Wedding dresses: Waaaay back when

Marriage, despite the times, has always been a symbolic union between two people.  Weddings have been celebrated forever, and probably always wil be.  Here are some facts about weddings in the olden days:

• Brides used to symbolize their happiness while getting married by wearing bright, cheerful colors in their wedding dress, instead of today's traditional white hue. 
• In mideval times, the wedding wasn't just two peopling vowing to share the rest of their lives together.  It was also a joint between two families, countries, or businesses.  Thus, brides had to dress appropriatley as they were representing more than just themselves. 
• In weddings, wealth and status was shown through expensive fabrics.  That is similar to present day dresses, but in past weddings flamboyant and rich colors showed status as well. 
• During World War 2, brides that were effected on the home front by the war thought it was inappropriate to have a lavish wedding and expensive dress while the country was at war.  Instead, they choose a simple dress that was suitable for church in order to save money.
• After the war, the white wedding dress evolved.  It was seen inappropriate to sport any color besides any hue of white, as weddings were seen as more formal.  It is unclear why the white wedding dress surged after the war, but many people think that weddings were seen as more important and formal. 
• According to legend, it is bad luck to get married in a black wedding dress.