History of black wedding dresses

While many in the West today see the black wedding dress as a modern gothic statement or a way to buck tradition, its history is far richer and far older. Black wedding dresses have been worn for thousands of years across cultures, often symbolizing solemnity, practicality, or devotion.

Black wedding dress in Chinese history

The origins of the black wedding dress can be traced back over 3,000 years to the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) in China. Brides at the time wore modest, solemn black gowns over light red undergarments. Their hair was styled up and secured with a band and hairpin, reflecting both elegance and formality.

 

Today, traditional Chinese bridal dresses vary by region. Northern brides usually wear a mostly red dress decorated with intricate gold and silver designs, while southern brides prefer a two-piece red gown adorned with gold dragons and phoenixes. Modern couples, however, often opt for simplified, contemporary wedding dresses rather than following strict regional traditions.

Spanish brides wore black

In Spain, Roman Catholic brides historically wore black lace gowns with a black lace veil, or mantilla, draped over the head and shoulders. The veil symbolized the bride’s vow to love her husband until death, highlighting black as a color of solemn commitment rather than rebellion.

 

History of the black wedding dress in the West

White wedding gowns became popular in the Victorian era, following Queen Victoria’s wedding. Before the white dress, most brides in Western Europe wore a variety of colors, but black wedding dresses were a popular choice. Not because it was the most fashionable, but because they were most practical. Wedding dresses were expensive and most women couldn’t afford a special dress to where one time. Instead, they selected a black dress because the dark color didn’t show stains, and the dress could be worn following the wedding.

 Available on Amazon

 

Today, some brides choose black thinking they are defying tradition—but in reality, they are returning to it. As the saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun. Whether for style, symbolism, or practicality, the black wedding dress remains a fascinating and versatile choice that spans cultures and centuries.

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Photo credits: Photo by Murat IŞIK Photo by Bormann Chen

 

Why Tudor Brides Had Pie Smashed on Their Heads

(Updates 7/28/2026) 

Wedding traditions have always reflected the values, beliefs, and superstitions of their time. In 16th-century Yorkshire, England, one of the most important wedding customs wasn't a cake; it was the Bride's Pye.

Like many historical wedding traditions, the Bride's Pye was believed to influence a couple's future happiness. But unlike today's wedding cake, this pie came with an unusual expectation for the bride.

 

What the Bride's Pye Symbolized

After the wedding, the newlyweds were presented with the Bride's Pye upon arriving at their new home. While it may sound like a celebratory meal, the pie served a much greater symbolic purpose.

The bride was expected to eat a single piece of the pie. Then, according to tradition, the groom smashed the remainder over her head, where she was expected to wear it for the rest of the day as a symbol of her devotion to her husband.

As if that weren't enough, the groom would then throw the serving plate over his shoulder. The number of pieces it shattered into was said to predict the years of happiness and prosperity awaiting the couple.

Etiquette of the period also dictated that the bridegroom wait on his bride during the festivities.

The Bride's Pye was considered essential to the success of the marriage, much like the earlier tradition of the barley loaf. In that custom, a loaf of bread was broken over the bride's head for good luck, and guests collected the crumbs to bring prosperity to their own homes. With the Bride's Pye, guests were expected to participate as well, and declining to do so was considered impolite.

How Big Was a Bride's Pye?

Creating a Bride's Pye was no small undertaking.

The pie was traditionally round with a thick, decorated crust and was often filled with mincemeat, mutton, or sweetbreads. Some recipes even called for a fat laying hen filled with eggs—an obvious symbol of fertility.

An 18th-century recipe from The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald gives us an idea of the lavish ingredients used:

• Two calf's feet, boiled and finely chopped
• One pound each of beef suet and apples
• One pound of currants
• One-quarter pound of raisins
• Cinnamon, mace, or nutmeg
• Candied citron and lemon
• A glass of brandy
• A glass of Champagne

The finished pie was enclosed in rich puff pastry and decorated with leaves, flowers, and ornamental figures.

 

 

The Ring Hidden Inside

The Bride's Pye contained one final surprise: a glass ring baked inside.

The unmarried woman who discovered the ring in her slice was believed to be the next to marry. Sound familiar? This tradition likely influenced later customs, such as hiding charms in cakes or tossing the bridal bouquet.

 

From Pie to Wedding Cake

The Bride's Pye remained popular into the 17th century before gradually evolving into the bride cake, which eventually became the modern wedding cake.

While the idea of wearing a pie on your head may seem absurd today, modern couples still have their own messy wedding traditions. After all, many newlyweds still smash cake into each other's faces during the reception.

It does make one wonder: did our modern cake-smashing tradition begin with the Bride's Pye?

Thanks for reading! Would you have survived a Bride's Pye wedding tradition, or are you happy to settle for a slice of cake? Let me know in the comments.

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3 Victorian wedding cake traditions

In Victorian times, the wedding ceremony look very much like weddings today. Most often, it took place at the bride's parish church decorated with flower. Wedding bells rang out announcing the union, and the newlyweds signed the parish register. Queen Victoria started a new wedding cake tradition when she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. The cake consisted of three tiers of English plum cake and it was big. While only 14 inches tall, is measured almost 10 feet across, and weighed 300 pounds. At this time the more refined and whiter sugars were still quite expensive. Only wealthy families could afford to decorate with pure white frosting and exhibited the wealth and the social status of the family. When Queen Victoria used white icing on her wedding cake it gained a new title, royal icing.

 

Aside from all the similarities, in Victorian times they celebrated weddings with three different cakes:

• groom’s cake
• the bride’s cake
• the wedding cake

They also celebrated a tradition known as the cake pull. 

 

Traditional groom’s cake

The groom's cake tradition originated in Victorian England. The earliest groom's cakes were dark, heavy fruitcakes made by the groomsmen and eaten by the groomsmen on the wedding day, with at least a portion saved to be sliced, boxed, and handed out to the single women in attendance. Those women slept with the cake under their pillows to help them dream of their future husbands.

Traditional bride’s cake

The bride’s cake was usually a simple pound cake with white icing which symbolized her virginity. This cake was served to the bridesmaids.

 

Wedding cake pull

The wedding cake pull originally known as the ribbon pull is a quaint bridesmaids' ritual dating back to the Victorian era. Back then it took place at the wedding reception; today it is usually part of the bridal shower. The bride attached tiny silver charms of fortune to ribbon (similar to the pudding cake charms once hidden in plum pudding at Christmas), and placed them under the wedding cake or between layers. Just before cutting the cake, her single friends were invited to pull one of the ribbons to learn their fortune. Historically, there were charms, each with their own meaning.

 

Wedding cake pull charms:

• Ring: indicates the next to get married
• Horseshoe or four-leaf clover: good luck
• Telephone: offering good news*
• Anchor: encouraging hope
• Heart: impending love
• Thimble or the button: the old maid
• The penny: poverty

 

*For those who might wonder about the phone charm in the Victorian era, I thought that I might mention that on January 14, 1878 Queen Victoria made the first publicly-witnessed long-distance phone call in the United Kingdom. 

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Image credit:  Image by Dorothe from Pixabay