In the United States and some European countries, besides the bride, there is another female figure who stands out for her importance and tradition in wedding ceremonies, the demoiselle.
The name comes from French and means "girl", "maiden"? or? dragonfly? and serves to designate the adult or teenage bridesmaid who accompanies the bride to the altar and assists her in whatever is needed to ensure that she is always impeccable. It may be a single lady or more, the bride decides. Another widely used term is bridesmaids, which refers to the bridesmaids of the marriage.
This tradition arose in ancient times from a legend that the presence of other women dressed in a similar way to the bride and accompanying her to the altar served to confuse the evil spirits about who the bride would actually be, thus removing all envy or evil eye that might befall her on her wedding day.
The style of marriage defines the order of demoiselles entrance into the church. In some cases, they enter before the bride with their peers along with the rest of the procession, but there are also ceremonies where the bridesmaid enters right behind the bride holding her veil, as occurred at the most commented wedding of the century, the Princess Kate Middleton, where her sister Pipa was responsible for entering with her in the church, holding and adjusting the veil.
In Brazil, brides are increasingly looking for new alternatives to transform the traditional rite into something surprising, so demoiselles are beginning to gain space in ceremonies in new ways.
Many brides do not give up small pages and bridesmaids, who in some US ceremonies, for example, are replaced by adult bridesmaids. In fact there is no denying the grace of seeing the little ones entering the church, but those who want to include the demoiselles, bridesmaids and keep the little ones should be aware of the number of people in the procession so as not to make it too long and stressful for the guests. and especially not to fill the altar.
The charm of the demoiselles is up to the costumes. Together with the bride they must define the models, greetings and colors of the dresses. There are cases where the colors of the adult ladies' dresses are different, but always in shades very close to each other. However, in most cases the dresses are the same color, differing subtly in the model, only by details such as straps, bows, cuts and lengths to suit various tastes, but this is also up to the bride.
Pastel colors such as peach and pink are the most used, even because one of the meanings is dragonfly, but bolder brides allow shades of purple, red and even black.
Daytime and open-air weddings combine with shorter models or long sleeves and floral prints are welcome.
The tone effect of the demoiselles, whatever it may be, in contrast to the bride's white, ensures a beautiful effect on the album photos and the white always stands out.
The bouquet of the demoiselles cannot be forgotten either. It may look similar to the bride's, but it should always be smaller.
As for the makeup and hairstyles of the demoiselles, the idea is that they are simple and not exaggerated, because under no circumstances can they draw more attention than the bride.
The choice of one or more demoiselles is a proof of affection, friendship and above all confidence. In addition to helping the bride with all pre-ceremony preparations such as organizing bridal shower, bachelorette, choosing and tasting dress, hair and makeup, they have a responsibility to impart calm and tranquility to the bride in moments. that precede the ceremony, so the more intimate you choose, the easier it will be to understand the real meaning of this figure that goes far beyond making the ceremony more beautiful.
The American cinema is full of references on the subject, and one of the best known is called "Dressed to Marry", a romantic comedy in which the protagonist lived by the beautiful Katherine Heigl was bridesmaid of 27 different marriages. Undoubtedly, a practical and fun way to better understand the subject and a great source of inspiration for those who want to know the most varied models.
Photographer Albert Watson (May 2024)
- Wedding, Planning
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