While American brides overwhelming opt to wear white on their wedding day, the attire is much more colorful throughout most of the world. From the luscious red dresses in China to the lime green kimonos in Korea to the vibrantly printed silk kaftans in Morocco, brides are draped in striking colors and fabrics to celebrate the joining of two lives.

Despite its worldwide popularity, particularly in America, Europe and Australia, the white wedding dress is a relatively new fad. Although white dresses were certainly worn for centuries, in 1840, Queen Victoria launched the longest running fashion trend by choosing an all-white gown to match the intricate lace she fell in love with. The extravagant event captured the curiosity of newspapers, which eagerly reprinted the queen's groundbreaking gown for thousands of brides to imitate.

Due to the expense, the formal White Wedding was only embraced by elite Europeans as "a way to show the world that the bride's family was so wealthy … [she] could choose an elaborate dress that could be ruined by any sort of work or spill," explains Catherine Ingrassia in her essay "Diana, Martha and Me," which appears in the 2007 anthology "Altered: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breaks and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings".

Because of its impracticality, the status symbol was not affordable for most brides until the prosperous 1950s, explains Katherine Jellison in her book, "It's Our Day: America's Love Affair with the White Wedding." Just as influential then as it is today, Hollywood also played a heavy role in portraying the white wedding dress as an emblem of innocence, chastity and the transition from girlhood to womanhood.

Red: Luck

Prior to Queen Victoria's wedding, royal brides were typically adorned in heavy red gowns embellished with silver thread. Additionally, throughout much of Asia and the Middle East, red is associated with passion while white is the color of mourning.

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In China, Vietnam and Taiwan, red is believed to attract joy and luck. Although most modern brides opt to wear a variety of colorful dresses during the event, a red dress typically makes an appearance, particularly during the formal tea ceremony. Taiwanese brides also don elaborate phoenix crowns covered with a red headscarf.

In India, it is believed that wearing white invites unhappiness and widowhood, so brides dress in red silk saris to indicate their purity. Since modern Indian brides are not constricted by color choices, maroons, yellows, pinks, purples and oranges regularly stroll down the aisle.

As a symbol of the passing of their old lives, Japanese brides first appear wearing a white kimono, which is removed to reveal a red kimono, a gesture that signifies rebirth and commitment to the new family. Brides may also wear a white kimono lined in red to express their optimism for the new journey they are embarking upon.

Green: Fertility

A color that is deeply connected to nature, green is favored by Celtic, pagan and Middle Eastern brides. The rich color was also well-liked by women who wed during the Renaissance era. Korean brides traditionally wear a lime-green wonsam overcoat, which is embroidered with red for heaven, yellow for humanity and indigo for earth. Along with green, yellow is a popular color choice in Morocco because it is believed to shield the couple's happiness from the evil eye.

For Muslims, green - a rare sight in the desert - is a sacred color that symbolizes rebirth, fertility and unrelenting strength. The Quran refers to the people of paradise being draped in fine green silk and velvet [18:31], and the prophet Muhammad's writings are filled with references to the emerald hue.

In contrast, an ancient Scottish proverb declares that brides who "marry in green, their sorrow is soon seen."

Blue: Faithfulness

For centuries, blue represented purity and faithfulness, like the Virgin Mary. Medieval, Irish and Filipino brides often braided blue ribbons into their hair to signify the unification of two separate lives into one. Blue was still such a common color for wedding dresses in the mid-19th century that it influenced the color of the iconic Tiffany & Co. boxes. Forget-me-not blue was chosen because of the popularity of the dove-shaped turquoise brooch given by Victorian brides to their attendants. More wedding news:https://www.bridesdressau.com/lace-wedding-dresses