Baby blue, yellow, floral patterns, even black are sprouting up as alternatives to the traditional white wedding dress. In addition to the array of colors, embroidered flowers and lace are ruling the wedding dress scene, while black is appearing as accents. Our wedding blogger friends are encouraging the trend: The Knot listed black accents and baby blue dresses as two of 2018’s hottest trends; Style Me Pretty has more colored dresses (combined) than they do white dresses; and Bride.com says they’ve been championing hues for a long time.
There are many reasons beyond what’s trending now as to why you might choose a colored wedding dress.
Reason #1: You’re a Lake Tahoe bride, so you’re obviously extraordinary and cool AF.
Reason #2: You want to make a statement with the color you choose. For example, a red dress can symbolize love, excitement, energy, strength, while a pink dress symbolizes freshness, good health, and femininity and a blue dress symbolizes peacefulness, security, and life. Black represents a spectrum abroad from morbidity: power, sexuality, sophistication, elegance, and depth. Plus, like white, it will go with any other styles and colors at your wedding.
Reason #3: To divorce white: Cosmopolitan cites it as the number one reason why a wedding dress might look cheap – “It’s too white. Bright, optic white can be a tough color to pull off. A lot of the detail that make the dress special can end up getting lost…and [the look is] overall…graphic and harsh, instead of soft and romantic.”
Reason #4: You might not be wearing the tradition you think you were. White dresses are thought to be picked to imitate the purity of the wearer, however blue, not white, has long been thought of a representation of purity. In fact, the tradition of a white wedding became popular because of fashion and not the virginity of the bride. The trend started when Queen Victoria wore a white gown for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 to incorporate her prized lace. The white trend then accelerated in the post-World War II era, taking us to present day. Carol Wallace, author of All Dressed in White: The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding, says, “Before [WWII], lots of girls would invest in a gorgeous dress they could wear again. In pioneer America, that often meant black, brightened up with some white lace or artificial orange blossoms.”
It can be daunting to break tradition and your dress doesn’t need to be solid red to incorporate color. Try accents of color or patterns. Maybe add on a colorful shawl or coat. Why not have your man don a colored tux, even if your dress stays pure. Make his coat match your dramatic cabernet colored lips. It’s all in the details, right?
Biggest piece of advice with a colored dress: feel amazing in whatever you choose. “Besides,” as told by Amy Sciarretto, “fashion rules are the easiest to break, since there are little, if any, consequences.” Follow your heart girl, and make sure to Keep Tahoe ~Weddings~ Magical.