Bridal crown from Vehkalahti

Dressing a peasant bride in brilliant borrowed jewellery is an old custom adopted from the gentry, which can be dated back to at least the 17th century in Finland, and even to the Middle Ages for individual pieces of jewellery.

Even brides in a modest position were dressed in borrowed jewellery in the same way as young ladies of the gentry. It was the job of a special bride dresser to make the bride look as impressive as possible on her wedding day. In the 18th century, dressing up peasant brides was often the duty of wives of the clergy. Gradually, the task was given over to near-professional bride dressers. The bride was decorated with engagement jewellery and, on her head, she wore the most important symbol of all – the bridal crown.

The second half of the 18th century saw the rise of bridal crowns made of silk fabric or of paper like a wreath, decorated with various trinkets, paper ornaments and fabric flowers. In Kymenlaakso, the easternmost region where bridal crowns were traditionally used, trinket crowns developed into a half-moon shape in the second half of the 19th century and were decorated with staniol paper. In the western part of the country, the bridal crown tradition continued until the late 19th century.

This crown comes from Vehkalahti, Kymenlaakso.

KA6328. Photo Ilari Järvinen, 2020.