White vs ivory vs cream wedding dress: the three classic colours
When you’re choosing wedding colours to suit your wedding dress, start with the shade of the dress itself. There are three traditional wedding dress colours: white, ivory and cream.
More recently we’re also seeing pink-toned nudes, even pink dresses, and the occasional icy blue. For now, let’s stick to the three classics, and how to choose the colours around them for your bridesmaids, flowers and styling.
White wedding dress colours: keep it cool and crisp
White is a cool tone, so the colours around it should stay cool, clean and crisp. For your bridesmaids, flowers and styling, think:
- baby colours: baby blue, baby yellow, baby pink
- icy blues and true greens
- black and navy
- a true, blue-based red
- cobalt blue
Ivory wedding dress colours: the most versatile
Ivory is by far the most versatile wedding dress colour. It sits happily with all the cool colours above, and with warm colours too, so you can choose basically any wedding colour palette you like for your bridesmaids and flowers.
It’s one of the reasons so many of our Corston gowns are made in ivory.
Cream wedding dress colours: go warm and vintage
With a cream wedding dress, look for vintage, warm tones that complement it. Baby blue won’t go with cream at all. Instead, try:
- dusky pink
- champagne
- chocolate
- burgundy
- aubergine
- most greens
If you’d like yellow, choose a deep, vintage antique gold rather than a true yellow.
Matching the groom’s shirt colour and jacket to your dress
Most grooms wear a “white” shirt on their wedding day. If your dress is white, that’s wonderful. But if your dress is cream, a white shirt really clashes, in photos and in real life. He should look at a cream shirt that tones with your dress instead.
The same goes for jackets. If he’s planning a “white” jacket, make sure it’s closer to cream so it tones with your dress. The same applies to ivory.
The current trend of men wearing white jackets is tricky. The white needs to be the same as, or very close to, the white of your dress, or the two can look very mismatched. If you can, take a fabric swatch from your gown when he shops.
Mother of the bride and mother of the groom dress colours
For the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom, especially if they have daughters in the bridal party, it’s ideal to choose a colour that coordinates with the bridesmaids rather than clashing. Those family photos are probably the most important ones they’ll keep, and they’re much nicer to look at when the colours work together.
For example, if the bridesmaids are in pale pink, Mum could choose a deeper pink, burgundy or chocolate. Navy and pink look lovely together too. What she should avoid is red, or any other colour that clashes with the bridesmaids’ dresses.
If she has no daughters in the bridal party and won’t be in group photos with the bridesmaids, it really doesn’t matter what colour she wears.
Need help choosing your wedding colours?
If you’d like help choosing wedding colours to suit your wedding dress, get in touch at info@corston.com.au or book a consultation at our Chippendale studio. As a Sydney bridal designer, I’m always happy to help.
Talk soon,
