Jeppe August and Pernille August Rosenkilde celebrated their marriage in front of 88 friends and family members at the architecturally impressive Grundtvig Church in Copenhagen, Denmark, in June 2024. Sadly for the newlyweds, their Instagram posts became chock-full of comments from people zeroing in on the particular attire the bride wore for the occasion.
Turns out the Danish Designer had decided to surprise everyone by wearing a translucent wedding dress that showed her panties.
The bride, after sharing the photos of their beautiful day, expected her followers to share in her excitement and happiness at the beginning of a new stage in her life. Instead, she got slammed by many for her choice of wedding dress.
“What a great way to ask the Lord for a blessed marriage by showing up in his holy place half naked!” said one commenter, appalled at what she saw.
A Danish bride was blasted on her Instagram page after sharing photos of her wedding day, where she wore a see-through dress
The pictures of the event show the couple surrounded by friends and family, including their toddler daughter, who is seen happy and even running playfully in front of the camera.
Describing it as “awful” and naming it the “worst wedding dress ever,” her followers pulled no punches when expressing their disgust, which prompted Pernille to defend her choice of attire.
“I love wearing feathers and see-through fabrics,” she explained to Vogue Scandinavia. “But I also wanted the dress to be elegant, classy and a bit sexy.”
Far from being deterred by her critics, the Copenhagen-based designer defended her choice of attire
The all-white ensemble consisted of a feathered top that left her arms exposed, flowing into a see-through, long silk skirt, and a pair of very discreet footwear that initially gave her the appearance of being barefoot, completing an “ethereal” look.
Pernille Rosenkilde is a fashion designer whose creations put an emphasis on form-fitting, feminine clothes for all occasions.
“For me, one of the most important things in my work as an influencer, stylist, and designer is to bring joy, humor, and a playful and fun approach to dressing,” she explains on a promotional page of a capsule collection she made for the fashion brand Modström.
Almost three-quarters of the population of Denmark are Evangelical Christians, which explains the negative reception the dress received on social media
Even if most comments appeared to condemn the dress in one way or another, some were very specific about being religiously offended. For example, one user typed, “Definitely do not agree with your dress, have you no respect! Shameful in God’s house!”
Turns out Christianity is the main religion in Denmark, with close to 75% of people describing themselves as adherents of the “Folkekirken” or “People’s Church,” a Danish branch of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is also established in the country’s constitution as its official creed.
Religious adherence is stricter in the older generations, seeing as adherence to the Church of Denmark was close to 90% in the 90s, which explains the generational divide observed in Pernille’s Instagram post.
According to a study on the spiritual needs of Denmark, even if the country’s Church still sports a high percentage of adherents, only one in fifty Danes actually attends mass, explaining that membership to the faith comes more as a marker of national identity than spirituality.
The country’s adherence to Christianity has experienced a 28 percent decrease in the last 20 years, which contrasts Denmark’s population increase.
Younger generations, such as the fans of Rosenkilde’s fashion designs, are not as keen on subscribing to the traditional approach to religion and weddings, and they are less likely to be offended by Rosenkilde’s choice of dress. In fact, many were thrilled by it and leaped to her defense after seeing the reception her post garnered.
Even if the top comments were negative, most of them contained replies in defense of the bride that valued the originality of the design
“Stop projecting your own ideas of religion and marriage onto others. Not everyone feels the need to ‘ask the Lord for his blessing,’” responded one fan to a critic.
“If god wanted us to be clothed we would have been born in them. It’s her wedding day and this is her Instagram, stop being mean,” said another, keeping a more tolerant religious tone.
One fan reflected, “I genuinely believe God cares more about how you treat others than how you dress.”
Others, especially followers on her page due to the bride’s work as a designer, expressed their genuine appreciation for the design and creativity behind the attire
“You made your wedding exactly how you envisioned it and did it with grace and kindness! You have your own beautiful viewpoint,” commented one fan.
“Absolutely gorgeous. If only the haters had the courage to live and express their beauty,” said another in support.
“Stunning, I love how you always keep your personality in your outfits,” mentioned a young follower.
Critics and fans clashed on the designer’s Instagram page, with some praising the creativity of the dress, while others were appalled by its transparent nature
