Western culture :

During Medieval times, a wedding was more than just a union between two people. It was a union between two families, two businesses and even two countries. Weddings were more a matter of politics than love. Brides were required to dress in a manner which cast their families in the most favorable light, for they weren't only representing themselves. Medieval brides of an elevated social standing wore rich colors and expensive fabrics. It was common to see well-to-do brides wearing boldly colored layers of furs, velvet and silk. Those of a lower social standing wore fabrics that weren’t as rich, though they copied the elegant styles of wealthier brides as best they could.

Throughout the years, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status---always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress contained was a reflection of the bride’s social standing. The more material used and the longer the train, the wealthier the bride’s family was represented to be.

In modern tradition, the color of western-culture wedding dresses is white. Used in this sense, 'white' or 'wedding white' includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. The popularity of this color can be traced back to 1840 and the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. The Queen chose to wear a white gown for the event. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published and many brides opted for a similar dress in honor of that choice. The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding. Prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). The white dress came to symbolize happiness, purity of heart, and the innocence of childhood. Later attribution suggested that the color white symbolized virginity, however, this symbolism is slowly fading in favor of simply having a traditional and popular white wedding, regardless of the couple's circumstances. It was originally the color blue that was connected to purity.

Eastern culture :

Many wedding dresses in China are colored red, the traditional color of good luck. In modern Chinese weddings, particularly in Western countries, the bride usually opts for the white Western dress or changes from a red gown to a white gown later in the day.

In northern parts of India the traditional color of women's wedding garments is red, a color symbolizing auspiciousness. Green, a colour symbolizing fertility, is also commonly used. Nowadays many women opt not to wear red, and choose other colors. South Indian weddings traditionally use white or cream colored saris. Indian brides in Western countries often wear the sari at the wedding ceremony and change into traditional Indian wear afterwards (like lehnga, choli, et cetera).