Princess Phillippa, the daughter of Henry IV, wore the first recorded wedding dress. Wedding gowns for the royal were made from vibrant colors of velvet, silk, satin, fur, and often had precious stones and gold and silver thread. During the middle ages, blue was the symbol of purity and both the bride and groom wore blue ribbon bands during wedding ceremonies.

The train of a wedding gown didn’t appear until the 1500s and it was during the Renaissance period that the tradition of “garter plucking” became popular. The “traditional” white wedding gown, as we know it today, was designed in London during the 1800s when Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg.