White Wedding (Part 1) Quotes

Context

This line is from the song "White Wedding (Part 1)" by Billy Idol from the album Billy Idol (1981).

A white wedding sounds lovely, doesn't it? The bride in her beautiful ivory gown, a towering cake, the promise of eternal marital bliss, 'til death do them part.

And the song by platinum-haired rocker Billy Idol that popularized this phrase is about exactly the opposite. 

Hang onto that Pottery Barn receipt for the wedding gift.

Just check out some of the other lyrics: "Hey, little sister, what have you done?" and "Hey, little sister. Shotgun."  "Shotgun wedding" is a term from back in the day, when it was 100% expected for a couple to be married before having a child. An unplanned pregnancy led to a rush wedding...maybe with the bride's dad cocking a shotgun in the groom's general direction.

So Idol uses the term "white wedding" ironically. After all, the color white was traditionally reserved for virgin brides.

Where you've heard it

You might hear this one at a wedding someone didn't approve of. Or at a wedding someone did approve of, if that person didn't realize the sarcastic origins of the quote. 

It also makes an appearance in the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore hit The Wedding Singer and in an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

If you're genuinely excited about a lovely wedding, it's a nice sentiment, despite Billy Idol's ironic usage of the term. If you're being snooty and judgmental, well, you're a little pretentious. Emily Post would not approve.