Why Roma brides change 3 wedding dresses

…and why the dresses are always the same 3 colors.

Bridal room on the morning of a Roma wedding. Picture by author

Roma weddings are like something out of a fairytale. Lavish, abundant, bright, and colorful. The celebrations last for three days and three nights. Food and drinks abound. People dance under the open sky. The music — performed live by a traditional Roma orchestra — overpowers all other sounds in the vicinity. The entire family, every living relative, is in attendance.

And behind the scenes, countless rituals and customs are being followed with laser-sharp precision. One of these customs dictates that the bride should have three wedding gowns, each one in a specific color and worn at a specific time.

The white dress

On the first day of the wedding, the Roma bride comes closest to what mainstream society considers “traditional,” both in appearance and symbolism. She wears a white gown.

White symbolizes purity. The bride enters the marriage “pure”, untouched, and innocent.

And this is pretty much where the parallels with mainstream weddings stop. Roma weddings don’t end with the loss of…