Image © J Davies Photography
Last time you met, she wanted you to wear colour on your wedding day – and now she wants you to put your bridesmaids in white! Our regular guest blogger Rachel of Mosaic Brides keeps on arguing the case for turning the tables on traditional bridal fashion. Over to you, Rach!
Rachel says: In my last Brides Up North feature I asked if brides-to-be dare to deviate from a traditionally white wedding by wearing a coloured dress. This time I’m switching things around to discuss if it’s acceptable to dress bridesmaids in white – or should the pure hue be reserved for brides only?
While I often to-and-fro over what colours my maids will wear (when that day finally arrives) white has never cropped up, not even on my maybe list. But having recently noted a rise in the number of brides dressing their main girls in white or ivory, I’m finally starting to warm to the idea.
Images © S6 Photography
It’s not unusual for bridesmaid dress designers to take inspiration from on-trend womenswear so the fact that fashion catwalks of 2013 have been awash with white could well have something to do with the increase in white and ivory maids.
Above: Wtoo Style 302 in Diamond White, Watters Style 25951 in French Vanilla
Below: LR140XX from Lela Rose in Ivory, LR186 from Lela Rose in Ivory
Done right, bridesmaids in white can look timeless, elegant and sophisticated but get it wrong and it looks like a group of girls at a wedding dress sample sale. I believe the key to success is not to make bridesmaids look too ‘bridey’. The chosen dresses need to complement not distract from, the bride’s attire so often plain designs work best. The less detail the less chance of distraction, but that doesn’t mean the dresses have to be boring. Interest can come in the form of an asymmetrical shoulder, short-length and cowl neck designs or those that feature a coloured sash, small areas of beading /embellishing or simple lace panels.
Images © J Davies Photography
For those brides planning to rock a coloured gown on their wedding day, dressing maids in white or ivory can provide a simple solution to avoid clashes and ensure the bride remains the centre of attention.
Kim Kardashian was one of the first celebrities to break the rules by dressing her maids in white when she (briefly) tied the knot with Kris Humphries. While the stark colour (which can easily wash some people out) was very complementary of Kardashian sisters’ gorgeous tanned skin tones, Kim fell victim to ‘bridey’ bridesmaids. So for those whose guilty pleasure isn’t Keeping Up With The Kardashians, it was difficult to immediately identify the bride (here’s hoping Kim will do better second time around.)
Image souce: www.eonline.com
There are however examples of high profile weddings where white has definitely worked for the bridesmaids –most notably being Wills and Kate’s big day .While most would consider a royal wedding a very traditional affair, white was controversially the chosen hue for bridesmaid Pippa Middleton’s famous dress. The slinky, cowl neck design was not what many expected but quickly became one of the main talking points of the day, with many designers going on to create their own version of the popular ‘Pippa dress’.
Image source: styleclone.com
So it would appear that while white was once strictly off limits to anybody but the bride, the rules have since been relaxed giving today’s brides even more freedom cause a stir. Well if it’s good enough for the Windsors!
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 as credited
Rachel Parry is a regular guest blogger for Brides Up North and this is not a sponsored post
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