A Guide to Understanding the Colombian Wedding Dress Code
How do you picture your ideal bride as she walks down the aisle? Can you see her whole body glow as she steps toward you clad in the most pristine white wedding dress?
You’re engaged to a beautiful woman from Colombia. You daydream constantly of the very moment you are to take your vows. You are happy and excited, because deep inside, you know you’ve made it.
But guess what? Your fiancé has been dreaming of her wedding day since she was a child.
And as the groom, it’s your duty to make her dream wedding come true. The first order of business is to make sure she has the perfect Colombian wedding dress.
Naturally, you will want her to have the last say. But knowing what she will eventually wear can help you decide your own outfit. It can also be useful if you have to swoop in and do whatever you can to make sure she gets the dress she deserves.
How Should Your Bride Dress?
To begin, let’s start with the primary dress — the one worn by the bride.
Modern Colombian wedding dresses, by and large, are no different from American ones.
If you search for the national dress of Colombia, you’ll be directed to pictures of brightly colored, sprightly dresses. You might even think that this constitutes the traditional Colombian wedding dress. But rest assured, it will be in white. That’s the traditional wedding color, right? Well, it is now. But it hasn’t always been that way. Back in the day, women used to wear their best dress on their wedding day and it didn’t matter what color it was.
What changed? Queen Victoria. She wore white on her wedding day and the image of her in a white gown became so iconic that wearing white on your wedding day spread throughout popular consciousness and eventually became a norm. So that’s how white became the go-to color for wedding dresses.
Material and Cut
But what about the cut or the material of traditional Colombian wedding dresses? Well, nowadays the cut or the material will be pretty similar to what you’d find in an atelier in the United States. So you’ll find a wide variety of different cuts and materials such as lace, silk, or cotton. You’ll discover that many brides prefer lightweight and breathable wedding dresses. Colombia can be warm, so comfort will have to be considered in the design.
Skirting the Issue
The dress will also have a wide enough skirt so as to facilitate a Colombian wedding tradition, which is all the single men placing their shoe under her skirt and whoever’s shoe gets picked is supposed to be the next to get married.
The Veil
Of course, the Colombian wedding dress isn’t the only thing that the bride is going to wear on her special day. She’ll also wear accessories and some of those accessories will have cultural significance. For example, brides usually wear a veil.
In Colombia, brides wear a mantilla, which is a scarf made of silk or lace that covers their hair or their shoulders. This protects her from the glare of the sun. The mantilla is adorned with flowers and the flowers – las flores – are meant to symbolize purity and represent the Virgin Mary and Her ideals.
The Shoes
As for her shoes, the bride will wear something that’s going to match her dress. Some brides may have two pairs of shoes; a pair of high heels for the ceremony and a more comfortable pair of flats for the reception, which is practical considering how much dancing there’s supposed to be at a Colombian wedding reception.
Speaking of the bride’s shoes, there’ll be a coin placed inside of it to symbolize the hope that the couple always has enough to meet their needs.
How Do People in Colombia Dress for a Wedding?
But what about everyone else? Sure, the bride is the sartorial centerpiece of the day, but what about the groom and all the guests in attendance? It’s not like it’s traditional to show up naked. The naked part is supposed to come later. So what do you and the other guests wear on the big day?
The Groom and Other Guests
You probably think that the groom is supposed to wear a tuxedo or a suit. The groom can wear that, should he choose to do so. However, the climate is not always the best to wear multiple layers in, so a suit may not be the best option on such an important occasion. When in Colombia, dress to look good and feel good.
For that reason, many grooms and male guests in Colombia opt for a Guayabera. What is that? It’s a white shirt with two vertical pleats on the front and back. It’s usually made of linen, silk, or cotton and is ideal for warmer climates. They come in long- or short-sleeved variants, with the short-sleeved variants having a cuffed sleeve and a decorative button.
The shirt can come in a variety of colors such as pastels, but white is the color for formal events. They’re incredibly common and easy to procure in Colombia. Women, on the other hand, wear long gowns, cocktail dresses, or fancy skirts with matching tops.
The Belts
Single male guests should also wear belts. This is because a common wedding game in Colombia involves taking off their belts to see who has the longest belt. The longest belt wins. It’s supposed to be symbolic of masculinity.
The shirt can be worn with matching pants made of cotton or linen. But khaki pants are also acceptable for the other male guests in attendance. Now, Colombians are known for being incredibly fashionable. They’ll dress up to go to the corner store. So you know that they’re going to make sure they look as far from shabby as possible when attending a wedding.
But, fashionable as they are, they all know enough not to upstage the bride on her special day. So everyone will look good, but not enough that they draw attention away from the bride.
Weddings are incredibly special occasions. Barring vow renewals, most people hope to have just one and be done with it.
There are a number of garments that the bride, groom, and their guests are expected to wear when getting married in Colombia. Some of them, such as the Colombian wedding dress, are modern and others, like Guayabera, are not as modern but aren’t exactly traditional either.
Some of the things that are worn are put on simply because they’re needed to play certain games during the reception.
