Bridesmaid duties in modern Italian,
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Italian wedding, 1920s, with the statutory ten bridesmaids. Notice the similarity of the dresses and hats. |
Are white bridesmaid dresses acceptable?
How many bridesmaids should there be?
What about bridesmaid hair ideas?
Here are our top tips for bridesmaids in
an Italian or themed wedding.
How many bridesmaids should there be?
What about bridesmaid hair ideas?
Here are our top tips for bridesmaids in
an Italian or themed wedding.
Many of the Italian culture, traditions and customs of modern weddings in Italy come from the superstitions and culture of ancient Roman weddings. Bridesmaid duties and customs are no exception.
Ancient Roman women have contributed bridesmaid hair ideas, dresses and accessories. Their sense of tradition even tells us what bridesmaid duties today are based on.
Ancient Roman fashion and the bridesmaid.
The ancient Romans believed that on any wedding day evil spirits would gather where the marriage was being celebrated in order to ruin the happy atmosphere. One of the main bridesmaid duties was therefore to get rid of, or at least confuse, the spirits.
Bridesmaid dress patterns would therefore be very similar to the bride's : a floor length tunic with no trim, tied at the bodice and waist with a single length of cord.
Unable to tell which woman was the bride, the spirits would therefore leave all the ancient Roman women in the wedding party alone.
That tradition of bride and bridesmaid dress patterns being the same has continued in some areas of Italy, and there isn't a problem with bridesmaids wearing similar styles in modern weddings - many bridesmaids do. Where the problems do arise today, however, is in the colour.
White bridesmaid dresses : outshining the bride?
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Light pink wedding and bridesmaid dresses are popular in Italy. |
But these days it's not appropriate : no-one should outshine the bride by wearing white at her wedding.
However, there's a relatively simple solution if you want to follow old Italian traditions.
Ancient Roman women also often wore a pale rose or pale lilac, and pink bridesmaid dresses are perfectly accessible today.
Bridesmaid hair ideas.
Ancient Roman women originally dressed their hair very simply, allowing it to fall down their back in ringlet-type curls with a single narrow band worn encircling the head.
However, as the Empire's importance grew, women spent more and more time designing increasingly elaborate hairstyles and invested a great deal of time and money to perfect their look.
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The bridesmaid up-do hairstyle was almost the same. The hair was arranged in layers of curls on top with loose ringlets at the sides and back. It was decorated with a head dress of flowers, similar to but smaller than the bride's.
Bridesmaid hairstyles for weddings in Italy currently are very similar. The hair is generally curled and taken off the face, with tendrils falling at the sides and back to soften the effect.
Timeless and elegant, Italian style.
Bridesmaid duties : how many bridesmaids should there be?
As well as warding off evil spirits, one of the main bridesmaid duties in ancient Rome was to be an official witness at the wedding. Because Roman law required ten witnesses to any marriage, it was not unusual to find ten or more bridesmaids at a wedding.
These days only two witnesses are required at Italian weddings : one for the groom and the second for the bride.
So how many bridesmaids should there be at a modern wedding in Italy, or an Italian themed wedding anywhere?
Custom would suggest at least five, plus five groomsmen, but the major factor in the "how many bridesmaids" question these days is money. It may be a stunning spectacle to have ten bridesmaids, but it's not cheap. Most Italian brides these days settle for three or four.
Weddings in America, which often have a large number of women attendants all dressed similarly, are actually very close to ancient Italian culture and traditions.
Bridesmaid duties : the role of the 'matron of honour'.
The role of matron of honour seems to have been more active in ancient Roman weddings than even the mother of the bride - and she had very clear chief bridesmaid duties.
As a role model she had to be married no more than once, with a living husband, and it was critical that she be known for her fidelity and obedience. In that way she was shown to be in a moral position to guide and give advice to the bride.
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Italian weddings today usually do have a 'matron of honour' or 'damigella d'onore' but she tends to be the bride's best friend rather than a source of moral guidance.
Her special bridesmaid duties, though, are essentially the same : to look after and support the bride through the stresses of pre-wedding planning and wedding day nerves.
Translating ancient Roman fashion into
Italian culture traditions of today.
So - what should you be thinking about if you want your bridesmaid duties to reflect ancient Roman fashion?
Here are our suggestions :
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Cath's bridal updo with tiny beaded flower sprays. |
There should be tiny loose tendrils around the face and some stray strands at the back of the neck.
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Older bridesmaids could have tiny sprays of flowers dotted in the back of their upswept hair.
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Looking for gifts for bridesmaids?
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Click on the picture below to go to a new page which highlights imaginative gifts for bridesmaids - and browse the site to find other wedding gifts too.
Enjoy!
Ancient Roman weddings : the rest of the story.
Bridesmaid duties to our home page.
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