Wedding dress colours

Shades of white and ivory are extreamly hard to see in pictures.  They all look white in my opinion.  It''s best to pick the color you like best with your skin tone.  I don''t have any handy on my work computer but it you search my old threads mine was a melissa sweet silk taffeta "white".  The options in this line were white or ivory.   Hope it helps.

Ditto - I believe there are photos of my dress in the "Post your..." weekly threads, and mine was ivory.

Here''s the rundown:

Diamond is a white with a blue undertone
Ivory is a white with a yellow or pink undertone
Champagne is what a normal person would think of as "off-white" or ivory - a light beige color

When I got married a couple of years ago, you could really tell the difference between whites by going into a store. The ones that are a crazy bright white (think bleach commercial) are diamond white. What you think is white is ivory, and the ones that look beige are champagne.

Each label has it''s own definition though, so it''s important to look at swatches and see what looks best on you. Take photos of yourself in the dress so you can see what it looks like (I have very little tolerance for salons that don''t allow photos).

Thanks so much guys.  I kinda figured that pictures might not do the colours justice in terms of really displaying their differences.

Elmorton, those descriptions help a lot!  I think I''ll stay away from the blinding whites, or I myself may not be seen in photos.

Yeah. my dress looks "white" in pictures. I just reformatted my computer so I don''t have access to pictures, and since we''re no longer allowed to link to photogs, I can''t just send you to see a few pics, but I don''t think the shade would be distinguishable.

My tag technically said "off-white", but it was more of an ivory, but more white than ivory. Basically, it was not a bright white, but something closer to ivory without being yellow enough in my mind to actually LOOK ivory.

So I agree... go try some stuff on! See what tones look good with your skin, and then seek those out. :) It''s so hard to show different degrees of white dresses... especially considering the varied lighting in most wedding pics from all different times of day.

I think true bright white is less and less popular. It seems originally that only really pale girls (like me!) opted for ivory, but now I think some shade of ivory seems to be the most popular choice for everyone. Ivory can vary though - I''ve seen shades that look white to me and some that look very yellow-ish and vintage.

It really comes down to what looks good with your skin tone. I would try on different colors and look at your face - does the color make your face seem sallow? Or washed out? Does it make your face look bright and your skin look alive?

The sales associate will definitely be able to guide you towards what kind of shade of white will be best for your skin tone. I encountered said that ivory was really the best way for me go since I am really fair and after trying on  both white and ivory gowns, I could see why they said that.

Will I just be able to try on different dresses with different colours?  How will I know what colours look like?  Are there samples of all the colours?  Do the colours of the sample dress get dingy?

Sorry for the million questions. 

I know I really should just go and figure it out.  I''m actually a long way away from trying on dresses, I just want to be prepared.

I found that they didn''t necessarily have each dress available in all colors, but they could show me another dress with the same fabric in a different color to compare. It doesn''t really matter what the style of the dress is, you just kind of need to hold the fabric up to your face and chest to see how the color is for you and you can get the effect. At the very least, they should have small fabric swatches of all of the colors. Most dresses only came in two colors anyway, so it''s not like I was choosing between shades of ivory - it was petty much white or ivory and I could tell you that ivory will always look better with my pale skin.

I wore a champagne colored dress, I HATED how the bright white dresses made me look... especially in pictures.

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They''ll have dresses in different colors at the bridal shops for you to try on. They won''t have every style in every color, but they should have at least one dress in each shade of white so you can see which looks best with your skin tone.

I wore a Melissa Sweet gown. The color was called Diamond White, and when I asked the SA what that meant, she just said "That means it''s white." The gowns came in "Diamond White" and "Ivory". The ivory just had a yellow undertone.

You''ll know pretty quickly which looks better on you, I promise!

Yes, you will quickly know what works for you.

I am quite pale (natural redhead) and "white-white" has never looked good on me. It makes me look white and while generally I am a rather "warm yellow-undertone pale", white has me looking like a "cold blue-undertone pale".

So, I knew off the bat I was not going to like the white and I even considered going with something with lots of colour - like green (my husband was sort of disappointed I did not get a green dress...ha)!

In the end, while on the rack ivory and white look rather "similar" the ivory really complimented my skin tone whereas white seemed really cold on me. Ivory still looks white, but was a very "warm" white. Champagne for me was a bit too "pink". The manufacturer also made a dark ivory that was a bit more "brown" then pink but made me look too pale though was great with my hair. Different fabrics will also sort of have the colour play differently too - mine was a silk taffeta and the ivory in that looked very different than the ivory in chiffon or silk from the same manufacturer.

Date: 3/10/2010 4:49:53 PM
Author: Sparkles&Glitter
I wore a champagne colored dress, I HATED how the bright white dresses made me look... especially in pictures.

Your dress looks VERY pretty!!  If that is champagne, it looks really nice on your skin colour.  I expected champagne to be yellower for some reason.  Granted...are these colours SLIGHT tints but ultimately whilte?

I''ve seen on a few sites, a colour like silvery grey, shiny...  Is that actual colour or just the material and the picture?  I can''t find a picture at the moment.

I basically used a rule I learned in television. When in front of a camera, unless you've got Oprah lighting, darker skin tones don't do as well with white clothing. Photographers will tell you that there's too much of a contrast between the tones, so what ends up happening is that your skin color can appear darker against something that is bright white.

So knowing that I'd be taking pictures, I opted for ivory. Personally, I think it's a more sophisticated look (that's my opinion) and you'll find that many of the upper end designers will always offer dresses in ivory. My dress is from Priscilla and when you walk into the salon, you'd be hard-pressed to find any sample dresses that are white in color.

It does come down to personal preference in the end. Also, keep in mind that samples in stores may be off a shade because they're "dirty" so you might want to request a clean fabric swatch to see the real color that you're ordering.

If you do opt for ivory and if you're as meticulous as me, you'll find that you may want to keep that in mind for everything else that you pick out for your wedding. My ringbearer pillow is ivory, flower girl dress ivory (to match mine), my reception tablecloths (under the plum overlays) is ivory, my groom and his groomsmen will wear ivory shirts under their vests and tuxes (the groom will wear ivory vest and tie), our menus, escort cards and even invitations utilized ecru as opposed to white. Again, that's just me, but I wanted the cohesiveness between my three wedding colors, one of which is ivory.

I have very pale skin and auburn hair, so pure white makes me look washed out. I like warmer, pinkish champagne tones.

I'm pretty pale too, but I thought white-white looked radiant and angelic on me, whereas ivory just looked dingy. Here I am in my bright white dress...

Outdoor afternoon lighting (groomie requested that his face be blurred out):


Natural lighting in barn:


I hope what you gather from these is that "white-white" doesn't make everyone look washed out, even if you're pale like me!