White, Ivory, or Champagne: Decoding Wedding Dress Color Meanings
Posted by Dimitra Designs on Oct 30th 2024
Imagine in your mind’s eye a bride. What color is she wearing? Most people will likely say white, because that’s the classic. Even after nearly 200 years, a white wedding dress is often a go-to for many brides.
But in truth, there are many colors a bride can consider for their dress. While conceivably any shade is possible, white, ivory, and champagne are currently the three most common. And each subtle variation speaks volumes about the bride, the ceremony, and more.
But don’t sweat the details. Read on in our explainer to better understand wedding dress color choices. With the right insights, you’ll be able to decide which dress color is best for your wedding.
The White Dress for Wedding Meaning
Let’s start with the most popular style of dress: the white dress. As we alluded to above, the tradition of the white wedding dress was put into fashion by Queen Victoria in 1840. This was during her wedding to Prince Albert in the United Kingdom.
But did you know Victoria wasn’t the first royal to don white at her wedding? In actuality, the first recorded instance of a bride wearing white rather than traditional royal garments is from 1406. This was when Philippa of England married Eric of Pomerania.
But enough history, you might be saying. What does a white wedding dress mean? Well, unfortunately for the history averse, white’s meaning is all tied up in history.
During Victoria’s time, white was used on the wedding day to symbolize purity and innocence. More pointedly, it is associated with a bride’s virginity. This ties into the Christian tradition of a bride’s “holiness,” “righteousness,” and “purity” of the soul. Only a bride who could offer these traits was deemed marriage material, it would seem.
However, times have obviously changed. One’s sexual history is neither of public concern nor a gatekeeper for marriage. And white wedding gowns, by consequence, are simply no longer a signal for a bride’s purity.
Today, a white wedding dress for a wedding’s meaning really just comes down to aesthetics. Brides who prefer minimalism, clean colors, and striking contrast pick white. Their “purity” has nothing to do with it.
The color white, during Victoria’s time, was also a signal of wealth. Shades like purple and blue were also wealth signifiers due to the relative rarity of the pigments used to make them. However, white, though obviously less rare, was nonetheless a signal for the haves versus the have-nots.
Why? Because in Victoria’s time, keeping a garment white at that time wasn’t as simple as using a spritz of bleach. This is why earth tones were far more commonly worn: cleaning simply wasn’t what it is today.
The Ivory Wedding Dress Meaning
Taking some cues from its lighter sister shade’s tradition, an ivory dress signifies modern love and commitment. It also carries an ethereal quotient akin to white’s former echoes of purity and innocence.
However, ivory signals far more than matters of the heart. The shade is associated with elegance, sophistication, and luxury. Furthermore, it stands as a celebration of olden times, as it is commonly used in vintage-style wedding gowns.
If you want to establish an almost nostalgic wedding feeling, you’ve found your go-to. You simply can’t go wrong with the cues set forth by ivory wedding dresses meaning.
The Champagne Wedding Dress Meaning
You’ve probably seen some of your favorite celebrities get married wearing champagne. Why, you may ask? That’s because the champagne wedding dress meaning all comes down to glamor and sophistication.
Champagne is a color connoting excess. It is a celebration of the finer things in life. It indicates that its wearer understands the difference between fine and fine.
If you want to state that you prefer the finer things in life, a champagne wedding dress’ meaning will signal just that.
Find Your Perfect Wedding Dress Color
Ultimately, wedding dress color doesn’t count for anything if the fit isn’t right. The color you choose for your wedding dress all comes down to the silhouette.
What looks best on you will always outweigh a color’s subtle signals. And it will always supersede society’s biases. Simply look at Victoria for inspiration: she shirked a tradition and set a fashion practice in motion!
Plus, simply won’t say that one color is better than another. Each shade of the bridal rainbow is going to be right or wrong for one bride or another.
But how do you know if you look better in white, ivory, or champagne? You simply need to work with a leader in wedding dress designs.
At Dimitra Designs, we carry countless wedding dress colors and styles. Our selections hail from many of the most popular designers on the market. And we love working with bridal parties to find colors, fits, and accessories to make your wedding attire a thing to behold.
Our stylists are ready to help you find your dress. And our team of master tailors and seamstresses will work to ensure your selection fits you perfectly.
Are you ready to discover a veritable rainbow of wedding dress options?