by KAHLA PRESTON
If there’s one thing your average bride is non-negotiable about, it’s the dress. Particularly, the colour of the dress.
When was the last time you went to a wedding and the bride was NOT wearing a white dress.
Oh I know: never.
As a lady with a Twilight complexion (READ: whiter than Porcealin white but not as white as Chinese white in the Derwent pencil box), white is not my most flattering colour option (think: camouflage).
Which makes the thought of choosing a hypothetical wedding dress extremely daunting. Richer shades look better on me but you don’t see those little wedding cake figurines wearing peacock blue gowns, do you? No. But wait. You might soon…
Women are increasingly choosing coloured gowns; celebrity wedding dress designer Henry Roth told the Sydney Morning Herald that non-traditional dresses make up 18 – 22 per cent of his business.
Hollywood brides like Jessica Biel and Reese Witherspoon, who were both pretty in pink at their weddings this year, are spearheading the trend. With Tara Moss, Dita von Teese, Cynthia Nixon and Amber Tamblyn also walking the aisle in vibrant shades of red, purple, green and yellow, respectively.
Amber Tamblyn
But wait, there’s more. Coloured dresses have also made an appearance on catwalks, with Vera Wang’s Mei Meng Spring 2013 wedding collection showcasing dresses in various shades of red and Oscar de la Renta showing dresses in mint and blue.
Choice is hard….
While wedding traditionalists may be horrified by the idea of a coloured dress, I’m on Team Rainbow. Not because I intend to veto white – I love the idea of wearing classic white lace a la Kate Middleton – but because it would be nice to have a choice, free from the shackles of tradition and judgement.
If a woman wants to be wed in red, fluoro green or, hell, even tartan, she should damn well be able to do it.
So. Now the whole wedding dress issue is a bit closer to being sorted for me, there’s one small detail that needs addressing… the groom. Anyone got Ryan Gosling’s email address?
Are you in favour of the coloured wedding dress trend? Would you wear one? Or should brides stick to wedding traditions?
Comments
57 Comments so far
If I got married, it would be a casual wedding, and I wouldn’t be wearing white. Tie dye or rainbow wedding dress for me.
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haha i’m loving this article it’s totally true. I’ve been thinking about what i’ll do for my wedding dress, but the frou frou intensity of the white dress freaks me out a lot. perhaps i’ll wear rainbow….and rock it.
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I wore a navy dress and turquoise/green/navy snakeskin shoes. Husband had navy pants and waistcoat and a turquoise/navy tie. It was awesome. It was also Vegas.
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When I got married I went crazy trying to find a dress that WASN’T white or off-white or some variation of white. I hate white, I never wear it.
I was gunning for a grey wedding gown.
Eventually, I had a designer friend make it, and it was oyster with about 5 different shades of purple. Never felt happier or more “me” in my life.
Not everyone dreams of being married in white, I never did.
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I don’t own one scrap of white clothing so why would I choose it for my wedding dress? It makes me look washed out and being bigger than size 12, it’s not the most flattering colour either. I got married 15 years ago wearing antique gold with an autumn-toned brocade train – colours I look and feel good in.
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Love the rainbow coloured dresses…just gorge. My first wedding dress was back in the 70s and I wore a white floaty creation that my mother made for me. Second wedding dress was a coffee coloured stretchy lace tube with a frill below the knee which I wore in the 90s. Third wedding dress was a gorgeous charcoal and bling mesh creation that was my favourite of the lot. Almost went purple, but fell in love with the charcoal one…
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Can we see the charcoal one please??
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We called off our big white wedding a month or so before, it felt a bit cookie cutter and I didn’t feel like a white dress kind of girl.
My best friend and I went shopping one day. Stopped for a few cocktails between boutiques and found a gorgeous yellow silk dress. I wore hot pink shoes and had hot pink nail polish. Everyone still comments how amazing it looked and I felt like me
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I love weddings dresses in non traditional colours. As long as they are glamorous! I cant stand wedding dresses that are so minimalist and sleek they just look like any other dress. If you’re going to be a bride you should at least stand out from your guests and look like a bride!
