“What color should I choose?” is hands-down, our most frequently asked question through DMs and private messages! Most of these questions come from brides across the country who didn’t purchase their dress with us but I love that they trust us enough to ask our opinion!
Prepare yourself because I’m going to give you an annoying response to this question: there is no wrong answer! Seriously! Nowadays, there is no right or wrong answer to which color you should order your wedding dress in. In (not so many years ago) it was a crazy idea to wear a color in your wedding dress. In 2019, we did roughly 50% Ivory, 50% Color (there’s a very small smattering of white orders in there but it’s less than 3% for us). Now, there are some things to think through when choosing which color is going to be best for you and your wedding and today we are going to walk through those!
When I mention a colored wedding dress, I mean anything in the color family which for our designers include: Almond, Hazelnut, Rum, Moscato, Champagne, Cafe, etc. They’re typically blush based or nude/tan based. Also, for the sake of this post when Ivory is mentioned, anything said about Ivory can be applied to White.
Skin Tone
In years past, it was thought that the more pale you were the more color you should wear and if you had an olive or darker skin tone, the lighter the color you should wear. While it’s true that fair skinned blondes look good in Blush dresses, so do olive skinned brunettes! Don’t let some article you read tell you you shouldn’t wear the color you love the most!!
Here I’m showing myself in an Ivory long sleeve wedding dress and KC in the exact same dress. I have a fair skin tone with a lot of red in it and KC has a beautiful darker skin tone. I think the Ivory looks amazing on both of us!
This next dress is in a color called Almond. It’s probably my favorite color of wedding dress because it is just a hint of a color so you get that beautiful contrast with your lace but it still looks very soft and romantic (which is right up my alley)!
Alex and Emily have brunette hair with similar-ish skin tones in this picture that was taken in February! They are in the same dress but Emily on the left is in the Moscato color and Alex on the right is in the Ivory color.
Lighting
If there’s one thing the pictures above showed was what a difference lighting makes in how the color of your wedding dress shows up! All these pictures were taken on different days, in different lighting so the same color can look completely different! This is why we always have our brides walk to the mirrors at the very front of the store. They are right by our big windows so you can see the color in the most natural light!
Contrast
We feel the biggest factor when it comes to choosing a color for your wedding dress is how much contrast you like. If you decide to do an Ivory or a White dress, the lace on your dress won’t “pop” as much as it would over a colored fabric. Here is the same wedding dress in 3 different colors.
From left to right: Champagne, Moscato & Ivory.
And a closer look at the colors:
You can see how the lace detail in this dress pops more when there is a color behind it providing that visual contrast. Your preference is just that – your preference! The Ivory is beautiful because it’s a bit softer and more subtle and the Champagne and Moscato are beautiful because they show off the lace detail! This is why there is no wrong answer when it comes to color choice!
Lace Pattern
It’s amazing what a difference the lace pattern makes when deciding between an ivory and colored dress! The bigger the lace pattern, the more difference I think a color makes. The smaller or more allover a lace pattern, the less difference a color makes.
Take for example our Raven gown. We have it sampled in a color called Hazelnut which is the deepest color we have in the store. Do you see how much the lace pattern pops off the dress? Next, we slipped an Ivory swatch under the lace and you can immediately see how much more subtle the lace pattern is!
Side note: If the bodice of a dress is “unlined”, ordering it in an Ivory or White will exaggerate that fact more. This can be seen in the pictures above. Because the Hazelnut color is closer to a skin tone, the unlined bodice isn’t as much of an element in the dress. When switched to Ivory, the unlined bodice becomes much more of a feature!
Another example is D2748 from Essense of Australia. It features a larger scale, floral lace!
Now let’s take a look at a fitted lace dress that has a smaller lace pattern and also features a glitter tulle underlay. On the left is the Ivory coloring and on the right is a color called Rum
With the bigger, more graphic lace patterns there’s typically more open space between the lace motifs which allows the color to come through more. When you’re looking at a dress with a smaller lace pattern, a Chantilly lace underneath a lace applique or a sparkle layer beneath the lace applique, the color is going to be more subtle!
Moral of the Story
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the color of your wedding dress. Choose the color that makes you the happiest! If your favorite thing about your wedding dress is the lace pattern, consider a color that will make it pop! If you love the way an Ivory looks on you, go with that! We have 1 yard pieces of fabric that we put under your dress to help you envision it in a different color and in almost 9 years of business we have never had a bride regret her color choice. You can’t go wrong with choosing the color that makes you feel the best!
Much love,
Autumn
