Zeynab Deen sits in her small Nairobi shop specialising in bridal accessories and watches with a mix of curiosity and amusement as her customers navigate one of their most significant sartorial decisions.
"Men are fortunate; you don't have to worry about choosing a wedding dress," she laughs. "You can grab a suit or anything else – people don't care, you just have to look good."
Zeynab has been in this business for about four years since leaving her job as a journalist. Her front-row seat to bridal culture reveals a tradition in flux.
"I have had many brides come with their parents and sisters to choose their dresses. Some make their picks online, especially on Instagram and TikTok. The traditional white dress is the most popular choice. It's like a tradition," she tells TRT Africa.
Royal origins
The tradition of wearing a white bridal gown traces back to Queen Victoria of England. When she married Prince Albert in 1840, Victoria chose to wear a white silk dress adorned with lace, a choice that was unusual at the time, when brides would typically pick their best dress, regardless of colour.
Queen Victoria's white gown symbolised purity and wealth, and, because of her royal status, it set a new fashion trend that quickly spread across Western cultures and eventually arrived in Africa.
This idea was adopted by generations over the following centuries. Some took it so seriously that churches would refuse to officiate a wedding if the bride was not "pure". The easiest way to convey a chaste look was to wear a white dress, or so it was presumed.
But as the years go by, changes are happening. Some brides choose different colours that reflect their personalities, cultures or faith. A few want to rebel against the norm.
"Today's young people wear all kinds of colours, some more than one colour. Some brides choose traditional clothing to show that saying 'I do' on the wedding day has nothing to do with the colour of her dress," says Zeynab.
Religious sentiment
A growing feeling among young women on the threshold of matrimony is that the colour of one's wedding attire shouldn't be treated as a reflection of any personal matter.
"I am Muslim, and brides in my community often wear a green dress during nikah. I wore the same," says Samira Yussuf, who got married in February in Kenya's Mombasa. "After the ceremony, I changed into a white gown for the reception."
Within some communities, a bride in white is considered de rigueur. Some churches are known to refuse to conduct the ceremony if the bride isn't wearing a white gown.
"Many of my Christian friends have told me that they wore a white dress so that the priest would allow the wedding to take place in the church. But not all of them, I have attended two weddings where the brides wore traditional African attire, and it was wonderful," Samira tells TRT Afrika.
Freedom of choice
Fashion experts say that no matter what dress or style a bride chooses for her wedding day, the most important thing is to feel comfortable in the knowledge that it is her day, and she has the freedom to decide how she looks.
Zeynab says that many brides-to-be these days prefer to wear something unique.
"White dresses have been around since their grandmothers' time; so they don't want them," she says. "They tell you they don't want a nineteenth-century wedding. Modern trends are about looking for something that hasn't been seen before."
Cultural boundaries
In some cultures, a bride wearing white is forbidden.
For example, in Hindu tradition, widows are traditionally required to wear white. The colour of choice for a bride on her wedding day is usually red, matching the vermillion that married Hindu women put in the parting of their hair.
The Chinese are also known to wear red at weddings.
So, what's it about the white wedding dress that some women in even cultures beyond the Western world want to adopt?
Couturiers see the classical white wedding dress, which began as a symbol of royalty, as a cultural statement that has endured.
While it continues to hold meaning for many, modern brides have increasingly abandoned it, either as a sign of defiance or to reflect personal choice and diversity in wedding traditions.
