A wedding dress or wedding gown is clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.

Western culture                 

Weddings performed during and immediately following the medieval era were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of politics than love, particularly among the nobility and the higher social classes. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that cast their families in the most favorable light, for they weren't representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides of an elevated social standing often wore rich colors and expensive fabrics. It was common to see such brides wearing bold colors and layers of furs, velvet and silk. Brides of a lower social standing often copied the elegant styles of wealthier brides as best they could.

Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status---always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride's social standing and indicated the extent of the family's wealth to wedding guests.

Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920's wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940's, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. The trend has continued until today.

Today, western wedding dresses are usually white, though 'wedding white' includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. One of the first women to wear white at her wedding was Mary Queen of Scots, when she married François II of France. However, white was not then a tradition but rather a choice and one considered inauspicious, since white was the official colour of mourning in France at the time.

White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria had worn a white gown for the event so as to incorporate some lace she owned. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for a similar dress in honor of the Queen's choice. The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this had not been the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings, not necessarily a statement of virginity.

 Eastern culture         

Many wedding dresses in China are colored red, the traditional color of good luck. In modern Chinese weddings, particularly in Western countries, the bride usually opts for the white Western dress or changes from a white gown to a red gown later in the day and sometimes a gold colored gown later on. In Japan brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and colour dress combination being popular.

In northern parts of India the traditional color of women's wedding garments is red, a color symbolizing auspiciousness. Green, a colour symbolizing fertility, is also commonly used. Nowadays many women opt not to wear red, and choose other colors. South Indian weddings traditionally use white or cream colored saris. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (like lehnga, choli, et cetera).

        你的思维很活跃，是个很有主见的人，很善于独立行动，但是有时会操之过急，并且会经常为自己的决定而懊悔，令人感觉你有些冒失、不可靠；遇事时不妨静下心来仔细考量一下再作决定。

        对于有些冲动的你而言，挑选婚纱时不要找太多的人一起去，因为当大家都发表意见时，急性子的你会开始烦躁，于是匆忙间随便抓了一件就拍板定案，甚至到最后你自己都想不起来这件婚纱究竟是个什么模样！因此，一定要找一个最了解你、并且清醒理智的女性相陪——可以是你最铁的闺蜜，也可以是你亲爱的母亲——当然，最重要的是你对她有着足够的信任，并且能听进去她的意见。也要记住叫上你的另一半，虽然他的意见你可以不采纳，但是，对于他而言，能够和你一起挑选婚纱才是最重要的。其实，当你问他：“亲爱的，这件不错吧？”时，他会由衷地感觉到自己对你而言是很有存在感的！这样才能体现出你对他的尊重，免得他在婚礼时抱怨：“哦！老天，你从没告诉过我你选了这样的婚纱！”当然，选择婚纱也是你们培养默契程度的过程。

果断冷静型新娘             

        你善于思考，并能够判断周围人的哪些建议是对你有用的，在处理人生的各种决策时你都面面俱到，虽然也曾经有过失误，但你总能够从失误中汲取教训。大家都很信赖你，认为你是个可靠的人。

        你可以冷静地思考并且独自选好自己最中意的婚纱，但是，面对这个重要的决定，你也希望听听别人的看法，并且吸取他们意见中的闪光点。建议你自己去浏览一下婚纱定制店的网页，或者亲自到婚纱店去转一转，挑选出一些喜欢的婚纱样式，把图片拿回家来与你的父母、老公分享，耐心地告诉他们你喜欢的是什么、哪些款式是你最中意的，并让他们说说自己的想法，这会让他们觉得你真的很在乎他们的看法，并能够让他们感受到参与的快乐。想想看，如果你自己就选好了婚纱，你的父母会觉得他们错过了女儿人生中的一个重要决定，你的另一半也会觉得你抹杀了他发挥审美创意的机会。其实，参与进来对于他们而言比最后的结果更加重要——当然，你其实很明确自己想要哪一款，然后只需要询问他们一句“还是这种款式适合我吧？”，最后按照你所想的去做就ok。

优柔寡断型新娘             

        你的心思非常细腻，所以遇事时总是思前想后，总是依赖别人的看法做决定，周围的人认为你真的很没有主见。小心谨慎的风格虽然可以让你不会因草率的决定而后悔，但这种温吞性格却会影响到你的决策能力。

        面对选婚纱这件大事，你会觉得心理压力很大，在这个时候，经常会犹豫不决的你最渴望的就是别人的意见和判断！但是，如果身边的人各持己见，你就会变得无所适从。因此，你需要一位专业人士的意见：首先通过向新婚的朋友咨询以及网络调查，挑选一家口碑好、可靠的婚纱定制店，然后和你的家人一起来到这家店，建议你的同行者们在此稍候，既可以让他们了解这家店的风格，也可以避免习惯于帮你拿主意的他们干扰到你的判断——你要独立地完成与设计师的一对一沟通，让她充分地了解你的身材、气质特点，以便于给你一些有针对性的设计建议，帮你寻找到一款或几款最佳的婚纱方案。确定几款方案后，记得让久候的家人们看一下，让设计师了解一下他们的意见，并以她专业的审美眼光帮你最终敲定方案。当然，这一切的基础是，100%信任你的设计师.