceremony in the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Free Territory]]. [[GayGroomInAWhiteTux Both brides have black dresses]] emblazoned with the symbol of the Black Army, and the dresses have been explicitly modified to allow the brides to sling their rifles over their shoulders comfortably (it's a WartimeWedding in an anarchist commune, so EveryoneIsArmed -- even the priest has an SMG stuffed into his robes from doing entrenchment training earlier that morning).
124	* Bridal-themed events in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' has characters donning white gowns, suits, and the like. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Tharja]], [[BlackMagicianGirl however]], goes in a black dress.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Web Comics]]
128	* ''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.
129	* Variant in ''WebComic/KevinAndKell'': Leona's wedding dress was pretty normal, having had hers selected by a poll on social media. It's the ''bridesmaids''' dresses that are the unconventional ones: they're wearing the wedding dresses that ''didn't'' win. And Greta just wore a white poncho because she's a snake.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Western Animation]]
133	* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
134	** Fire Nation brides, 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.
135	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In " A Bicyclops Made For Two", Leela wears a purple wedding dress, to match her purple hair for her wedding to Alcazar.
136	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode "A Tattler's Tale", Lucy plays at getting married to her vampire bust Edwin and dyes the dress black because she's a {{Goth}}.
137	* In the episode "Niagarra Brawl" from ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama World Tour]]'', the girls have to wear wedding dresses as part of a challenge. Most of them wear conventional wedding dresses, but Sierra's gown consists of a midriff-exposing top and a knee-length skirt.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Real Life]]
141	* Doubling with {{Themed Wedding}}s, in Europe it is actually quite popular to marry in a middle-age themed dress at a castle. Those dresses are often red, blue, green, or brown.
142	** Likewise, in cosplay weddings, the bride might or might not be wearing white: it's that she's dressed up as a character from some form of entertainment that's the unusual part.
143	* In UsefulNotes/LasVegas, or any other city with easy to receive same-day marriage licenses, wearing white is the exception rather than the rule at most wedding chapels.
144	* 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. (There is some debate on whether she really had lost her virginity during her first marriage, given how her husband might possibly hadn't been able to...ahem, consummate the marriage, but she definitely had lost it by her third, as the second had resulted in her son James.) 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''.
145	[[/folder]]

Context Main / UnconventionalWeddingDress