Ideas regarding the Norwegian wedding gown

Posted in: Wedding Gowns | July 13th 2010 | no comments

Whether you like it or not, you have to admit that the northern European countries are at least interesting and inspirational, with a vivid cultures and nice people and incredible locations for weddings ceremonies. And do not forget that “The Scream” came from a Norwegian. In the Norwegian tradition and culture, it is said that the bridesmaids  must wear similar wedding gowns  in order to confuse the evil spirits and to protect the bride.

The Norwegian wedding gown is called bunad, a colorful dress that some prefer to wear both at weddings and on the 17^th of May, Norway’s independence day and which is a complex mixture of tradition, culture and modernity, for, first of all, the bride’s gown is a traditional white or silver dress which she has to wear along with a gold or silver traditional crown, adorned with little spoon-shaped beads that make beautiful sounds as the bride moves. In the Norwegian tradition, this music is said that has the magnificent power to cast away the evil spirits and to keep the newly-weds, as well as the wedding attendants away from the evil’s influence. The bunad has specific embroidery and jewelry  according to the region that the bride comes from.



It is composed of a red handmade vest,  a heavy woolen skirt and a linen shirt. When choosing a Norwegian wedding gown, one have to have in mind the family’s roots, whether it has a specific style of dress and color. Another amazing aspect of the Norwegian wedding gown is that it’s a handmade work of art and, therefore, it takes until six months or more to have it finished. The beauty of such a gown can also be completed with a bunch of pearls attached to it and some organza silk around the skirt. Anyway, nowadays the Norwegian wedding gowns are modest wedding gowns, more elegant and with a more simple aspect than those worn decades ago.



The second very important aspect of the Norwegian wedding gown is the traditional bridalcrown, a well kept piece of an extremely big importance for the bride, for it celebrates the love she has for her grand-mother. This crown is decorated with some few ribbons called brudabonne and, usually, it’s made especially for the bride to wear with the occasion of her wedding day. Music plays a very important role, also, for it is a tradition for guests to sing “Come to the wedding!” while attending the wedding ceremony. One last but not least nice tradition is that when the ceremony ends, two firs are planted on each side of the couple’s home door and it symbolizes the children to come.

There are other aspects regarding a Norwegian wedding, like the significant wedding gifts and the ritual of rings changing between the bride and groom. A Norwegian wedding ceremony is full of traditions and rituals very well conserved by Norwegians, fact that shows their immense and strong love towards their national country and their past and present.