I am 26 years old and engaged to be married in approximately 1 month. I live with my fiancé, and am very much in love with him. I am excited about our new life together, although I have been feeling nervous and anxious about the wedding day. I am mostly concerned about the details of the day, and the hope that everything will run smoothly.

I recently went for my first dress fitting. A couple of days after, I had a nerve-wracking dream where on the morning of my wedding day, my dress was delivered...but it was the wrong dress. It was not white. It was a black colored wedding dress!

Does this denote some type of negativity, or upcoming death or mourning? Does it have something to do with my wedding or impending marriage?

—Silvana, Age 26, Engaged, USA

Hi Silvana—

Boy do I have good news for you! You have the “wedding jitters” (which I think you already know) and your dream is about as common as they come!

As your wedding date approaches, you are naturally becoming increasingly excited—and nervous. Will everything go as planned? Will the flowers arrive on time? Will the caterers serve good food? Will the “big day” be as wonderful as you always have dreamed?

Lateness in dreams is a metaphor for being unprepared. In your dream, your wedding dress arrives late, and it is the wrong color—black! Could this be an omen or portent, that some death or disaster will cloud your special day? Will the dress arrive on time?

Fortunately, black in this case does not symbolize negativity or mourning. Instead, it simply reflects your fears that the dress (now in the hands of the fitter) may come back “not right.” In short, your dream is not precognitive, and it does not hold negative portent for your marriage. Rather, it simply reflects your fears at what COULD go wrong.

It’s time to talk with your married friends, to ask them about their “wedding jitters” stories. Common bride dreams include being late to church, guests arriving at the wrong church, walking naked down the aisle, and being unable to find your makeup! In all cases, the dreams are not signs that problems exist with the marriage. Rather, the dreams indicate simple anxiety—related to feelings of being unprepared, and nervous, about “the Big Day. ”

If you check in with your soon-to-be husband, you will find that, as the day approaches, his feet too will begin to grow cold. The reason why we all get nervous—is because marriage is such a big transition in our lives.

What’s the Dream Doctor’s advice? Take this dream in stride, prepare as best you can, and when the Big Day finally arrives, enjoy the spotlight—with your friends and family, and your lucky groom. Congratulations on your beautiful wedding!