Would Brianna have worn a cream wedding dress on Outlander?

Brianna’s wedding dress was absolutely beautiful, but was it right for the 18th century? Would she have worn that dress in the Outlander Season 5 premiere?

The Outlander Season 5 premiere gave us a beautiful wedding. Brianna’s dress was certainly gorgeous and made her stand out as the bride, but was it right for the time period? Would she have worn the cream dress?

This isn’t a nitpick, honest. For me, the dress doesn’t matter. I take fiction as it is, and actually, I have some arguments as to why she would have worn a white/cream dress. However, it’s something that’s come up with others and I want to debate the idea of the dress color.

Yes, Claire had a white/silver dress, but that was under some very different circumstances. We all know how Claire ended up with that dress in Outlander Season 1.

White dresses in the 18th century weren’t common

It wasn’t until after Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert that white dresses became popular. Up to that point, women would just wear their best dress. This was the case in the UK and a tradition that continued into the Colonies. People didn’t have the money to spend on a new dress, especially just for one day.

The dress would usually have been dark, too. This would have prevented stains from showing up because it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time a dress would have been worn.

Considering the circumstances of Claire and Jamie’s life, they wouldn’t have necessarily had the money to give Brianna the beautiful one-off wedding dress. In terms of the time period, the cream dress, as beautiful as it was, wouldn’t necessarily be something she would have worn.

Bree wasn’t from the time

However, something to point out is that Claire, Brianna, and Roger aren’t from the time period. It’s clear that they didn’t get married just weeks after everyone returned from saving Roger from the Mohawks. There was time for Marsali and Fergus to have another baby. That suggests there was time to save up for the dress.

Certain elements of the wedding may have even been gifts from those on the Ridge. It’s clear that this is a community, and a community would look out for each other. There would have been someone to make the cake and someone to help with the decorations. Plus, Jocasta may have just put some of her own money into the wedding to make it look as lavish as possible for her great-niece.

Brianna would have wanted something from the wedding she would have dreamed of having. Roger and Claire would have wanted to bring elements of the 20th century to the wedding. Roger wore one of Jamie’s jackets to save money there, allowing Brianna to have the wedding dress she would have liked.

And there’s no way of saying that this dress would be a one-off. There is a chance that Brianna would wear it again for other special occasions.

While I know a white or cream dress wouldn’t have happened during the 18th century, it didn’t take away from me enjoying the episode. Don’t sweat the small stuff when it comes to fiction!

Outlander airs on Sundays at 8/7c on STARZ.