As a wedding photographer in the business for several years now I have seen a lot of tradition at weddings and a lot of non-traditional weddings. First off, every wedding is different. It’s like a snowflake or a fingerprint. Each wedding is entirely unique to its couple.

This is the 4th part in a series of traditions vs non-traditions

4. The white wedding dress

3. Bridesmaids & Grooms Men
2. Bridal Bouquet
1. Bad luck to see the bride before the wedding

Before the 1800s brides actually wore red wedding dresses instead of the now, traditional white (which is supposed to represent purity). In many cultures today a red wedding dress is actually traditional. It wasn’t until Queen Victoria wore a white dress when she married Prince Albert that white wedding dresses became a thing.

95% of the brides I have had the pleasure of photographing have had a white wedding dress. Two of the weddings I have been a wedding photographer for (in my career) have had something other than a white dress. One was a themed (Dickins on the Strand) wedding and the other was a gorgeous powder-pink dress that her grandmother made.

Every dress is unique, and on par with the bride’s personality. Some of my favorite wedding dresses I have seen have had pockets (yup! Freakin’ pockets!), been pink or just looked so stunning on the bride it had to become a favorite of mine.

What do you think?

Are you going to have a traditional wedding dress, or are you thinking about shaking things up?