Most brides dream of a white princess wedding dress with a veil and beautiful flower decorations. The wedding day is one of the most important days in one’s life. Everything should be perfect and not least – the bridal gown.
In recent years, the Bunad tradition in Norway has become increasingly popular. Many women and men tend to use their folk costumes at religious festivals and other ceremonies. The female and male Bunad has also had an increased popularity among Norwegian wedding couples.
This wedding Bunad is a reconstructed costume from East Telemark from around the 1820’s.
The bride’s Bunad consists of a white shirt with colored embroidery and wide sleeves, a red skirt and a black ‘silver shirt’ with an open front. In addition, she wears a white apron with two embroidered belt cloths attached to the belt, black embroidered wadmal stockings and Bunad shoes.
The groom is dressed in a white-collar jacket, two vests (one green and one red) and embroidered leather breeches. In addition, he has a long embroidered shirt with a folded collar, hat, white embroidered wadmal stockings and Bunad shoes. According to tradition, the groom shall wear a cloth attached to the hat to illustrate that he is the groom.
Between 1800 and 1850, the female Bunad from East Telemark consisted of a white shirt with colored embroidery, a red shirt, black or dark blue skirt and an apron in black or dark green with ribbons and embroidery. This costume created the basis for what is now called the East Telemark Bunad.
The bridal jewelry, ‘Huesølvet’ (head silver) as the photo shows, is made of a rigid surface with patch silver leaf buckles, rings and Mary monograms. The headgear is called ‘lad’ (meaning something you decorate), as opposed to a regular crown. The ‘lad’ origins from the Middle Ages and is an older tradition than the crown. The shirt is called ‘silver shirt’ because of its open front so that the silver is visible.
The origin of the bridal apron and belt cloths are unknown. In the historical protocol at the Norwegian Folk Museum it is written that one of the two cloths was laid over the dead in the coffin. The women were buried in their bridal aprons. Likewise, it was common that the men were buried in their groom’s shirt.
– ‘Until death do us part…?’
Text by: Anette Broteng Christiansen, ThorNews
Source and photos by: Bunad-Magasinet
thornews.com 
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