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I wore antique Victorian clothes to my wedding in London 24 years ago, I bought them in the Covent Garden antique markets, my outfit was black & white, with an antique blue silk velvet shawl lined with red satin. I wore pearls & amethysts & we had silver rings not gold as neither of us wore gold.
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I remember when my history teacher got married when I was in Year 11, back in 2005. She wore a hot pink dress. I was in love with it, as I’d never seen someone wear a coloured dress before!
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I think both those dresses in the pics are utterly gorgeous!
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I was married 10yrs ago in a bluey-purpley ensemble that changed hue with the light. It was two pieces, a long skirt just past the floor with a simple A-line kind of shape & a strapless bodice that did up criss-crossed at the back & had to be tightened a thousand times like an old-fashioned corset.
I had been going to be married in a white dress but the dressmaker botched the alterations on & then she went interstate before it could be remedied. I had less than a week to find a new wedding outfit & I couldn’t have been happier in my choice. Both pieces can be worn separately, though I doubt I’d fit into the skirt now!
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The one thing I knew from the start was that I didn’t want to wear a wedding dress in a “traditional” colour (ie white or any variation). I wore a red wedding dress, complete with a train. I also wore a matching red veil (had to have a white veil professionally dyed to the exact shade). My bridesmaids wore black and white. My wedding was over six years ago.
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I wore pink almost 18 years ago, and I STILL love my dress. Waaaaaaay ahead of the fash pack!
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I too wore pink – 7 years ago!
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My wedding outfit (surprise wedding) was a lilac skirt and plum top. My sister wore an amazing scarlet red dress.
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That sounds divine!
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I wore ivory and gold, but given a 2nd chance at a wedding dress would choose ivory and burgundy. I do love a colored wedding dress and it’s nice that they’re becoming more popular. I love Gwen stefanis dress (love a bit of dip dyeing) and the green embroidered dress.
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I was married in Sept last year and I bucked the trend and wore a beautiful pale champagne/gold/peach color. The concept/vision for my gown was my own, I had a dressmaker do it, and in a fabric I KNEW would suit me (i.e not white)… it is 100% unique, and 100% me.
I would have LOVED a turquoise or purple dress, but instead those were our theme colours – plus I’d worn those to formals/balls
So my button bouquet with a dash of orange (hubby’s favourite).
Ahhh, i loved my wedding so much, i wish i could do it every year!
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Why not? It’s your life. Make it a retaking of the vows ceremony.
My best girl friend intends to wear her wedding dress out for dinner every year, with a bunch of her girl friends also in wedding dresses. I’m sure we’ll get some odd looks but We will have a great night.
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I adore the idea of colour on a bride – I think Tara Moss looked absolutely gorgeous and still ‘bridey’. I’m a few years off a wedding but I think it’s definitely an idea I’d entertain! I understand a lot of women want to feel princessy or bridey – it IS a one off occasion after all, especially if you’re having a traditional church wedding, but hey – if white’s not your colour, why not buck the trend? As long as it makes you feel fabulous, then I say go for it!
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Best wedding dress I ever saw was a raw silk hot pink floor length sheath dress but for the ceremony the bride wore a white crocheted floor length short sleeved ‘coat’ over the top. The hot pink still showed through the gaps in the crochet and the effect was gorgeous.
I had the meringue a la 3 of the 4 weddings in 4 Weddings and a Funeral. I got married around the same time and although it looks hideously dated now, I really loved it.
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My hubbie and I eloped to a tropical island to get married (most relaxed wedding day ever : ) ). I wore mainly black (just because I love it) and he wore mainly white due to the tropical climate. A few old timer’s were shocked at the black wedding dress/grooms white outfit but it hasn’t done us any harm seeing we remain very happy together 10 years later.
