The colour, style and ceremonial importance of a wedding gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants according to youbeauty.com; and most brides choose a dress of white to symbolise purity of the soul.
Such as the case might be, most people prefer a white wedding dress even when they already lost their virginity and are already mothers.
The case is a bit different in Western cultures where brides wear any colour of wedding dresses. But is it alright to wear white when you are already living with the man and decide to only exchange vows?
“Originally, the white wedding dress was meant for virgins, but now that meaning has been diluted. Even when someone is marrying for the third time, they can still wear white if they want and no-one will question them,” observes Blantyre-based Catherine Kawume.
Another woman argues that brides do not necessarily have to be virgins to wear white, but as long as it is their first wedding they should.
“What I know is that in Western cultures brides wear ivory wedding dresses or other colours if it is their second marriage or if they already have children,” she says.
Marriage adviser, Constance Masamba agrees a white wedding dress is for a bride that is going into marriage for the first time.
“The white signifies purity but most people do not realise that, only believing that since the wedding is being officiated by a church pastor, they should wear a white wedding dress. That is a misunderstanding of the whole concept. If one has been married before, or has children, then they need to wear other colours, but not pure white for a wedding dress,” says Masamba.
CCAP moderator, Reverend Baxton Maulidi says brides who wear white wedding dresses are believed and supposed to be virgins, but he notes that lately it has just become a matter of fashion in most brides, diluting the true meaning of it.
“Many people are abusing the wedding dress although they could not wait and lost their virginity before they were married. The meaning of a wedding dress today is casual and not exceptional clothing for virgins to wear at weddings. Most people who get married lose their virginity long before getting married,” the reverend points out.
He further notes that most churches today breach the etiquette by allowing everyone to wear a white wedding dress before they can confirm whether they are virgins or not; probably because it is not easy to tell whether one is a virgin and even if asked, not all would be honest enough.
