House Blog - 150 Years of Brudenell Family Weddings
With our first Deene Park Wedding due to take place this weekend, and in the spirit of romance, we thought we’d have a look at the past 150 years of Brudenell family weddings, and how weddings and wedding traditions have changed from the Tudor period to the present day.
Lord Robert Brudenell-Bruce & Emma Hanbury-Leigh
Lord Robert & Emma were married on 4th March 1878 at St Holy Trinity, Upper Chelsea, in London.
On display in the White Hall is Emma’s wedding dress and her wedding shoes, alongside a ball gown worn by Lady Cardigan. Due to their fragility, we are careful not to disturb the dresses and shoes, and the cabinet they are displayed in is only opened for conservation cleaning.
Visitors often remark on how narrow the wedding shoes are and how uncomfortable they must have been.
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George Brudenell & Mary Schilizzi
On November 6th, 1923, George Lionel Thomas Brudenell married Mary Julia Schilizzi of Guilsborough Court, Northampton. George and Mary were married at St. Marks Church, North Audley Street in London.
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Edmund Brudenell and Marian Manningham-Buller
Edmund Brudenell and Marian Manningham Buller, daughter of the Attorney-General Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, were married at St. Margarets in Westminster, on 8th November 1955.
Edmund and Marian’s engagement was reported in The Tatler & Bystander on 7th September 1955, a copy we still retain today and is on display in the Billiard Room.
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Robert Brudenell and Charlotte Farquharson
Robert Brudenell and Charlotte Farquharson were married on 9th May 1998 in Wiltshire at Wardour Chapel followed by a reception at Pythouse.
Charlotte’s dress was designed by Catherine Walker with a beaded bodice in off-white silk.
2024 marks the 10th anniversary of Robert and Charlotte’s custodianship of Deene Park.
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Weddings – Then & Now
Last year we had to pleasure of welcoming Caitlin to Deene Park as part of her work experience placement, and while she was here she conducted some research on the history of wedding dresses and wedding traditions.
You can read her findings below:
Wedding Dresses
Tudor wedding dresses were often extremely traditional and modest. Garments like the farthingale, which was a structure used under women’s clothing, were worn in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirt of the dress and give it shape. White silk veils were very present at Tudor weddings and represented chastity and modesty. The veil can symbolize many things such as protecting the bride from negativity and evil as she walks down the aisle or as a gesture to show the bride’s commitment to her new husband.
Tudor fashion was highly influenced by European fashion, and this was evident in historical figures such as Catherine of Aragon and Queen Elizabeth I who popularised the farthingale dress. Corsets also grew in popularity and were used to flatten the stomach and show the fullness of skirts and dresses.
Modern wedding dresses are quite different from what they were centuries ago as there is now a wider variety of styles available, such as romantic, classic, Boho, modern, glamorous, and non-traditional. The main difference between wedding dresses then and now is that modern-day wedding dresses can be presented as less traditional, and a non-traditional wedding dresses may not be white or even a dress itself.
In the past, a white dress was meant to represent purity and a woman’s chastity, however, in different religions there may be various interpretations of this, for example, in Christianity a white dress is a symbol of the emblem of the work of Jesus.
The first white wedding dress known to have existed was worn by Anne of Britany for her marriage to Louis XII of France in 1499. Even after 1499, monarchs in Britain did not wear white gowns and it wasn’t popularised until 1840 when Queen Victoria wore white for her wedding to Prince Albert. Instead, monarchs would wear coloured gowns that often had highlights of gold, such as Mary I who was married on July 25th, 1554. Mary wore a black velvet gown and a cloth-of-gold mantle.
How we purchase a wedding dress has also changed over time. Today bridal shops exist everywhere and are more easily manufactured, however, in Tudor times wedding dresses were often handmade and made from natural materials like Linen and wool, but if you were royalty or from the upper classes you might have afforded luxurious items made from satin, silk, and velvet.
Wedding Rings and Vows
Tudor wedding dresses were often extremely traditional and modest. Garments like the farthingale, which was a structure used under women’s clothing, were worn in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirt of the dress and give it shape. White silk veils were very present at Tudor weddings and represented chastity and modesty. The veil can symbolize many things such as protecting the bride from negativity and evil as she walks down the aisle or as a gesture to show the bride’s commitment to her new husband.
Tudor fashion was highly influenced by European fashion, and this was evident in historical figures such as Catherine of Aragon and Queen Elizabeth I who popularised the farthingale dress. Corsets also grew in popularity and were used to flatten the stomach and show the fullness of skirts and dresses.
‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue’.
A time-old wedding tradition we still hear today is ‘wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue’. The tradition is based on an old English rhyme that dates to 19th-century Lancashire and is a description of what a bride should wear on her wedding day. There are theories of what the phrase means, such as, “Something old”, to represent a tie to the past, and “Something new”, which stands for hope and optimism for the future. “Something borrowed” from a happily married friend or relative was believed to bring good luck for the union and even fertility, and the colour blue was meant to ward off the evil eye, and it also stood for love, purity, and fidelity.
