Let’s face it: not every woman looks her best in white… or cream… or ecru. And some women just don’t want to wear any shade of white while getting married.

But if you aren’t getting married in white, that opens up every possible color in the rainbow to you. What to pick then? Well, right now a lot of brides are looking to shades of silver, steel, platinum, and just plain grey.

Grey? For a wedding gown??? Yep. I say don’t knock it until you take a look at it.

Take, for instance, this strapless Aria gown in platinum floral print on a cream colored background shown here with a narrow spring green sash (sold separately, which means you can do without, choose another color, go wider, or choose something with beading instead, if you prefer).

It’s simple, festive, and definitely not the standard wedding gown.

But shades of grey can go dramatic, too.
(more…)

Right now one of the big decorating trends for weddings is copper. I love this. Copper is a warm, inviting metallic that goes well with a wide variety of other colors. Whether you’re going for a blast of color or a restrained, neutral palette, copper will round your look out nicely. It can even bridge the gap between gold and silver handsomely if you want an all metallic look.

I’ve found a few examples of the versatility of copper, just in case you’re undecided on the matter.

(Image via Delightfully Engaged)
Here copper combines with red for a sumptuous, elegant look. It’s rich and warm.
(more…)

When thinking about wedding colors, many of us tend toward pastels or deep jewel tones. Neutrals also have a strong following. But what about neon?

I know, it struck me – child of the sixties and Yellow Submarine fan though I am – as possibly a bit scary and OTT… until I saw it done right.

The key, as shown in this fabulous photo of a real wedding featured at Design Sponge, is restraint. Keep the backgrounds to stark white or black, and use the neons sparingly. Stick to just a couple colors, but don’t fear them.

As you can see here, a bright white background and carefully considered touches of neon pink, neon orange, and lime green make for a festive, fun, yet surprisingly sophisticated look.
(more…)

2012 is just around the corner, and that means that the experts are lining up to tell us what’s hot and what’s not for the coming year. I’ve browsed a few of these lists. Some of them contradict one another, but after looking over dozens of guesses, I’m seeing some pretty clear clues to what’s coming in the next few months. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Dessert tables are expected to continue to be a big deal in weddings. Variety is the spice of life, and a wonderful way to end a reception meal.

A further wrinkle on this trend that’s on the rise for parties that last late into the night is a second spread of snacks offered to guests on their way out. Doughnuts, cookies, sliders, coffee and cocoa… this is the chance to offer up a tasty final gift to your guests.
(more…)

Some brides have an easy time picking their wedding colors. After all, there are a lot of reasons a person can pick one or two colors out of all creation.

You may have a favorite color that’s become something of a signature in your life. It doesn’t matter whether that color is sunshine yellow, inky indigo, or bright fuchsia: everybody will know it’s from you when your invitation arrives in the mail, because it’s in ‘your’ color.
(more…)

1. Sometimes a bride-to-be will look at white wedding dresses until her eyes are threatening to go on strike without finding anything she loves because her complexion simply does not look right paired with white. And I mean *any* white. Her next stop could be the lonely corner rack with all the sad rum pink gowns and champagne castoffs, but why? There are plenty of gorgeous colored wedding dresses to choose from nowadays – and if none of them suit, there are always custom gowns.

2. Wearing a colored wedding dress can be a nod to your cultural heritage. Various shades of white may be the go to wedding gown colors in much of the Western World, but in other parts of the world, different hues are considered ‘right’ for wedding garments. For example, in China, India, and Vietnam, red is the traditional choice for brides. In the Klamath, Modoc, and Yurok tribes of Northern California, brides wore gowns woven in white, blue, yellow, and black. And once upon a time, black was the top choice for Scandinavian brides!

3. Those who don’t feel like spending big bucks on wedding garb can instead save big bucks by choosing a colored wedding dress. Gowns specifically created for weddings are priced at a premium, whereas frocks meant for parties and proms (or even everyday outfits for gown-lovers) frequently have price tags featuring numbers that won’t make your wallet cry. Worried that you won’t find a style you like because you love that traditional wedding gown look? There are plenty of colored gowns featuring the same silhouettes and styles as traditional wedding dresses.

4. While I don’t have any reason to wear a gown these days, maybe you do. I’m sure you’re thinking: Re-wearing a wedding dress sounds even sillier than re-wearing a bridesmaids’ dress. But why not? If you don’t have the same dress dying skills as the lovely Toni, you can up your chances of having the opportunity to wear your big day frock again if you choose a colored wedding dress over a white one. You can get even more mileage out of your colored wedding dress by choosing one that can be altered into a cocktail-length dress after you say your vows. Or starts as a cocktail length wedding dress!

5. Including colored wedding dresses in your list of possibilities widens your range of gown choices – particularly if you’re also open to a variety of silhouettes. Sure, you can find colored wedding dresses that are identical to white wedding dresses, but you also have your choice of elegant ballgowns and sleek, simple evening dresses. And the more choices you have, the more likely it is that you’re going to find a wedding gown that is close to or even exactly like the dress you’ve been picturing in your head.

CNN’s website recently ran a story on wedding gowns that has many wedding professionals in a bit of a tizzy. The story, entitled Brides Buck Tradition and Ditch the White Dress, written by Stephanie Goldberg, claims that white gowns are on the way out and being replaced by large numbers of women wearing other colors.

In fact, the article includes this quote from a bridal consultant named Susan Rodgers:

“I think they figured out that everyone really didn’t look good in white. … Nobody orders white anymore. It’s kind of a faux pas.”

And the article featured discussion of several individual brides who chose to wear other colors.

Bridal surveys at Bridal Guide, though, would dispute this idea. According to their 2002 survey, 57% of bridal gowns were white, 38% ivory, and the remaining 5% ‘some other color.’ This trend continues much the same in their 2009 survey which found that 58% of bridal gowns were white, 37% ivory, and – you guessed it – 5% in other colors.

The Knot breaks it down a bit further in their 2009 survey. They found that 27% of gowns were stark white, 25% diamond white. That’s 52% white gowns, for those who aren’t quick with their math. They further found that 39% of brides went for ivory, 4% for champagne or rum, and 6% other.

In short, far from being a ‘faux pas’ it would appear that white continues to be the single most popular color for wedding gowns.

Now I’m willing to believe (in fact I do believe) the number of women wearing dresses that are neither white nor ivory is a bit higher than The Knot and Bridal Guide would indicate, since the people who answer their surveys are the sorts of people who would read their more traditional guides to getting married. I’m guessing that there is a certain percentage of brides who would no more dream of wearing a white gown than they would of responding to a survey on The Knot.

So what am I trying to say with all of the statistics and all of the waffling? Just this. It’s not up to the experts or the rebels or the Wedding Industrial Complex or your soon-to-be-mother-in-law what color you wear. It’s up to you.

Whether you feel you look best and most bridal in stark white or lime green, ivory or incandescent orange, choose that color. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should wear on your wedding day. Be the best, most beautiful you that you can imagine.