Wedding Dress Colour Meanings
When brides are struggling to pick colours at the beginning of the planning process, one thing they wonder is, what do the colours “mean?” What vibe do they give off? What traditions and sensibilities are they grouped with?
We’re answering all that fun stuff today. We’ve created a list of some of the most popular wedding colours and divulged the meanings behind them.
Let’s have a look at some brides’ favourite shades, and maybe you’ll get a bit of inspiration for not only the hues that should be used for your own big day but the vibe that follows the vision.
The Most Popular Wedding Colours and Their Meaning
Colours are expressive. As much as we know that weddings are special events for both couples, families, and friends, the right colour of the day or colour combination will make the day more special.
Below is the list of the most popular wedding colours. We also provide the unique meaning of each of them.
Diamond – White
When brides around the world think of a “western wedding,” they picture this.
Since Queen Victoria, bright diamond-white has enjoyed strong associations with purity and the privileged. But these days, white may have (a lot) more to do with modernity. This is the same breeze that brings us minimalist Calla bouquets and lace-free-zone Vera gowns.
The white colour symbolizes purity, innocence, truth, protection and goodness.
White is also a symbol of a fresh beginning. It can also represent a desire for simplicity. It can serve as a means of recapturing lost youth for older people.
Other personality traits white can represent are honesty, stubbornness, seriousness and shyness.
Ivory
Ivory is elegant, old-world, and soft-spoken. It speaks of hand-polished silver and ironed linen. Or, in Economist-speak, ivory is New York’s Brooke Astor to Leona Helmsley’s scarlet.
It’s also what most wedding dresses come in as “pure white” isn’t something that most designers even dip into anymore.
Champagne
The champagne colour exemplifies “refined and traditional, rich and conservative”.
It gives a gentle look with a slightly vintage feel.
Lavender
The lavender colour is soft, dainty and ladylike. This colour often appears in weddings that hark to the past, with traditional-looking cakes and florals.
Blush Pink
The lighter shades of pink speak to happiness, playfulness, and a sense of fun, not to mention a special fondness for love’s super-sweet early years.
Pink is a feminine colour that connotes happiness, admiration, harmony and compassion, and unconditional love.
It can be combined with green, grey, orange, burgundy, etc.
Fuschia
The Fuschia colour gives an energized, “girl power” hue with an almost-punk edge. Think Gwen Stefani, and as possible accents, black, brown or vibrant green.
Cherry Red
Passionate, dramatic, and dripping with desire, this romantic hue hints at deep lows, higher highs, and a triumphant peak (which, of course, coincides with the wedding).
It is often paired with crisp white and black in gorgeous toiles or other classic patterns and is sure to show up in tandem with tons of rose petals.
Red colours are intense and connote passion, romance, sexuality, love, fire and solemnity.
It is also the colour of strength, health, and vitality. Red can also be symbolic of an increased enthusiasm or interest, confidence to pursue your dreams and can symbolise power and passion.
Red is often the colour chosen by someone outgoing, aggressive, vigorous and impulsive. People who love red are also often optimistic and open-natured.
It gives a personalized touch to the event.
Coral
At weddings, this colour often has an indie vibe. It might have a Latino, East Indian, or Caribbean feel or a strong designer foundation. You see it show up in fresh pairings like coral and rust or coral and teal, or more conventionally, with chocolate brown, pink or yellow.
Going to a coral wedding? Don’t be surprised to see a bit of mehndi on the bride’s hands, paisley patterns, custom stationery courtesy of a hotshot graphic designer, luscious linens with lots of shimmer and tassels, or cinnamon-chocolate truffles.
Sunshine Yellow
Sunshine yellow colour symbolizes optimism, cheerfulness, a strong appreciation for friendship.
Yellow is 100% angst-free. It’s also Martha Stewart’s signature colour, so yellow often goes hand-in-hand with that clean, grounded New England look, with lots of buttery porcelain and handmade papers.
It is the colour of sunshine and bright energy which connote happiness, creativity, freshness, hope and joy.
Yellow generally symbolises wisdom, happiness and intellectual energy.
It is also a very imaginative colour chosen by those seeking self-fulfilment and adventure.
