White Lace & Wedding Cake ~ Victorian Influences on Wedding Traditions by Tara Kingston

Wedding watchers are eager for the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this spring. Many of the traditions the bride and groom may opt to incorporate into their wedding were influenced by Prince Harry’s ancestor, Queen Victoria. When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, her wedding was an opulent affair that continues to influence weddings today.

~ Wedding Gowns

While many modern brides are opting to wear a color other than white, pristine white wedding gowns such as the long-sleeved dress worn by Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, when she married Prince William, remain a popular choice for twenty-first century brides. White wedding dresses became fashionable after Queen Victoria opted to wear white for her wedding to Prince Albert. In the years before Queen Victoria chose white for her gown, silver was considered the traditional color for royal brides.

~ Lace

In her own words as recorded in her diary, Queen Victoria described her wedding dress as “…a white satin dress, with a deep flounce of Honiton lace, an imitation of an old design.” Creating the lace used in her gown employed more than two hundred people for eight months, bolstering the struggling lace trade.

~ Here Comes the Bride

Countless brides have walked down the aisle to the traditional “Bridal Chorus” from Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin. This wedding march was played at the wedding of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Louise in 1889, and remains a popular choice today.

~ Wedding Cake

Elaborately decorated cakes enjoyed at weddings are a cherished tradition that dates back to the Victorian era. Queen Victoria’s wedding cake weighed three hundred pounds, while her daughter, Princess Victoria, had a wedding cake that was seven feet high. Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, had a wedding cake that was so elaborately decorated it took months to create!

To learn more about Victorian influences on wedding traditions, check out these sources:

http://fiveminutehistory.com/10-facts-about-the-victorian-tradition-of-white-weddings/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wedding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria

Hughes, Kristine. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1998.

All photographs are in the public domain.

A note from Tara:

As always, I enjoy researching the fascinating era of Queen Victoria's reign and writing love stores set during that time. My latest release, Lady Evelyn’s Highland Protector, is set during the late-Victorian era in the 1890s. A historical romance with an air of suspense, the story features an English bridesmaid who has traveled to the Highlands to attend her dearest friend’s wedding, only to be swept into danger when she witnesses an attempt at murder. Here’s a little about the story:

Can her Highland bodyguard heal her wounded heart?

A Highlander’s vow...Scottish spy Gerard MacMasters never expected to be playing bodyguard in his mission to catch a killer. Stunning English beauty, Lady Evelyn Hunt, has witnessed a merciless assassin’s escape—now, she’s in danger, and it’s up to him to keep her alive. Yet, he is drawn to the tempting woman. Passion flares, but he knows better than to fall for her. He’s already lost one woman he loved—never again will he put his heart on the line.

She shields her heart...After a crushing betrayal at the altar, Lady Evelyn wants nothing to do with love. Kissing a gorgeous rogue is one thing, but surrendering her heart is another matter. When she stumbles upon a mysterious crime, nothing prepares her for the dashing Scot who charges into her life. The hot-blooded Highlander may be her hero—or her undoing.

To read an excerpt from Lady Evelyn’s Highland Protector:

https://entangledpublishing.com/lady-evelyn-s-highland-protector.html

About the Author:

Award-winning author Tara Kingston writes historical romance laced with romantic suspense and adventures of the heart. She lives her own happily-ever-after in a cozy Victorian with her real-life hero and a pair of deceptively innocent-looking cats. When she’s not writing, reading, or burning dinner, Tara enjoys movie nights, cycling, hiking, DIY projects, and cheering on her favorite football team.

You can connect with Tara on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at her webpage, www.tarakingston.com. If you’d like updates on new releases, historical romance, and contests, please sign-up for Tara’s newsletter.

Wild and Passionate Ladies of an Era by Kathleen Bittner Roth

Welcome back to History Undressed, our first Tuesday blogger and author, Kathleen Bittner Roth! She's here today with another riveting post. Enjoy!

WILD AND PASSIONATE LADIES OF AN ERA

by Kathleen Bittner Roth

I have a predilection for collecting stories of eccentric women throughout history who were daring enough to step outside the dictates of society. One woman in particular is dear to my heart, the willful daughter of an earl, Lady Hester Stanhope (12 March 1776—23 June 1839).

Niece to William Pitt the Younger, the unmarried socialite acted as his hostess and personal assistant when he was England’s Prime Minister (he was a bachelor). Noted for her beauty, intelligence and conversational skills, Lady Hester did such a smashing job serving her uncle that upon his death, the government awarded her a lifetime pension, which she promptly used to pursue a scandalous life in the Middle East. Never to return to England, wild and daring Lady Hester went off to sea, eventually heading for Constantinople, but she never arrived—her ship crashed on the rocks in Rhodes.

She lost every stitch of clothing and had to borrow those belonging to the Turks'. That's when she discovered how she loved the way they dressed—the men, that is. Lady Hester refused to wear veils and thereafter, never wore anything but men’s robes, turbans, and slippers. She tramped about in the desert for several years, slept in the tents of Bedouin sheikhs, traipsed through Turkish palaces, visited a Pasha or three and learned to smoke a water pipe. She also thought nothing of taking a string of lovers, including one twelve years her junior. Her archeological expedition in 1815 was hailed as the first modern excavation of its kind. Soon, she was referred to as the Queen of the East.

In my Victorian series, Those Magnificent Malverns, which takes place in the countryside of Kent, the elderly grandmother, Mum, as she insists on being called, is my representative of these unconventional women who lived during the Regency and Victorian periods. All the stories Mum regales about her past are based on actual events belonging to Lady Hester Stanhope. I simply made Mum Lady Stanhope’s best friend in my stories and had her tramping about the Middle East alongside her. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Bittner Roth thrives on creating passionate stories featuring characters who are forced to draw on their strength of spirit to overcome adversity and find unending love. Her own fairy tale wedding in a Scottish castle led her to her current residence in Budapest, Hungary, considered one of Europe’s most romantic cities. However, she still keeps one boot firmly in Texas and the other in her home state of Minnesota. A member of Romance Writers of America®, she was a finalist in the prestigious Golden Heart® contest. Find Kathleen on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest and www.kathleenbittnerroth.com.

THE SEDUCTION OF SARAH MARKS is book one in Those Magnificent Malvern series and is currently on sale for .99: When a proper Victorian miss awakens next to a handsome stranger, she must rely on the man's benevolence as she struggles to regain her memory and hold onto her heart. BUY LINK

PORTRAIT OF A FORBIDDEN LADY is book two in Those Magnificent Malvern series and is due to release in May 2016 (cover not yet available): A young widow returns to her childhood home after a forced absence and faces her first and only love, but despite their powerful attraction, danger compels her to remain his forbidden lady. 

CELINE, book one in the When a Heart Dares series, is on sale now! BUY LINK

Video of the Week: Worst Jobs in History (Victorian era)

The Worst Job in History is one of my favorite series. This video is from the Victorian era jobs. Its just fascinating. This episode is just over 45 min, so you might watch it on your lunch break :) Enjoy!

(PS. A note on YouTube--if you have a Playstation, you can stream YouTube onto your television. It may also work with XBox or Wii as well, like Netflix and Hulu.)