How to Rock a Colourful Wedding Dress

So you’re thinking about wearing a colourful dress on your special day, fantastic! There’s no better way to stand out on your wedding than to wear a colourful dress.

But, how can you wear the dress and not let the dress wear you?

By following this guide, you’ll be able to wear any dress and fit into any venue with the greatest of ease and comfort.

History

Before we get into it, lets have a look at the history of coloured wedding dresses and why we as a society have opted for “white” as the standard for our wedding dresses.

Believe it or not it wasn’t until Queen Victoria’s wedding (to Prince Albert -1840) that white wedding dresses were popularised and would eventually become the standard. Until then wedding dresses were brightly coloured and decorated with intense decoration; more often than not the best dress a woman had or could get. These gowns dictated by ones status, white simple dresses were worn majorly by the working class, while ornate colourful dresses were worn by the middle to upper class.

Venue

When choosing a coloured wedding dress it’s important to consider venue. Is it indoor or outdoor, reception centre or winery. The type of venue sets the mood for the whole day, so it’s important to dress to suit your venue.

Winery
A winery fits largely into the rustic, vintage category; which means you’re best bet is going to be a softer coloured gown; like pastels over solid colours.

Reception Centre
With a reception centre you have free reign of the colour of dress you wear. As most reception centres are able to cater to your design needs, you can set the tones and over all mood.

Beach
Since a beach is such a bright and natural setting, blushes and lighter colours are the best way to go; yellow, pink, light blue, etc.

Garden
Garden weddings are a perfect opportunity to step out in a coloured dress, again softer tones may be the way to go; but you can safely wear any colour you feel like in a setting with similar colour combinations.

Colours

Now that we’ve had a think about the venue, it's time to figure out what colours best suit your skin tone.

Red
Now red is a colour that suits essentially anyone that wears it, that is the right shade of red. Shades like vermillion and rouge are suited to warmer skin tones, but shades like wine and currant are better suited to cooler skin tones.

Black
Black is the boldest of colours to wear to a wedding, being the perfect opposite to white; this colour can be worn by anyone, and should be.

Blue
Blue is the kind of colour where shade matters, choosing the shade of blue is highly dependant on your undertones. For blue undertones a turquoise or berry are perfect to bring more warmth to your appearance. For pink undertones a sapphire or teal would be perfect.

Green
Green comes in many different shades, a colour this diverse is easy to wear. A sage is perfect for warmer undertones and a fern does wonders for cooler undertones.

Pink
As well as the obvious fuchsia, pink comes in a variety of different shades. Blush suits most all skin tones but if you really want to stand out a flamingo is stunning for cooler skin tones and strawberry is gorgeous for warmer tones.

Silver
Silver is just about perfect for every skin tone, just make sure it’s covered in glitter or beading.

Softer Shades and Where to Wear Them

Can’t make a commitment to wearing fully saturated colours? It’s easy to wear colours while still keeping it soft and manageable.

Pink
Choose blush or dusty rose with a layer or two of tulle over it to soften the effect.
Pinks are perfect for garden or rustic type weddings.

Purple
Go for the softer lilac or lavender colours, you can use tulle to soften the intensity of the colour. |
Purples are perfect for garden or winery type weddings.

Blue
Baby or sky blue and bluebell are a gorgeous way to wear blue.
Blues are perfect for beach weddings and for most outdoor settings.

Green
In place of forest and emerald green instead try sage or mint.
Greens can be worn in at any outdoor venue or garden.

Which ever colour dress you decide to go with, it’s important for you to feel happy and comfortable. Your wedding is your special day, a day you get to dress however you want and live it up as the centre of attention. Take full advantage of the eyes on you and leave a lasting impression.