Demoiselle: the new figure in Brazilian weddings

In the United States and in some European countries, in addition to the bride, there is another female figure that stands out for its importance and tradition in wedding ceremonies, the demoiselle.

The name comes from French and means “lady”, “maiden” or “dragonfly” and serves to designate the adult or teenage bridesmaid who accompanies the bride down the aisle assisting her in whatever is necessary to ensure that she is always impeccable. It can be a single lady or more, the bride is the one who decides. Another term widely used is bridesmaids, which refers to the bridesmaids of the wedding.

This tradition arose in antiquity from a legend according to which the presence of other women dressed similarly to the bride and accompanying her to the altar served to confuse the bad spirits about who would actually be the bride, thus driving away all envy or the evil eye that might befall her on her wedding day.

The style of the wedding defines the order in which the demoiselles enter the church. In some cases, they enter before the bride with their respective partners along with the rest of the procession, but there are also ceremonies in which the godmother of honor enters right behind the bride holding her veil, as occurred in the most talked about wedding of the century, the of Princess Kate Middleton, in which her sister Pipa was responsible for entering the church with her, holding and adjusting the veil.

In Brazil, brides are increasingly looking for new alternatives to transform such a traditional rite into something surprising, so the demoiselles are beginning to conquer space in ceremonies in new ways.

Many brides do not give up the little pages and bridesmaids, who in some US ceremonies, for example, are replaced by adult bridesmaids. In fact, there is no denying the grace of seeing the little ones entering the church, but whoever intends to include the demoiselles, godmothers and keep the little ones, should pay attention to the number of people in the procession so as not to make it too long and exhausting for the guests. and, above all, not to fill the altar.

The charm of the demoiselles is on account of the costumes. Together with the bride they must define the models, greetings and the colors of the dresses. There are cases where the colors of the adult ladies’ costumes are different, but always in shades very close to each other. However, in most cases, the dresses are of the same color, subtly differing in the model, only for details such as straps, bows, cuts and lengths to suit different tastes, but this is also at the bride’s discretion.

Pastel tones such as peach and pink are the most used, even because one of the meanings is dragonfly, but bolder brides allow shades of purple, red and even black.

Weddings held during the day and in open spaces combine with shorter models or longuete and floral prints are welcome.

The effect of the tone of the demoiselles, whatever it is, in contrast to the white of the bride, guarantees a super beautiful effect in the photos in the album and the white always stands out.

The bouquet of demoiselles cannot be forgotten either. It can even look like the bride’s, but it should always be smaller.

As for the makeup and hairstyles of the demoiselles, the idea is that they are simple and not exaggerated, because under no circumstances can they attract more attention than the bride.

Choosing one or more demoiselles is proof of affection, friendship and above all trust. In addition to helping the bride with all the preparations before the ceremony, such as organizing the bridal shower, the bachelorette party, choosing and fitting the dress, hair and makeup, they are responsible for conveying calm and tranquility to the bride in the moments that precede the ceremony, so the more intimate the chosen ones are, the easier it will be to understand the real meaning of this figure that goes far beyond making the ceremony more beautiful.

American cinema is full of references on the subject, and one of the best known is called “Dressed to Marry”, a romantic comedy in which the protagonist played by the beautiful Katherine Heigl was a maid of honor at 27 different weddings. Undoubtedly, a practical and fun way to better understand the subject and a great source of inspiration for those who want to know the most varied models.