What do different wedding dress colours mean? | Wedding Guide (2024)
With so many colours to choose from, we help you to understand the meaning behind the colour you choose for your bridal gown.
Coloured wedding dresses
The rule is, there are no rules.
Weddings are changing and couples now want a wedding day as individual as they are.
Whilst there will always be traditional church weddings, many more are opting for civil ceremonies in hotels, many fun loving couples are having festival type weddings in fields, with marquees and even tepee’s, getting married in a woodland setting or hiring a barn, Vintage themed weddings can be held in village halls too.
There are many, many inventive ideas for where to get married and it is no wonder that the choice of the wedding dress colour is also changing, these days’ brides to be are daring to be different and sometimes want to make a statement with the colour choice for their gown.
So dare to be different and understand the symbolism behind the colour of your choice.
White
White is the colour of innocence and purity. An age old choice for the more traditional brides including royalty and remains the colour of choice for many cultural or religious reasons too.
Ivory is a modern classic that signifies the values of white with a more up to date meaning of love and commitment. A softer tone of the ivory shades suits a wider range of skin tones.
Blush
Pink tones are associated with playful femininity and a flirtatious nature. Colours in this pallet include pale rose, subtle blush tones, and blossom hues through to more vibrant sherbet hot pinks.
Red
The colour of love, the bride who wears red is bold, passionate and full of desire. Not for the fainthearted this is a bold statement to make on your wedding day.
Orange
Spice things up with an orange gown which suggests a youthful vitality coupled with strength and flamboyance, a cheerful cheeky colour that will put a smile on everyone’s face.
Known as the happy colour, yellow conveys intelligence and wisdom with a hint of humour. This bride is curious and has drive and focus in all that she undertakes.
Green
The bride that wears green is refined and inventive, the colour of nature itself perfectly in balance and features a compassion and loyalty that is as strong as the roots that hold a tree in the ground.
Blue
Traditionally the colour of good luck, blue signifies peace and purity. The bride who wears blue is just like calm water, life giving, and stable and endlessly loyal.
Purple
An air of mystery and magic surrounds deeper tones signifying strength and power, whilst paler shades suggest romance and nostalgia. From witchcraft to whimsical, choose the tone to suit your character.
Mocha
Natural tones such as nude and sand are symbolic of order, standing and patience. Brown hues like caramel and coffee represent a steady conservative nature that will always be reliable.
Black
Gothic influences of the colour black demonstrate power, sophistication and wealth mixed with an air of mystery. The bride who wears black will never look back, as the old colour rhyme goes.
Grey
Silver grey tones suggest composure, organisation and glamour. This bride will be sleek, smooth and calming with a touch of an old school Hollywood actress from bygone years.
Gold
The most extravagant of all the bridal colours, this choice represents wealth and power with a touch of ego boosting confidence for the bride who knows who she is and is not afraid to show it off.
Choosing a wedding dress is probably one of the most difficult choices you will have to make and should be approached with joy and anticipation. You may try on one or two gowns and know instantly that you have found the one or you may need to try on many more before you can choose, there really are so many to choose from.
Having chosen your style it is then time to consider the colour, sometimes this falls into place because you love the colour you have tried on sometimes you choose a colour that suits the style of wedding you are having. Colour is a reflection of how you feel and also how a colour can make you feel.
So as you can see there really are no rules.
Good Luck but choose wisely, you only have one wedding dress
Natural tones such as nude and sand are symbolic of order, standing and patience. Brown hues like caramel and coffee represent a steady conservative nature that will always be reliable. Gothic influences of the colour black demonstrate power, sophistication and wealth mixed with an air of mystery.
Dark red: Longing, courage, willpower, vigour. Light red: Love, sexuality, joy, passion, sensitivity. Pink: A great symbol of love and beauty, pink also embodies the gentler qualities of red. It's also a very blissful colour, and can also represent a funny or quirky personality.
