For your big day, don’t succumb to temporary fads that will be out of style next season. Your “country chic” wedding may seem all the rage now, but looking back, it may be as old fashioned as the puffed sleeves on eighties wedding gowns. Being timeless in your wedding style is one way to ensure that you won’t cringe in twenty years when you look back at your photo album. One of the most timeless wedding styles is that of the Victorian Era: the lace, elegant flowers, gold leaf, and intricate details make it a style that never gets old. While it may seem old-fashioned, wearing a Victorian style wedding gown will ensure that you will always look beautiful in your wedding pictures, whether you’re displaying them on your honeymoon or to your future grandchildren.

The Victorian wedding gown is known for its elegance: full of lace and embroidery, these full skirted gowns always made a statement. Sometimes they were encrusted with pearls, sometimes with beading that sparkled and shined. Unlike the oftentimes revealing gowns of the 21st century, the wedding gowns of the early Victorian Era had high necklines. Sometimes, brooches would adorn the necks of brides. As the era continued, however, the necklines became more liberal, and sometimes gowns would even be off shoulder. Along with the change in neckline, the dresses of the later Victorian Era (1880’s) had a more sheath-like shape, moving far away from the voluminous ball-gown style of the 1840’s. Although the skirt of the gowns may have been lesser in volume, the gowns of the 1880’s still managed to stun with their pomp. Layers of expensive fabrics, beading, sometimes even feathers managed to make these gowns stand out.

One consistency throughout the entire Victorian Era is that the bride always wore a veil. Veils typically were floor-length and sometimes even trailed behind the bride as she walked down the aisle. They oftentimes also incorporated the same lace as their accompanying dresses.

Today, you can find examples of these gowns in historic museums across the country. Although nowadays they are preserved in humidity and temperature controlled cases and environments, many of them have yellowed and faded, so we can only imagine what they would have been like when their original owners wore them down the aisle. Doing a simple Google search will bring up thousands of photos of Victorian wedding gowns, and you can see examples from every part of the Victorian Era. If you find a dress that you think fits you and your vision for your big day, we can have it made for you. Here at Recollections, we make many different and customizable dresses from every historical era, so we will be sure to know how to make the dress of your dreams. Consider commissioning us to make your dream dress a reality, and we in turn will make sure that you are a showstopper on your wedding day.