The social construct of the union of two people in wedlock is considered by sociologists to be a cultural universal. Its most unusual form is polyandry, with only 50 of 1231 worldwide societies practising it.
A woman having more than one husband still exists in minorities of India, northern Nepal and Bhutan while considered illegal in most countries. Fraternal polyandry has been practised by Tibetans in Nepal and China since time immemorial in union with its associated cultural belief of partible paternity, where a child can have more than one father.
The 1890 Manifesto officially ended it for early Latter-Day Saints and it is not accepted within Judaism, Christian or Islamic faiths.
The first recorded marriage was Mesopotamian in the year 2350BC when Gaz married Kara: Sumerian names, meaning “fracture/power/war” and “encircle/shine/be bright”.
Just because there are no photos doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. One can only wonder who the wedding planner might have been, and whether they had any sexist ideas about flower girls.
The bride’s culture or religion certainly influence her wedding, and although a white wedding dress ostensibly seems the traditional choice, its custom is strictly Western.
The history, or should we say herstory, of wedding dresses and bridal gowns is not as forthright as a17-year-old Queen Victoria’s unorthodox nuptial choice and she was not the first royal to be married in white.
She is however accredited for this convention with her choice of Honiton lace for her bridal gown. It proved an incredible enhancement for the Devon lacemakers, and has become customary across about forty countries from Norway to Argentina for the last 180 years. Prior to that, royals married in heavily brocaded gowns, embroidered in white and silver. Red fabric was a particularly popular colour choice of Western Europe.
For most of history, Western brides didn’t wear white, and in Ancient Rome where marriages were celebrated an enormous banquet and nuts thrown rather than rice, the bride wore long veils of deep yellow, over a complicated six-part braid. Indeed, she was a torch, embodying the beautiful symbolism of a light and warmth bringer to her new husband’s home.
In Ancient Greece, Athenian brides were resplendent in violet or magenta.
Three thousand years ago, during the Zhou Dynasty, over a visible white undergarment, Chinese couples wore red trimmed, black robes and may be the first instance of the expectation of a particular colour being worn by the bride.
Throughout Africa, tribal wedding dress can still be found. Ndebele brides of South Africa with their distinctive neck rings, wear a Nyoga; a beaded train that reaches the ground from her shoulders and trails her like a beautiful and sinuous snake.
For a Muslim bride, her wedding gown is bright or muted tones, highly decorated and embellished, modest in cut and with a traditional, coordinated hijab. A sacred event of modesty and elegance, the hijab can be simple, or a glamorous and ornate headpiece of jewels and stones. It can be their crown, in same way as a tiara.
Some Muslim brides will wear a turban to cover their hair, leaving their neck showing. If she likes, it can be designed with a high neckline to achieve a full hijab look. The modern hijabi bride tends toward a style that is a gentle, and very sophisticated blend of simple beauty.