white wedding

American

[wahyt wed-ing, hwahyt] / ˈwaɪt ˈwɛd ɪŋ, ˈʰwaɪt /

noun

a traditional wedding, usually in a church, where the bride wears a formal white gown.

They had a storybook white wedding in her childhood church.

Etymology

Origin of white wedding

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She was also photographed in a white wedding gown surrounded by film crew for a scene believed to be her marriage to Heathcliff's rival, Edgar Linton.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025

She and about 20 other women traveled to Sacramento this summer, wearing white wedding dresses outside the state Capitol.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2023

The age-old ritual in San Pedro Huamelula, now mixed with Catholic spirituality, involves dressing the alligator or caiman in a white wedding dress plus other colorful garments.

From Reuters • Jul. 1, 2022

For her last photo, posted in December, she posed in a white wedding dress, part of a fashion collection.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 24, 2021

In the darkness, Violet looked like a ghost, her white wedding gown moving slowly across the stage.

From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023