theme. I'll do my best to help clear it up a bit!^^Regarding the engagement, there is no specific kimono related to a woman being fiancee. She would keep wearing her usual kimono, including long-sleeved furisode, until she got married.For the wedding ceremony, the first thing to consider is that, like in western-style weddings, the bride and groom can go for a very traditional style, or choose a more modern one. Let's start from the most traditional Japanese-style women's wedding garment still in use today: shiromuku.~ ~ ~ Shiromuku: Pure WhiteThe shiromuku (translated pure white) wedding ensemble has been worn by brides in shinto wedding ceremonies since the Muromachi period (1336~1573). All the garments and accesories are white, and usually feature auspicious motifs like cranes, pine and bamboo, tortoises... - all also in white. This color is a symbol of a bride's willingness to be "painted" with her new family's standarts and ways.The full shiromuku ensemble includes white undergarments, a furisode with trailing hem called kakeshita (or shiro-kakeshita, "shiro" meaning white), white obi (usually a super-gorgeous maru obi, or less expensive, yet also highly formal fukuro obi), white obi-age and obijime, and a heavily-decorated, embroidered over-kimono worn loose over all, named uchikake (or shiro-uchikake). The bride also wears tabi socks and zori sandals, and, as main accesories, a sensu folding fan, a small kaiken* knife, and a brocade purse called hakoseko.*This comes from samurai women, who used to get a kaiken on their wedding day, and always kept it on their obi, for self-defense. I think the kaiken nowadays is fake, though, just for tradition. In this detail, the rich white-on-white motifs of shiromuku are visible. Please notice the hakoseko tucked in the bride's eri (collar) and the kaiken inside a fabric tied with silk cord, tucked in her obi. Cut from an original photo from Studio Aqua. ...About the hair. Traditional brides wear a wig styled in Edo period shimada style, adorned with kanzashi (not the silk ones maiko wear, though... see their style below). Then they cover it with either a special hat called tsunokakushi, or, while outdoors, a hood that works similarly to a western's bride veil, named wataboshi. A traditional bride wearing the tsunokakushi hat over shimada wig. The kanzashi (and in this case, the tiny detail of red inside the front hat bow) are the only colored details. Photo from Takehiro Misawa Photograph Office.The full shiromuku look is both gorgeous and delicate. The uchikake is lined and padded so it trails beautifully, but because of that it's also quite heavy! This photo shows a bride dressed in this super-traditional shinto wedding style, with shiromuku and wataboshi, from Juin Perle. You can see the sensu in her hand, and the silk danglings that decorate the kaiken tucked in her obi.Even with shiromuku meaning "pure white", it's very common to also see it featuring hints of red in some details. Since red is a classic auspicious, feminine-related and neutral (yes, neutral!) color in kimono culture, its presence there is still in very traditional style, just like all-white shiromuku.Traditional brides wearing