Prior to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), it wasn't common for ladies to wear white wedding dresses. Although there were several exceptions, for example, Mary Queen of Scots (who wore a white dress to her wedding in 1558), women typically wore other colors, which could have included blue, red, yellow, green, as well as grey.

In 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe wearing a white wedding dress. In those days, white wasn't a symbol of purity, blue was. In fact, a lot of women chose the color blue for their wedding dresses for specifically that reason. White, however, symbolized wealth. Because her dress is made with handmade lace, Victoria chose white since it was an ideal color to focus on her extraordinary gown. Since white wasn't generally chosen because of the color to be married, Victoria's dress came as quite a surprise.

It wasn't a distressing surprise, however, because right after women of elevated social status throughout Europe and America began wearing white wedding gowns as well. Even though there have been occasional types of other women wearing white before her, Queen Victoria is credited with beginning the recognition of the white wedding gown. Some women still made a decision to get married in other colors, however, the trend toward white was established after Queen Victoria's wedding.