Weddings have always been a day of culture, tradition and religion. Those three concepts have always and forever been in the limelight for the day that is actually supposed to be for the bride and groom. Well, mostly for the bride. Every decision and aspect that has everything to do with the wedding has to be well within the bounds of tradition and superstition. While the groom wears a very sleek black suit, the bride would be left stuck wearing a design repetitive white wedding gown. Pure nonsense when her friends get to enjoy the color theme she chose for the wedding. Wearing a red bridesmaid dress, her friends would steal the show even before she, the bride, could walk down the aisle. A handful of brave brides are saying ‘hell no!’ and going towards the brave front, kicking tradition to the side and asking why can’t they wear a red wedding gown to their wedding?

            Most wedding traditions are based on some Victorian influences. Remember the old saying ‘Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something blue.’? This pretty much sums up the old tradition. No issues with the first three lines. ‘Something old’ would mean that the bride should wear an accessory that was previously owned by a happily married woman. ‘Something new’ refers to her wedding gown to signify her new married life. ‘Something borrowed’ is an item that’s made out of gold for a promise of a wealthy life. All sounds good but the ‘something blue’ actually refers to the meaning of the color which is purity and love to the high heavens, but really, blue? For love? Red would beg to differ.

For the Victorian tradition however, red would mean treachery and witchcraft which automatically bans it from the wedding gown scene. But isn’t red the all around color for love and passion? Wouldn’t you wear a red evening dress or a red cocktail dress out on Valentine’s Day for a more passion-filled night? We all know that a blue evening dress would only play the love down. So, why skip the love of red and wear something washed out on your wedding day?

            Some years ago, designers have started to tread the testy waters of adding color to their wedding designs to add flavor to the gowns. Austin Scarlett may have been criticized for his teal wedding gown on Project Runway but he was on to something and the brazen brides-to-be followed. Seeking trend gowns and unique colors and designs to liven up and make their day a little bit more special. Think of it this way: this might be the last chance for you to wear a gown. So if you wore that red prom dress and turned heads then, why can’t you turn heads with red now?

            Some women, of course, are afraid that they might face naysayers because of the color and straying away from tradition but there is always an acceptable compromise. In any case, why try and please others when it is your day after all. Be brave. Go down that isle with something that no one will ever forget.