Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white. However, white did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides ＿＿（16）＿＿ white in accordance with the Queen's choice. The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married ＿＿（17）＿＿ any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia. Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to ＿＿（18）＿＿ virginity, though this was not the original intention. The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. It is a ＿＿（19）＿＿ of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls celebrating their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious ＿＿（20）＿＿ . Jews have gone to great lengths to follow these Western customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.