Bridal Fashions – 1848

Two women are depicted in the minister’s chambers in a church. On the far left, sitting behind a desk, is the minister holding the church register for the witness and bride to sign. He is dressed in black and has white hair and wears round spectacles. Behind them is a deeply recessed stained glass window, and a sideboard or cupboard with a gold ewer and tray on top of it.

The window draperies are green as is the cloth on the carved wooden desk. The woman on the left stands in front of the desk, holding a quill in her right hand and gesturing towards the register. She wears a white bonnet with matching ribbon and a curled plume on each side. Her dress has a high collar and long sleeves. Her dress is a lavender color with red dots in vertical stripes. Tied around her waist is a lavender ribbon edged in red. The bride to her right reaches for the quill pen. She wears an elaborate wedding costume complete with gloves and veil. Her veil is almost floor length and trimmed with white lace, and she has pink roses in her hair on each side above clusters of ringlets.

Her dress is white with a plain collar, long sleeves and a pointed waistline. Her dress is trimmed with a wide swag of floral patterned lace across the bodice, with two swags on the skirt. Each swag has three narrow ruffles at the point it meets the dress. In the shadows behind her is the the lightly sketched figure of her husband seated in a chair.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges