Boudoir – The Court Dress of Russia.4: wedding dresses

Welcome – after a very looong time – to Boudoir! To extend the theme of Russian court dresses, I am going to write about Russian wedding court dresses.

Since for a long time it was quite unusual – and maybe even inappropriate – to take photos during a religious ceremony, there are no “real” marriage photos of the Romanovs, which show the bride and the groom in the church. However, fortunately, as photography became a common thing, pictures were taken before or after the wedding. And, of course, sometimes drawings or paintings were made to commemorate the occasion.

Based on the photos and descriptions, the 19^th century wedding gowns were not white, but silver – just imagine how it gleamed during the ceremony, reflecting the light of the numerous candles. Later on, in the early 20^th century, the wedding dresses became white (and probably more comfortable, as well, since the silver gowns were extremely heavy). The brides usually wore a pruple robe with ermine and luxurious jewellery as well. Their hair was made into a bun with two curls. And there is no Orthodox bride without a wedding crown – during the rituals, a little crown is kept over the bride’s and the groom’s head, but the former sometimes also wore kokoshnik, the traditional Russian headdress.

The three images above are descriptions of wedding court dresses – written by “eyewitnesses”. The first one is the dress of Grand Duchess Mariya Aleksandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh, while the second and the third ones are both about the gown of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, née Princess of Hesse (and the writer of the letter was another Hessian princess, the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna).

This drawing shows the wedding of Grand Duke Aleksandr Mikhailovics and Grand Duchess Kseniya Aleksandrovna. Though not a wedding dress, but please note the Greek court dress that Queen Olga Konstantinovna is wearing.

 

Probably the first known photographs of a Romanov-bride are Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikiyevna’s pictures. More pictures were taken for this session, of which two are known – one with the robe, and one without it.

These photos were taken at the weddings of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna and Grand Duchess Mariya Pavlovna the Younger. The traditional hairdo – the bun with two curls – is clearly visible.

And, finally, a beautiful painting by L. Tuxen: the wedding of Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Fyodorovna. The bride is wearing a golden robe, as she is going to be the Empress of all Russia.

by Alla