Modesty on Your Wedding Day

If tackling the topic of modesty weren't brave enough in and of itself, my sisters over at Girltalk have opened a much-needed conversation about modesty in wedding attire. No, men, your rented tuxedos and plastic shoes are not the source of temptation they're addressing. They're talking about dresses for the bridal party. Here's a portion of a quotation they share by pastor Todd Murray:

"In recent years, I have become increasingly grieved by the immodest dresses of both brides and bridesmaids at the weddings that I officiate. I have observed a number of young ladies in our fellowship who have dressed modestly all their lives appearing on their wedding day in extremely provocative dresses, exposing more of themselves than on any other day of their lives."

Ouch! I'm sad to say I've experienced the exact thing Todd describes at many weddings I've attended. It seems that formalwear is a category that has gone unevaluated by many. I hope the thoughts at Girltalk will help change this. If you're a bride-to-be or a parent of a future bride (particularly a dad) I hope you'll take the time to read the full post.

The Girltalk ladies wisely close by asking readers not to use their promotion of modest wedding gowns as an excuse for self-righteousness toward others. That's good counsel. We probably all have dear friends who have worn less-than-modest wedding dresses. And we shouldn't judge them. But neither should we let their past choice in attire keep us from encouraging and pursuing modesty in future Christian weddings.

Comments (1)

This is an excellent article! The problem many young brides face is that most bridal shops primarily carry immodest gowns. Our daughter was determined to be modest at her wedding, but had a terrible time finding a gown she loved, that wasn't too low cut. One of the attendants at one shop finally suggested adding a "fill" to the neckline scoop of her favorite gown. We decided to give it a try. The woman who did the alteration did a wonderful job. I doubt that anyone realized what had been done--it just looked like a decorative seam (where the added fabric was attached to the original dress). It was high enough that she could comfortably lean forward to greet children without any worry of gapping, yet she still had a current and beautiful wedding gown. We were so thankful for this solution!

Posted by Kay | September 8, 2008 2:04 AM

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