Bridesmaid duties in modern Italian,
and ancient Roman, weddings

How have ancient Roman women
influenced modern weddings?

Are bridesmaid duties the same
now as in ancient times?

How many bridesmaids
Italian wedding, 1920s, with the statutory ten bridesmaids.
Notice the similarity of the dresses and hats.

Are white bridesmaid dresses acceptable? 

How many bridesmaids should there be? 

What about bridesmaid hair ideas?

Here are our top tips for bridesmaids in
an Italian or themed wedding.

Many of the Italian culture, traditions and customs of modern weddings in Italy come from the superstitions and culture of ancient Roman weddings. Bridesmaid duties and customs are no exception.

Ancient Roman women have contributed bridesmaid hair ideas, dresses and accessories. Their sense of tradition even tells us what bridesmaid duties today are based on.

Ancient Roman fashion and the bridesmaid

The ancient Romans believed that on any wedding day evil spirits would gather where the marriage was being celebrated in order to ruin the happy atmosphere. One of the main bridesmaid duties was therefore to get rid of, or at least confuse, the spirits.

Bridesmaid dress patterns would therefore be very similar to the bride's : a floor length tunic with no trim, tied at the bodice and waist with a single length of cord.

Unable to tell which woman was the bride, the spirits would therefore leave all the ancient Roman women in the wedding party alone.

That tradition of bride and bridesmaid dress patterns being the same has continued in some areas of Italy, and there isn't a problem with bridesmaids wearing similar styles in modern weddings - many bridesmaids do. Where the problems do arise today, however, is in the colour.

White bridesmaid dresses : outshining the bride?

White bridesmaid dresses
Light pink wedding and bridesmaid dresses
are popular in Italy.

White bridesmaid dresses were not only acceptable, but required, from ancient Roman weddings right up until the mid-20th Century. 

But these days it's not appropriate : no-one should outshine the bride by wearing white at her wedding.

However, there's a relatively simple solution if you want to follow old Italian traditions.

Ancient Roman women also often wore a pale rose or pale lilac, and pink bridesmaid dresses are perfectly accessible today.

Bridesmaid hair ideas

Ancient Roman women originally dressed their hair very simply, allowing it to fall down their back in ringlet-type curls with a single narrow band worn encircling the head. 

However, as the Empire's importance grew,  women spent more and more time designing increasingly elaborate hairstyles and invested a great deal of time and money to perfect their look.

Bridesmaid hair ideas

We know from statues and wall paintings that ancient Roman fashion for brides was somewhere between these two styles : the hair was parted into six sections, each one curled and piled on top of the head, leaving strands at the side and back.

The bridesmaid up-do hairstyle was almost the same. The hair was arranged in layers of curls on top with loose ringlets at the sides and back.  It was decorated with a head dress of flowers, similar to but smaller than the bride's.

Bridesmaid hairstyles for weddings in Italy currently are very similar. The hair is generally curled and taken off the face, with tendrils falling at the sides and back to soften the effect.

Timeless and elegant, Italian style.

Bridesmaid duties : how many bridesmaids should there be?

As well as warding off evil spirits, one of the main bridesmaid duties in ancient Rome was to be an official witness at the wedding. Because Roman law required ten witnesses to any marriage, it was not unusual to find ten or more bridesmaids at a wedding. 

These days only two witnesses are required at Italian weddings : one for the groom and the second for the bride.

So how many bridesmaids should there be at a modern wedding in Italy, or an Italian themed wedding anywhere?

Custom would suggest at least five, plus five groomsmen, but the major factor in the "how many bridesmaids" question these days is money.  It may be a stunning spectacle to have ten bridesmaids, but it's not cheap.  Most Italian brides these days settle for three or four.

Weddings in America, which often have a large number of women attendants all dressed similarly, are actually very close to ancient Italian culture and traditions.

Bridesmaid duties : the role of the 'matron of honour'

The role of matron of honour seems to have been more active in ancient Roman weddings than even the mother of the bride - and she had very clear chief bridesmaid duties.

As a role model she had to be married no more than once, with a living husband, and it was critical that she be known for her fidelity and obedience. In that way she was shown to be in a moral position to guide and give advice to the bride.

Roman wedding contract

We know from statues that during the ceremony she played a more active role and it was her duty to join the right hands of the bride and bridegroom for the first time - a part generally played in today's ceremony by the father of the bride.

Italian weddings today usually do have a 'matron of honour' or 'damigella d'onore' but she tends to be the bride's best friend rather than a source of moral guidance.

Her special bridesmaid duties, though, are essentially the same : to look after and support the bride through the stresses of pre-wedding planning and wedding day nerves.

Translating ancient Roman fashion into
Italian culture traditions of today

So - what should you be thinking about if you want your bridesmaid duties to reflect ancient Roman fashion?

Here are our suggestions :

If you really want to follow ancient Roman fashion exactly, you will need to have ten witnesses, at least five of which will be bridesmaids.

Bridesmaid hair ideas
Cath's bridal updo with
tiny beaded flower sprays.

Ask your hairdresser to practice the bridesmaids' up-do hairstyles so that they look similar to the bride's.

There should be tiny loose tendrils around the face and some stray strands at the back of the neck.

Make sure that at least your young maids have flower wreaths as their head-dress.

Older bridesmaids could have tiny sprays of flowers dotted in the back of their upswept hair.

Make sure your bridesmaids have the same dresses (in order to confuse anyone with evil intent!).  Ideally they should be similar in style to the bride's dress.

White bridesmaid dresses aren't appropriate these days, but light pink and light lilac was also a favourite colour in ancient Rome, so stick with those.

The bridesmaids should carry a small bouquet which is similar in style to the bride and in a light pastel colour to match their dress.

Looking for gifts for bridesmaids?

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Click on the picture below to go to a new page which highlights imaginative gifts for bridesmaids - and browse the site to find other wedding gifts too.


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