85% of brides wear a white or an ivory-shaded frock on their big day. Will you break tradition and wear a coloured bridal gown to your wedding?
Colourful complexions
Some of us just don’t suit white and look much better in a vibrant shade. If your skin tone looks washed out in white or ivory shades then you’re better off adding a definite hue to your wedding gown.
You don’t have to go for dramatic colour though. Jessica Biel looked as pretty as a picture in the palest of pink tulle, when she married hearthrob Justin Timberlake and she certainly looked like a blushing bride on her big day. Anne Hathaway also wore a soft rose-coloured gown at her nuptials and film director Sofia Coppola also wore lilac for her wedding.
Oscar de la Renta has some wonderful pale pink and baby blue wedding gowns to dream about and Charlotte Balbier has the prettiest pink lace wedding frock called ‘Tamara’.
An evening wedding
With the recent change in the law meaning that you can get married up until 6pm, you may well be planning on partying on late until the evening after the ceremony.
If that’s so, then perhaps you’d rather be wearing a dress that looks like more of a ballgown than a wedding gown? If you choose a dress that you could wear to an evening affair, you can wear it over and over again and relive the time when you were looking fabulous as a bride.
What sort of colour is right for you?
If you’re looking for a real show stopper, then stop the traffic in a ravishing red number. Red looks great on blondes, brunettes and darker haired brides and remember that there are many different shades too – from a bright scarlet, through to a deep ruby. We’d recommend you try on different tones until you find the one that’s right for you.
Purple is another dazzling shade for a wedding gown – it’s sophisticated, unusual and again comes in all sorts of hues from a delicate lilac, through to an eye catching deep purple. Dita von Teese wore a fabulous mauve-coloured Vivienne Westwood gown at her wedding and she looked amazing.
What season suits which colour?
If you’re thinking about having a coloured dress then consider the time of year you’re getting hitched in. Pale pastels will look stunning at a spring or summer wedding, whereas in autumn you could go for a rich burnt orange, forest green or a chocolate brown. In winter you can go for deep, rich dues, while spring would be perfect for brightly coloured gowns.
Another way of introducing colour to your wedding gown is by having a coloured dress with a lace overlay in white or cream, which you can take off after the ceremony. You’ll need to talk to your bridal designer about this but some wedding dresses can be made up in a different, colour so it’s worth investigating. An overlay is almost like having two dresses in one – so you get more of an evening look after your ceremony.
The colour of the wedding dress you choose is like every other part of your big day. It’s your big day and so you should do what you feel most comfortable with. If you think you’ll feel like a meringue in a big white dress then look at other options. It’s the same advice we give to every bride – when you’re wedding dress shopping keep an open mind – because what you finally decide upon may well surprise you!
