Smock Weddings
Smock weddings were a primitive, more androcentric version of the modern day nude wedding that were less about both partners' free will and free expression of openness and acceptance. This version of the nude wedding was a highly public event for the early settlers of New England. A woman was required to either get married in her underwear, a smock, or in the nude, and often included a widowed woman as the bride. Since women were not allowed to own property in those times, whatever possessions a woman had were transferred to her husband. Because of English law, whatever debts a woman's deceased husband had on his property, which included debts on a woman's clothing, became the responsibility of her next husband. A famous smock wedding was that of Hannah Ward, who married Major Moses Joy while she stood naked in a closet with nothing but her hand showing through a hole in the door.
Read more about this topic: Nude Wedding