THE WHITE WEDDING:
A Victorian Tradition
By Mary Beth Litrico, Photos courtesy of the
Amelia Island Museum of History

    The month of June ushers in traditions of the season, and none can be as ceremonial as a wedding. Many of today's nuptial traditions stem from trends set in the Victorian Age. We are fortunate to have two examples of Victorian wedding finery in our own Amelia Island Museum of History. Imagine the two brides, Mary Lee Jones Hamilton and Ernestine King Chadwick, experiencing many of the same traditions today's brides follow at their own "white weddings."
    Although there are no photos of Queen Victoria's wedding, the wedding that started it all, the Queen kept meticulous photo albums of her children's weddings.

    What about "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?" Something old represented past ties and family and was usually a family heirloom. Something new symbolized the new life ahead. Brides borrowed something of value and returned it after the wedding to symbolize trust and thoughtfulness. Something blue was worn for the bride's protection against bad luck or unhappiness. This was usually
represented with a blue garter or simple blue ribbon sewn into the bride's undergarments. This tradition may go back to the Order of the Garter, symbolized by the blue ribbon. It is one of the oldest orders of knighthood, and knights are the consummate protectors of women. In fact, the mantle of a Knight of the Garter was worn by royal bridegrooms over the wedding attire. Prince Edward, who wedded Alexandra, was the last to don this blue velvet mantle at St George's Chapel, Windsor in 1863.
    Victorians did hold rehearsals for the nuptial ceremony. However, it was considered bad luck for a bride to participate so a friend would take her place in the practice session.
    On the day of the wedding a bride could bring on bad luck if she looked into a mirror after she was dressed for the ceremony. To avoid this, the clever girl left off a glove or a slipper before taking a final peak. Also, on the day of the wedding it was considered bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other prior to the ceremony. A good omen for the wedding day was a gray horse pulling the carriage. Apparently, a horse of that color ensured a happy marriage.
    Also, the Victorians served a Victorian dream cake at the reception. The cake was sliced narrowly enough to slip through a wedding ring. The strips were then wrapped in paper and given to unmarried female guests. Each lady would take the wrapped strips of dream cake home and place it under her pillow. If she dreamed of the same man on the next three consecutive nights, he was destined to be her groom.
    Queen Victoria's own wedding cake weighed 300 pounds and measured nine feet across and fourteen inches high and was adorned with roses. An ice sculpture of Britannia surrounded by cupids capped the cake. Traditional white wedding cake, or bride's cake, did not appear in the United States until the 1860's. Prior to this, cakes served at wedding receptions were a dark and spicy concoction. A more refined cake was created with the introduction of finely ground white flour and the manufacture of baking powder and baking soda. The heavier "fruitcake" was relegated to being the "groom's cake" and is still often served in addition to a bride's cake.
    What Victorian event would be complete without flowers? Victorians loved to arrange a bouquet to spell out the groom's name. For instance, baby's breath, irises, limonium and lilies would stand for B-I-L-L. Some bridal bouquets were made up of several smaller bouquets tied up with a satin ribbon. One of the little bouquets had a small ring secreted inside of it. The lucky girl who caught that one was the next to be married. The
tradition of tossing the garter was held before this age, but the Victorians found that slightly scandalous! Instead of rice or the more environmentally correct bird seed, wedding guests tossed shoes after the departing couple for luck.
    Victorian wedding fashions were set by the royal children of Queen Victoria. Her daughter, Princess Vicky, had a very grand ceremony in 1858. But when Princess Alice married in 1862, the Queen was in deep mourning due to the unexpected loss of Prince Albert in 1861, so the ceremony was more somber. Prince Albert had approved of the match before his death and had even designed a veil for Princess Alice. She wore it
thrown back from her face above a "simple crinoline dress of white lace," according to Avril Lansdell in Wedding Fashions 1860-1980. The bride had to change back into mourning clothes after the ceremony and photographs were over.

   Most weddings at that time were more colorful. Gentlemen in the bridal party could be found wearing blue, claret or mulberry on top with pale drab or lavender doeskin trousers. Dark colors such as black and greens were reserved for marriages of the clergy or for those in mourning. Ms. Lansdell goes on to say, "Although many brides wore white, following royal precedence, colour was to predominate in fashionable men's wedding clothes, with the trousers in a lighter colour than the coat, well into the 1890s." The wedding gown generally followed the fashion for day dresses of the period and were worn with a bonnet or veil that did not cover the face. Also, since the Victorians spent so much time in mourning, brides' gown were sometimes lavender or gray.
    The 1870s saw the crinoline petticoat disappear and the bustle become popular, so the bridal gown still mimicked day dresses of the era. Satin was a popular fabric for white weddings, though a creamy ivory was more often the color of the fabric and not stark white. Many of these dresses were later converted to evening wear.
    So, did Mary Lee Jones and Ernestine King practice these traditions? Probably. The dresses are certainly indicative of the day and may represent two social standings.
    A newspaper account of Miss Jones' wedding describes the gown: "The bride wore an elegant dress of white satin made en traine and trimmed with crystal passamenterie and pearls. A fleecy veil fell over her face and gracefully enveloped her entire form." Miss Jones also wore diamonds. The groom and his attendants wore evening dress suits, and the bridesmaids wore white.
    Although there is no information on the particulars of Miss King's wedding, her dress is available to tell the story. Her dress is a deep burgundy and less intricate than Miss Jones' dress. It is likely that Miss King had to wear a dress that she could wear again after her wedding day. Most brides of the Victorian Era had to do that for economic reasons. Well-to-do families could afford to have a dress made that would only be worn once and would pick a virginal white fabric.
    Flowers decorating the Newnan Street Church where the Hamiltons married, included magnolia buds, roses, jasmine and lilies. "A large horseshoe of white lilies and star jasmine" hung from an arch. Were the magnolias, lilies and jasmine chosen to correspond with the bride's initials?
    Flowers also adorned the house of Miss Jones' brother where the reception was held. A centerpiece was described as "a pyramid of flowers over four feet high bearing in red blossoms the letter "J" on one side and an "H" on the other. This was a different way to spell with flowers.
    Apparently the Jones' were showered with shoes for luck as one newspaper account ends with "Here goes our slipper." Fortunately, that tradition has "lightened up." Many other traditions from the Victorian era stand intact at weddings today. How wonderful to have mementos of weddings from the time when these traditions began.

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