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The white wedding gown is such an entrenched custom in Western countries that most brides don't even consider alternatives. But they might after seeing the gorgeous gowns on these pages. At left, models appear at a preview of the Bridal Asia 2007 show in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 22, 2006. The fashion event will be held Jan. 13-15, 2007.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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Models wait to show their outfits at a preview of the Bridal Asia 2007 fashion event in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 22, 2006. The South Asian subcontinent's largest wedding exhibition, to be held Jan. 13-15, 2007, features designers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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A model in white and gold poses at a preview of the Bridal Asia 2007 fashion event in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 22, 2006. Bridal Asia, to be held Jan. 13-15, 2007, features designers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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A model in a pink sari poses at a preview of the Bridal Asia 2007 fashion event in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 22, 2006. Bridal Asia, to be held Jan. 13-15, 2007, features designers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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A model in a belly-baring outfit poses at a preview of the Bridal Asia 2007 fashion event in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 22, 2006.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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For Chinese brides, red, not white, is the traditional color. Here, a model poses in a wedding gown by designer Tsai Meiyue at China Fashion Week in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2006.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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Models in red wedding gowns and matching headdresses walk the runway in a wedding dress design contest at China Fashion Week in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2006.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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Proving you can't have too much red silk at a wedding, part of a crowd of 100 brides await their grooms at a collective wedding ceremony at the 11th Asia Wedding Cultural Festival on Nov. 18, 2006 at Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China. The 100 couples were married on the opening day of the festival, which is held to display the different wedding customs of Asian countries.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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Why not lavender for a change? A model poses on the runway during Japanese designer Yumi Katsura's wedding dress show at the 11th Asia Wedding Cultural Festival at Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, on Nov. 18, 2006.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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Designer Yumi Katsura also showed this pastel-painted kimono, a more traditional Japanese wedding outfit, at the 11th Asia Wedding Cultural Festival at Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, on Nov. 18, 2006.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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The white, lace-trimmed gown worn by this young bride, a member of China's Tajik ethnic minority group, may look familiar to Western eyes, but the cap doesn't. She waited for her groom on Sept. 24, 2006 in Taxkorgan County of Kashi Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The Tajik people hold grand wedding celebrations that last for three days, during which guests sing, dance and even hold contests.
Colorful Wedding Gowns
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If you think Western culture has swept the entire globe, take a look at this Bulgarian Pomak bride as her makeup gets its final touches on Nov. 19, 2006. Kadrie Chumova was married at her village of Ribnovo in the Rhodope Mountains about 150 miles south of the capital of Sofia. The Pomak are ethnic Bulgarians who practice Islam.
