When are you considered a bride?

jenna8984

I went to a bridal shower over the weekend and there were banners hanging that said Bride-to-Be. So I got to wondering- is a woman only a bride on her wedding day or also the weeks/ months leading up to that wedding??

And then I got a shocker- I looked it up in the dictionary and it defines Bride- a newly married woman or woman about to be married. Whoa whoa whoa now- it's always told to PPD ladies that they are a wife, not a bride but not according to the actual definition!! Yikes.

bethsmiles

I took "a newly married woman" to mean as in she got married that day. So you're a bride on the day of your wedding.

ETA: These are the definitions I found:

a woman on her wedding day or just before and after the event.
a woman who has just married or is about to be married

HisGirlFriday13

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

SBmini

HisGirlFriday13 said:

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

Devil's Advocate- if that is the case, then why do people routinely refer to a recently married woman as a bride. I.e. "So and so with his new bride just returned from their honeymoon." 

Sammyantha13

I was going to make the same point as @SBmini.  I've heard quite a few people--especially elderly people--say something like, "Mary has been my bride for 40 years..." etc.  I think it's kind of sweet hearing people say that.  

HisGirlFriday13

SBmini said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

Devil's Advocate- if that is the case, then why do people routinely refer to a recently married woman as a bride. I.e. "So and so with his new bride just returned from their honeymoon." 

I have no idea. I hear that, and I think, 'But she's not a bride anymore! She's his wife!' I also don't understand why it's applied to women ('his bride,') but not men ('her groom.')

When people do that, I generally chalk it up to them just using the wrong word.

manateehugger

SBmini said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

Devil's Advocate- if that is the case, then why do people routinely refer to a recently married woman as a bride. I.e. "So and so with his new bride just returned from their honeymoon." 

I feel like this is more sentimental than anything. Using the term bride implies whirlwind passion/big day of happiness. It's like when old men refer to their wives as brides 60 years later. 

jenna8984

Gotcha! Newly married means that day, dont' know why that went over my head when I originally read it hahaha But what about leading up to it? No? I feel like at bachelorette parties they always wear a sash or crown that says Bride. Doesn't really matter, just curious.

SBmini

jenna8984 said:

Gotcha! Newly married means that day, dont' know why that went over my head when I originally read it hahaha But what about leading up to it? No? I feel like at bachelorette parties they always wear a sash or crown that says Bride. Doesn't really matter, just curious.

My sash said Bachelorette. But honestly, grand scheme of things, I don't think anyone is really judging if you wear something that says 'bride' while celebrating your upcoming wedding. 

emmyg65

SBmini said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

Devil's Advocate- if that is the case, then why do people routinely refer to a recently married woman as a bride. I.e. "So and so with his new bride just returned from their honeymoon." 

Because writers need synonyms?

KPBM89

I see different names being said all the time, but this is how I see it:

Not engaged yet: girlfriend (or whatever endearing term your SO has for you)

Before the wedding, after engaged: bride to be, fiancee, "future mrs. -"

Wedding day: bride, mrs. (after the vows) 

Days after: newlywed, mrs., wife

I think part of the confusion with this goes to wedding vendors, who often refer to the woman as "the bride" instead of by name.  

KeptInStitches

The way I see, I'll be a bride the day I get married. That's it.

theartistformerlyknownas

I kinda like when older people refer to their wife as "my bride" because I think that means that in that moment, they see her as young and radiant and with as much love as they did on their wedding day. I don't think they intend it literally. Nobody says "I sent my bride to the store for some bread." So yes LITERALLY, I think being a bride ends when your wedding ends. But I also don't take any offense at people using the term bride while in wedding planning discussions... I mean, in the bridal salon they asked "who's the bride?" and obviously I said that was me even though it wasn't my wedding day. And it's not called a fiancee salon.

grumbledore

HisGirlFriday13 said:

SBmini said:

HisGirlFriday13 said:

You're a bride on your wedding day.

You're a bride-to-be before it, and you're a wife after it.

You get ONE DAY to be a bride, your wedding day, and that's it.

Devil's Advocate- if that is the case, then why do people routinely refer to a recently married woman as a bride. I.e. "So and so with his new bride just returned from their honeymoon." 

I have no idea. I hear that, and I think, 'But she's not a bride anymore! She's his wife!' I also don't understand why it's applied to women ('his bride,') but not men ('her groom.')

When people do that, I generally chalk it up to them just using the wrong word.

This.