An illustration of the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on February 10, 1840. Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis. In America, in the 2010s, weddings follow a set script—big church, fancy ...

While this seems like a shocking pick today, prior to the 20th century this would have been the norm for wealthy European brides. Pristine, white, fairy-tale wedding dresses, to be worn once and ...

White wedding dresses weren’t the standard in the West until the 1800s, when Queen Victoria sparked the enduring trend.