Yeah we’ve seen the movies and we’ve even attend a few weddings in the church to know the sheer ugliness that descends on the wedding party, in the form of uniform bridesmaid dresses. It’s all drab lace, colours that make your dinner resurface and inappropriately placed bows. Uptill now I like many others, assumed it was because the bride has to look prettier in comparison to the rest of the wedding party.
Though that maybe the reason now.
There actually are several legit theories on why bridesmaids wear the same dresses:
These band of women dressed in similar clothes distract evil spirits and ex lovers from the couple, allowing them to get married in peace.
Based on Ancient Roman traditions, people believe that these uniformly dressed group of women can be a bait to distract ex lovers and nasty spirits from ruining the wedding. So as long as the pack of look-alike bridesmaids are around, no more ex drama. However , Dr Liz Gloyn believes that this was just incorrectly assumed because of an ancient roman wedding tradition that required 10 witnesses, none of who were female.
Uniform Bridesmaids were a display of power of the Royal Family and a mark of obedience from their wedding guests
Now a more plausible explanation comes from Victorian Era. Royal weddings usually involved a procession to the Westminster Abbey, which meant it was the one place royals got to flaunt their outfits, along with their power. Taking this opportunity, Queen Victoria’s 12 bridesmaids were draped in an off shoulder white gown. These bridesmaids belonged to the creme of the society and showed compliance and loyalty to the Royal Family by wearing the same outfit. So as not to outdo each other or the bride.