The imagery of kimono bears good wishes for its wearer

To wear a kimono is to be draped in symbolism. (And you thought it was just pretty.)

In a traditional marriage ceremony, the bride first wears a white kimono. Unlike the West's meaning of purity, Jan Fuller, the proprietor of Wind Whisper West in Wabasha, said this kimono represents a blank canvas as the bride sets aside her own family traditions to adopt her husband's.

Here's the meaning of other images:

Red-crested Siberian cranes, which mate for life, represent fidelity and fertility — and also 1,000 years of good luck.

Turtles represent 10,000 years of good luck.

A pine tree with its paired needles represents togetherness and faithfulness.

Cherry blossoms, luminous yet fleeting, symbolize the bride's beauty, but also life's transience.

Long-lasting plum blossoms symbolize strength and endurance.

Bamboo represents the ability to bend and adapt.

Chrysanthemums — the perfect flower — represent virtue, while peonies stand for nobility, wealth and honor.

The red lining in a kimono wards off evil spirits.

KIM ODE