White/Off-White/Ivory/Champagne/Gold

[meryll83]

How do I pick the right dress colour???

I was pretty sure I wanted white, but the off-white and ivory ones seem to look so much classier when you see them next to the pure white all hung up in the dress shops.

However, I want stephanotis (little white flowers) in my bouquet, and the bridesmaids will have either these or white roses, so does the dress need to be pure white to match these, or are the flowers not a true white anyway?

I presume white is easier to accessorise, coz white is white, whereas surely ivory etc can come in different shades?

I think I still want to go for the white as I defo want the white flowers and am concerned about clashing, but I need advice on if this is the best way forward and what you girls have chosen and why.
Thanks in advance everyone

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

My dress is Ivory. And I really love it. I don't think I look good in a pure white. Especially since I'm not the tanning kind. BUT you are right, it is a bit harder to accessorize. Not too bad, but A LOT of the jewelry and shoes, etc... are in white and the selection in ivory isn't as large. That being said, I've been able to find stuff that works just fine. I say go with what you look best in and the rest will fall into place.

 

[meryll83]

So is ivory a standard colour across the board when it comes to wedding items or does it come in various shades and tones?


I think maybe I need to find out how white my white flowers will actually be!!

 

[caryndisneydiva]

there are many different shades of white...my dress is a matte white, not shiny ish satin. my first dress was light gold, much darker than ivory and i found it difficult to accessorize. just last night i was regretting the white i bought, i should have gotten ivory...i'm such a pain in the butt...

 

[Skylarr29]

I just read an article about this in a floral magazine this weekend. It said that flowers are not pure with and that the different shades of white will add depth.. or something like that! I think it will work out fine. I am planning on white flowers as well with maybe a blush dress.

 

[meryll83]

I can't decide between white and ivory!!
(or perhaps off-white whatever that is!! )

 

[JandJ]

There are definitely different shades of ivory. My gown was ivory and my friend who got married last year wore ivory as well, but hers was a shade or two darker than mine. She wanted to borrow my bridal purse but it was too light against her gown. I did not have any problem finding ivory accessories (purse, shoes, garter) and Disney did my bouquet with ivory and burgundy roses and ivory ribbon and it all matched perfectly. I looked completely washed out in pure white and some shiny whites give off a blue-ish hue that doesn't look very good. I wanted a champagne colored dress but DH said "brides wear white" and it was one of the very few things he cared about. So I went with ivory and he thought it was white - men don't know the difference

 

[orangetiggs]

I think its best to try them all on and see what fits your skin tone, I didnt want white and yet when I tried it on it was so nice, it was in second place to my ice pink dress that I purchased

 

[pink_tink8i8]

My SIL got married this past October and she had a black and white wedding theme. Her dress was pure white and her calla lilies wear ivory (she wanted white) and she wasn't happy about it at all. They totally stood out. . I'm a fan of ivory. I say go for it!

 

[PrincessBride07]

do you have a dress already in mind? Not every dress comes in all those color options. My first dress was off white and champagne. That dress had many options including colors like red. My second dress was white with silver beading, and it was that satin white. The only other option I had was a pink hue with multicolor beading.

I would try on dresses of all shades and see which one you like best. I think you should be able to talk to the florist to mix the stephanotis (sp?) with other flowers to work with your dress.

 

[Holly81]

I agree that when you are in a bridal salon, the ivory dresses do look so much nicer than the white dresses. It's for that reason that I didn't try on a single white dress or really even consider white. I went with ivory. BUT I think white dresses look really nice in pictures and always look nice on a bride in person. I also think white would be easier to work with in terms of accessories.

I actually purchased my shoes before I got my dress and they matched really well. I was really worried about my veil, but it seemed to work OK, too. The only thing that gave me a really tough time was my purse. NOTHING matched. So, I just said to heck with and went with the mickey purse in ivory. I figured if it didn't match I just wouldn't carry a purse, but at least I'd have a cute keepsake. It matched, though.

In terms of flowers, my bouquet had both white AND ivory flowers along with pale pinks. I thought having both white and ivory kind of gave it depth. It seems like white or ivory flowers never wind up matching the bridal gown no matter what color you choose, so this was a way of having those colors without having to worry about getting an exact match.

 

[cryssi]

Definitely try them on. I know that the ivory dresses at David's Bridal seemed so yellow to me. Of course, I didn't want an ivory dress b/c it didn't look good with my yellow (asian) skin. My dress was white-white, which I loved. I also tried on diamond white, which is softer than stark white, but not yellow. That may be an option, too...

 

[PrincessBride010103]

buy whatever looks best on you!! when i first went looking for dresses i "knew" i wanted white. well my skin is really white and the ivory just looked better on me. you're right its a little harder to accesorize with ivory but not THAT much harder and the differences in ivory can be really subtle and no one will really notice.

 

[mla1977]

Try on different things. The only thing I knew for certain in advance was that I didn't want sleeves (tank top or those kind would have been okay, or off the shoulder, but nothing too covering). I wasn't picky about the color and my BFF picked out a dress and said "humor me" and it is the dress that I ended up picking out.

 

[mla1977]

Oh yeah... The dress is ivory with gold-ish embroidering. The color on the order form is called ivory/cafe.

 

[lurkyloo]

I am super pale, but ivory makes me look sallow. I went with "diamond white" which is between white and ivory. My dessert-party bolero only came in white or ivory, so it doesn't quite match, but what the heck - it'll be dark!

Really, though you have to try them on and see what looks best. Try to go outside (or toward the natural light) if you can - I was amazed at how bad the lighting was in most bridal shops.

 

[sunsh1ne]

this gave my issues too. i actually went with an ivory dress just becouse i liked the dress on me as is. i then had issues with what color shirt to put them men in. i went with white because each stores "ivory and white" look diffrent. if you go to the paint store and ask for white they will say which kind hehe. so i say go with what you feel best in and what you like. i had white flowers and you could never tell. i think it will be fine

good luck

 

[meryll83]

So, I just said to heck with and went with the mickey purse in ivory. I figured if it didn't match I just wouldn't carry a purse, but at least I'd have a cute keepsake. It matched, though.

Is this the little bag you can buy from Disney floral with the mickey crystals?
I was wanting one of those so it's good to know this comes in white and ivory while i make my mind up!




Thanks everyone for helping me out here, I guess I really do need to see which one suits me best.
Now I know - you guys are fab, I'm such an ungirly girl some of this stuff gets a bit beyond me!

 

[Skylarr29]

Just remember that if you get an ivory or off white dress that your hubby gets the same color shirt for his tux/suit. If he is wearing pure white it can make your dress appear 'dirty'

 

[Holly81]

Is this the little bag you can buy from Disney floral with the mickey crystals?
I was wanting one of those so it's good to know this comes in white and ivory while i make my mind up!

That's the one! I was really excited to find out it came in ivory, because I had only ever seen white ones. I'm really glad I ordered it. It was cute, easy to carry and held a lot of stuff!