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By: Jessie Harbin
I always dreamed of getting married. I can’t help it. I love having a job and a career, but I’ve also always wanted to be a wife. So naturally, when that handsome 6-foot-4 boy got down on one knee last summer, I was thrilled. The wedding planning began and the search for the perfect dress was on.
I wanted traditional. I want everything to be traditional. I wanted a church wedding with bells and lace. As the dress hunt got started, I tried on a stark white gown. Standing before that dressing room mirror, I looked like an angel. Not one of those ethereal images you see in paintings of heaven.
No, I looked like one of the angels the Almighty sends when he needs to blind someone in a flash of light.
My skin blurred into one ghostly form with the dress.
Clearly there are few fair skin wedding designers out there who understand we need a bit of color. Even with other special occasion gowns, there are (albeit harder to find) options instead of ream-of-paper white:
1. Champagne: These dresses are growing in popularity, according to Pinterest and several bridal salon saleswomen. Then again, they probably would have told me neon green dresses were in style if I had expressed an interest.
2. Pale pink: Some wedding dresses have a pale pink overlay on top of the white, adding some color to a traditional dress.
3. Purple: Julianne Moore wore a lilac Prada wedding dress when she married husband Bart Freundlich in August 2003. The non-traditional dress was an understated and stylish choice for their backyard wedding in New York City.
4. Embroidered: I’ve noticed a lot of white dresses that offer embellishments around the neckline, arms and hem. That will give you a bit of color without sacrificing your traditional white.
5. Vintage: I tried on several vintage dresses that were aged–but not yellowed. There is a big difference. If you get a vintage dress, expect some of the color to come out with a professional laundering. This depends on how the garment was stored and how old it was. Keep in mind that sizes have changed a lot, so don’t get discouraged if you wear a bigger size than your normal clothes.
6. Heirloom: I’m going this route. I am wearing my mother’s dress, it’s candlelight white with a Queen Anne neckline and long lace sleeves. The top portion didn’t fit–partially because she became an aerobics instructor before her wedding and lost 40 pounds–but we found a local seamstress who agreed to re-work the top into something more my style and size for about $200.
READ: Makeup Tips for Redhead Brides
Rock it like a Redhead!