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My grandmother wore an ice blue wedding dress when she got married, around 1935 or so. She told us it was because she was an ‘older’ bride (ripe old age of 28 I think! LOL) and she felt she could get away with a colour. It was a bit of a society wedding, so I’m sure she’d have had tongues wagging
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Anything that’s not white and strapless is at least original! I wore a sapphire blue dress at my wedding, it was just a really OTT bridesmaid dress. I’m still waiting for a chance to wear it again to a really formal event…
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I didnt realise this was a new trend! I was bridesmaid for a good friend almost 3 years ago and she wore an amazing blue and pink princess dress. Actually the top photo in this post was one we came across when looking. If I could do my wedding again a would wear colour! At the time I didnt think I could pull it off although it crossed my mind, I love my ivory wedding dress but if you love the colour why not wear it!
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I’ve been to 3 weddings in the past 2 years and all three brides wore the princess white strapless dress….they look gorgeous of course but it’s not for me
We’ve even spoken about not having a ceremony just go to the courthouse then have a big party afterwards!
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White is the traditional colour of the wedding dress because it’s supposed to represent virginity and purity. I’m not sure I could get away with wearing a white gown if I wore it for what it’s supposed to represent. My almost one year old baby would be a good give away that my virginity is not intact. I think if I get married I’ll be opting for a coloured gown.
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Actually, dresses are white because Queen Victoria made it trendy.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wedding#section_1
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It was also a way of showing that you could afford to buy a dress and not mind it it got dirty.
Until then most ordinary people got married in a new dress that would be their ‘good dress’ for several years. So it would ne one that did not show the slightest mark.
My mother got married in the 50s in a brown suit that she wore for years afterwards.
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I wore bright scarlet red to my wedding. White just washes me out, and it really doesnt suit my personality. One of the upsides of having a coloured dress was that I didnt have to pay through the nose at a bridal studio – it was off the rack at a small chain store, and then after the wedding I didnt have to pay ridiculous dry cleaning fees, the drycleaner only charged me for a formal dress not the $250 I would have paid if it was a traditional white dress
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As long as you look good and feel comfortable, who cares what colour it is?
I had an ivory gown which on reflection didn’t suit my complexion. But I wanted to wear a big white dress because I figured I’d never get the chance again.
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I wore black at my wedding. It’s the brides (and grooms!) day, so shouldn’t she wear what SHE wants, not what society thinks she should wear?
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10 years ago I wore brown pants and a pale blue embroidered dress over the top on my wedding day. I still get compliments.
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Without budgetary constraints, my preference was for a Wai Ching wonder (Wai-ching.com). A locally made frock in red silk proved sufficiently fabulous.
And if you feel the need (as I did) to match the cake-topper, there is plenty of local talent to make that possible!
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I’m another non-white dress bride, I wore a bright red dress on my wedding day.
I tried on a few traditional dresses and they just didn’t feel right for me, so when my aunt suggested maybe I should just find a beautiful dress in whatever colour I wanted, I jumped at the idea.
I ended up finding a bridesmaid dress for $800, a lot less expensive than the bridal ones I was looking at originally!
I also didn’t tell people I wasn’t wearing a traditional dress, so when I turned up in the red everyone absolutely loved it!
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I’ll get back to you on that one, when I find a man to marry me!!
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I have been to plenty of weddings where the bride wore not white. Stunning red, one beautiful green and maroon, one embroidered all over with flowers, one silvery grey like moonlight. And that’s not even counting older women getting married for the second time.
Maybe the author just has conservative friends who don’t act outside the box.
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I agree. 12 years ago I wore a blue dress, it was my first (and only) marriage. as far as I am aware, no one had an issue.
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and there is always a massive hit of colour at a traditional Korean wedding. POW!!!!
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I wore a mostly coloured dress – very pale pink, the white parts had painted flowers on them. I loved it then and I still do.
