The Evolution of Bridal Style Through the Years

Queen Victoria is credited for popularizing the white wedding dress after she wore an ivory silk gown to marry Prince Albert in 1840. Soon after their nuptials, the Queen's bridal style was copied by major dressmakers and the rest is history.

White wedding dresses really took off in the middle of the 19th century. Embroidered silk, lace, and floral detailing were also popular.

Wedding day customs played a huge part in dressing for nuptials a couple hundred years ago. Here, a bride from Muscovy, Russia dons a ceremonial pointed headdress.

High neck, full skirt, dainty white gloves. Yep, that's a Victorian wedding dress if we've ever seen one.

With the relaxed style of the Edwardian era approaching, wedding gowns mimicked the transition. Suddenly, loose fits and delicate fabrics like lace were en vogue.

Brides were typically covered from the neck down in the 1910s, which is why high necks, long sleeves, and ruffles were king.

There was a big shift in 1920s bridal fashion, as women started wearing sleeker, drop waist gowns. Long cathedral length veils were popular and balanced out the simple silhouettes.

Elaborate headpieces began popping up on brides throughout the 1920s, from diamond tiaras and floral pieces to delicate hairpins and crowns. These pieces were often worn with a veil.

As hemlines started to climb throughout the roaring '20s, brides became more adventurous with their wedding day fashions, even opting for dresses that cut just below the knee.

Getaway outfits were huge for brides in the '30s, because couples usually went straight from their reception to their honeymoon.

The bouquet was also important to one's wedding day look. In the 1930s, shower bouquets, a.k.a. long flowing arrangements, were hugely popular.

Ingrid Bergman is the picture of a 1930s bride at her wedding to her first husband, Aron Lindström. The actress accessorized her long-sleeve silk gown with a beaded Juliet cap and a shower bouquet of lilies.

Brides in the early 1940s were married during the war effort, so their outfits reflected the time's austerity. Women typically donned formal pieces that they already owned. When Ava Gardner married her first husband, Mickey Rooney, she wore a grey suit, black veil, and a white ribbon corsage pinned to her lapel.

Queen Elizabeth married Prince Philip after the war was over, however England was still on rations at the time. Her dress, an ivory silk and pearl embroidered scoop neck, was appropriately glamorous for the future monarch, while remaining considerate for the times.

Elizabeth Taylor's wedding dress in the film Father of the Bride had a huge influence on the decade's bridal trends. Sleek and simple were out, while full skirts, fitted bodices, and sweetheart necklines were in.

The 1950s saw a push to more romantic and feminine wedding dresses, like Jacqueline Kennedy's gown for her 1953 nuptials to John F. Kennedy.