People with good senses of humour often tend toward yellow.
Other personality traits yellow can represent are curiosity, awareness, and those who are driven and focus.
Yellow during weddings can go with the following combination: orange and yellow, blue and yellow, white and yellow, yellow and purple, yellow and green, etc.
Gold
Gold stands for extravagance, luxury, warmth and tradition. It is closely related to champagne.
Gold symbolizes wealth and value.
As platinum continues to make inroads in the jewellery world, “yellow gold” is more of a statement than ever. Think Louis XIV, “The Sun King,” warm Italian weddings, and unstinting shows of abundance.
Aqua
Aqua is fun-loving, fresh and vibrant. The colour is a favourite of beach brides, especially tropical ones, and an anchor for poolside weddings. But aqua shows up in plenty of other places, too.
It’s a favourite paired with chocolate brown for brides who want a fun and modern palette, and aqua and pink aren’t uncommon.
Royal Blue
Royal blue is often combined with a paler blue, yellow or gold.
Grand, traditional, and casting an eye toward an idealized past. Evokes ballrooms, Cinderella stories, and happily-ever-after.
Blue brings about harmony and tranquillity; it further symbolizes faith, trust, wisdom, loyalty, intelligence.
Sapphire
This ultra-classic colour signals a preppy wedding. Often paired with mint green or dusty orange and loads of crisp white, this colour puts tradition first and adds a certain masculine gravitas to the palette.
Plum
Plum purple has strong historical associations with royalty, especially in sacred contexts. But thanks to lots of shakeups in the fashion world, purple’s taken on a whole new life and become challenging and mysterious, glamorous and grown-up, and ever-so-slightly Eurostar, especially when paired with other complex hues like charcoal or even black. Rock this latter look with feathers, brooding florals, and a few Goth-Edwardian touches.
Silver
Restrained wealth and glamour, sophistication. Silver says, “I can afford it but prefer not to flaunt it.”
Silver symbolizes reliability.
L: David’s Bridal. R: Cakes By Gina.
Must Read: Wedding Preparation Checklist
Misty Grey
Grew is modern, understated, retro-informed and sleek.
Lately, grey has deposed champagne as one of the hottest neutrals in weddings.
Bridesmaids in grey with deco-rhinestone buckled sashes look up-to-the-minute … and stunning.
Pair with wheat or heather for the ultimate urban, slightly Swedish palette.
Chocolate
So everywhere, it’s hard to pin down, but chocolate brown is the cornerstone to most of today’s modern palettes: brown with pink or aqua, or increasingly, coral, mint green or purple.
Shades of Green
In weddings, green reveals a modern sensibility and often comes with inventive, non-traditional florals (think green button mums or wheatgrass). Thanks to the increasing volume of eco-talk, green is also a prominent hue at environmentally-conscious weddings.
Green represent nature, and it speaks of fertility, growth, hope, stability, money, good luck and youthfulness.
Lime green + hot pink says “pop princess.” Olive or bright green combined with black and white looks downright regal in that new-millennium way. We also love mint or sage greens as well.
Green can be combined with gold, silver, red, yellow, white, or cream colour.
Orange
Orange is a colour that’s great for spicing things up and increasing creativity.
It appeals to flamboyant and fun-loving people and represents joyfulness, enthusiasm and optimism.
People who like orange are generally good-natured and popular but can also be loud and impulsive.
Orange can also represent youth, strength and vitality. A good pick for your wedding ceremony.
Midnight Black
Sophisticated, mysterious, assertive or even nostalgic, black shows up when couples have strong opinions about design.
Black might lend a clean, graphic look to the wedding or show up in evocative, Victorianesque forms, such as black Callas and rooster-feather collars.
Legions of black-draped bridesmaids continue to make a showing from summer to winter, with more attention to detail than in seasons past (contrasting sashes, more elaborate hemlines, or bouquets designed to pop against a black background).
Black stands for elegance, serenity and sensuality.
In conclusion, it is important to consider what colour best represents you as you choose the best wedding colours.
Colours create moods. The mood created represents a lot about you. You will therefore want to choose your wedding dress colour wisely.
Related:
List of Essential Things for Wedding Ceremony