If you want to go against the ‘trend’ then do it.
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as a pale redhead I wore a pewter grey silk dress. I look CRAP in white – all shades of it. I love that I wore something that suited me a lot better. But people still look at the wedding photos on our walls and don’t realise that it was our wedding/handfasting.
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It makes me think of Miranda in Sex and the City, searching for a wedding dress that wasn’t white and didn’t imply virgin – “I have a baby, the gig is up!”
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My best friend were a hot pink wedding dress and she looked stunning. It really suited her complexion and her personality. The bridesmaids (which i was one) wore green. The pink and green combination looked really good together. My dress was ivory which I loved. I tried on a white one but I looked like a ghost!
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Rainbow is my favourite colour!
I remember being told as a kid that my aunte wasn’t wearing a white wedding dress because this wasn’t her first wedding. That translated in a couple of years to the idea that white was for when you were pure, colours are for when you’re already ‘used’. I think feeling that you ‘have’ to wear white at a wedding panders to an old-fashioned set of morals. Of course if you just want to wear white because it feels special, why not?
I wore a white skirt, eucalypt green singlet and brown shrug for my wedding. It ended up looking great
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I fully support the push for more diverse bridal wear. I had to go to a dressmaker to get my wedding gown done because the first bridal store I went to I burst into tears. The sales assistants thought I was overcome with emotion. I was actually just really disappointed at all the samey dresses and was hating myself for not being able to afford anything better, like a couture gown or something.
I think most bridal wear designers are just friggin lazy sometimes.
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Wear any colour you like, I say.
I think the key is keeping it looking classy, not clowny
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White is not a good colour for me. I wanted to look and feel like me on my wedding day, just a slightly more done up version. My wedding dress was a non wedding dress in a rich shade of purple which is one of my favourite colours and goes extremely well with my dark hair and pale skin. While my husband and I considered our wedding day to be an important day, we feel that it’s all the following days of your marriage that are more important in maintaining a loving relationship. My wedding dress was gorgeous and I still wear it to events when I want to feel as beautiful and loved as I did on my wedding day.
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I don’t think the tradition of white wedding dresses is that old, is it? I thought it came in with Queen Victoria?
I have a lot of Indian and Asian friends and I love the colours of their weddings. I’ve seen pics of Israeli weddings too, and was surprised to find them very similar to Indian weddings.
Interestingly, white is the colour for widows in some cultures.
Love the dress Tara Moss got married in!
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I agree. When you research photos of weddings around the beginning of the last century, there were mostly black. That was tradition back then and later it started changing.
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I didn’t realise they wore black (I thought that was the European colour for widows?)
I just thought they wore their best dress back then.
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Tara Moss’ dress – I don’t love it. It could have been so good, but I feel there is a bit too much boobage for a bride. It looks like lingerie on top, which made it look lacking in taste adn elegance a little, a shame. Save that for the honeymoon boudoir. His family, colleagues and friends don’t need to see what he’s getting in the ‘rack’ department. You may have a great bust but your wedding isn’t the place to prove that with demi-cups.
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I’d say Tara Moss was going for a corset look, which to all effect was Victorian era lingerie. It’s her style, her day, so who’s to say. Ive seen a lot more low cut on women in clubs and in the street.
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Had the same thought at first – mine being considerably bigger than hers I would be too self conscious and paranoid with that cut, but she’s not me and is wearing it well!
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I can’t say I love the rainbow bright look at all, but only 3 weeks ago I photographed a wedding where the bride wore the most stunning latte & pink dress, it was so beautiful that Style Me Pretty featured it on their site last week.
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I got married in 2010, and wore a dress in a deep teal blue-green colour. I wore off white at my first wedding, but white and cream just do nothing for my complexion. The teal was spot on and I never felt more beautiful, COMFORTABLE, and glamorous.
It does make it a little more challenging to choose bridesmaid colours though!
Oh, and I also bucked the trend and DIDN’T go strapless!
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