For the majority of brides, wearing a red ensemble is mostly for cosmetic purposes. In other words, they just look their best in the color red more than any other color. They want to stand out from the crowd and let the warm, vibrant tone of their dress compliment their complexion and hair color. Other brides choose to wear red wedding dresses for their symbolism, portraying their love, commitment, marriage and motherhood. Another reason why women may choose red dresses instead of white ones is for the sake of traditional reasons, often involving their cultural background.

Red wedding dresses are becoming increasingly common in European countries especially in the last ten years, and now, red gowns are starting to catch people’s attention in North America. The phenomenon of the red wedding dress may initially seem like an outright rebellion against the traditional white dress, but in reality, they are nothing new in the world of weddings. These red dresses are traditionally worn by different cultures across Asia and Africa for how many years already and so do not seem at all strange in such places. Chinese weddings in China have the bride wear a red outfit since red is the traditional Chinese color for joy and luck. In some Chinese weddings, not only the bride wears red because even all the guests may be outfitted in red to bring the future wedded couple luck and prosperity. In India, red bridal saris are considered as auspicious so many brides wear them. Over in Japan, Japanese white silk gowns lined in red are worn by the bride to be a symbol of happiness and a new beginning. Even North America had a time when red wedding gowns were quite popular. During the American Revolution (1775-1783), some of the brides wore red in declaration of the colonies’ independence.

Overall, it can be said that red dresses used as wedding gowns should not be treated with antipathy just because one’s culture is not familiar with the color’s significance in other countries. In Asia, red is the symbolical color for happiness, luck, and prosperity while European customs believe that the color red is a symbol for love, passion, and power. For whatever reason a bride may wear a red wedding gown, it is a fact that red in bridal fashion will always be here to stay.