In the past, the bride’s friend literally risked her life
Today, matching bridesmaid dresses are simply a pretty picture for social media. We perceive it as a cute tradition without thinking about where it came from. But if you had attended a wedding a couple of thousand years ago, you wouldn’t have been smiling like that. Back then, bridesmaids played an entirely different role, one that had nothing to do with fashion and photographs. They literally stood between the bride and death, and each of them risked her own life. This is far from the harmless tradition of blowing out birthday candles.
Who Invented Wedding Traditions
According to Mental Floss, the first documented evidence of wedding ceremonies dates back to 2350 BCE. But it was the customs of Ancient Rome that formed the foundation of modern Christian weddings in the West. Even the habit of wearing a wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand came from there.
Many old traditions are shrouded in myths, and many people rarely think about where the bridal party originated. Historical records show that Roman law required the presence of ten witnesses for a marriage to be legally binding.
Similar references are found in Biblical texts. They describe how during the marriages of Leah and Rachel, they were accompanied everywhere by their maidservants. Since then, the concept of the bridal party has been firmly established in Western culture.
The Dangerous Job of the Maid of Honor
The role of the bridesmaid has a long history, and her main duties have changed surprisingly little over time. Just as today, she was expected to support the bride in every way and take on the organization of the event in the weeks leading up to the celebration.
However, in the past, she had another, extremely dangerous function. The maid of honor was responsible for safeguarding the dowry, which often consisted of heavy bags filled with real coins.
Moving a large sum of money on the day of the celebration inevitably attracted robbers. The girl entrusted with the family valuables took on an enormous risk, as she could become the main target for criminals at the celebration.
Long ago, the bridesmaid took all the danger at the wedding upon herself
What Are Matching Bridesmaid Dresses For
The most striking feature of ancient weddings is that bridesmaids didn’t just wear dresses of the same color. They wore outfits exactly like the bride’s own.
The reason for this dress code lay not in a lack of taste or imagination, but in safety and the deep superstitions of people at that time. In ancient times, the look-alike girls protected the bride from several serious threats at once:
- robbers hunting for the family’s rich dowry;
- kidnappers trying to steal the girl herself for a hefty ransom;
- vengeful evil spirits who, according to beliefs, sought to place a curse.
Matching dresses confused potential abductors who might try to disrupt the wedding. Mystical entities bringing misfortune were also supposed to get confused among the crowd of identical women and lose sight of the real bride.
Since attacks during celebrations occurred quite frequently, being at the center of such an entourage significantly increased the bride’s chances of surviving her own wedding.
A group of identically dressed women confused ill-wishers and robbers
When Brides Started Wearing White Dresses
Today, we are accustomed to the bride standing out from everyone else thanks to a unique snow-white dress. However, this color only became the accepted wedding standard in the 18th century.
For a long time, it was believed that white exclusively symbolized purity, but fashion historian Edwina Ehrman points to a more pragmatic reason. In reality, white was incredibly expensive to produce and maintain, so such an outfit demonstrated high status and wealth.
When brides began to widely afford luxurious white dresses, the need to hide among a crowd of doubles gradually disappeared. The threats of kidnapping became less relevant, superstitions faded into the background, and bridesmaids were left with only similar dresses in style and color.
Now, matching bridal party outfits can be considered an echo of an ancient survival tactic. So if you ever have to put on a not-so-comfortable dress for a friend’s wedding, just remember the history. At least today, you won’t be required to serve as a living target for robbers and demons.