It is very traditional for brides to wear white on their wedding day. When you start looking at wedding dresses online or at a bridal shop, you will see wedding dresses labeled with many different color names, from white to ivory to off-white to diamond white to cream and many color names and shades in between.
Yellow. Yellow is a cheerfully bright colour that instantly gives any room a joyful look. Several cultures also consider yellow a symbol of adventure, laughter, intelligence, and optimism. It suits brides with an outgoing personality who definitely don't mind having even more eyes on them during the big day.
Now, the shade is seen as a token of good luck. That's why many couples integrate a touch of blue into their wedding attire or decorations. Plus, blue signifies love, purity, and fidelity, while navy blue, in particular, represents trust and stability—all omens to a lifetime of love and happiness.
Roman Catholic traditions were a custom for a Spanish bride wearing a black dress. The black gown symbolized ensured her loyalty to the bride's devotion to her husband until death. Nowadays, black wedding gowns are the first choice for women who want to wear an unusual yet intense look.
Meaning: Purple is associated with wealth and opulence. Once worn exclusively by nobility, purple was often used to convey one's status in society, so you could make your ladies look like royalty in purple bridesmaid dresses.
Especially if you're having a formal or black-tie wedding, a simple yet elegant black and white wedding is so chic, and will never go out of style. You can choose to emphasize either color—like the way that this couple chose to use delicate black accents against a white table setting.
In many societies the color white has long been associated with purity and virtue, and that is one reason why some brides choose to wear white, especially in the West.
What does the champagne color wedding dress mean? Champagne color wedding dress means glamour and sophistication. Champagne is a beautiful, warm color that has become increasingly popular in recent years for wedding dresses. It is a shade between beige and gold, often associated with luxury, elegance, and celebration.
It's a statement that signifies a bride's confidence, creativity, and willingness to embrace change. Pink dresses showcase a bride's vibrant personality and her desire to make a lasting impression on her wedding day.
This shade is a ceremony-appropriate option with many positive associations, like joy, gratitude, and optimism. Yet another reason brides love the color orange is because of how well it balances shades of blue, a color synonymous with peace, tranquility, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, and stability.
Now in some Eastern cultures, red is a celebrated color. For example in Chinese and Indian weddings red is associated with happiness and good fortune, prosperity and fertility, and some couples even encourage their guests to wear red in order to bring good luck to their new beginning.
"White is the classic gown color and brides who want to remain true to traditions or have a more formal setting often opt to choose white. Ivory colors feel more ethereal and romantic, and brides who are looking for a softer feel or vintage-inspired gown often opt for ivory," notes Wen.
What are the Most Popular Wedding Dress Colors? The most popular wedding dress colors are shades of off-white and ivory, which are more universally flattering. However, we've also noticed that many brides opt for a gown with a lining in a shade of blush or nude to allow the details on their dresses to pop!
Turns out, wearing red to a wedding means to some that “you've slept with the groom.” “Old Wives' Tale, but yeah,” Mitchell explained. However, both wedding planners agreed on a more modern reason for not wearing red: It could be seen as a way to grab the attention away from the bride.
“The original image was overexposed, rendering the illumination source uncertain,” explains Wallisch, who serves as a clinical assistant professor in NYU's Department of Psychology. “As a result, we make assumptions about how the dress was illuminated, which affects the colors we see.”
Formal: Darker colours like navy blue, emerald green, plum, or black are typically considered formal and appropriate for evening weddings.
Semi-formal: A wider range of colours is acceptable, including jewel tones, bold hues like magenta or coral, and softer shades like pastels or light blues.
It's a statement that signifies a bride's confidence, creativity, and willingness to embrace change. Pink dresses showcase a bride's vibrant personality and her desire to make a lasting impression on her wedding day.
Be Clear and Concise. If you're going to be making a clothing request for your guests, you need to be extremely clear and concise in what you're asking of them. If you want them to stay within a certain color palette, be sure to list out the acceptable colors and even provide a picture of them!
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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