Brides dump white gowns for colour

Canadian brides-to-be are opting for bold colours like red and even black

TORONTO: Traditional white wedding gowns aren’t making it to the altar this year as Canadian brides-to-be commit, instead, to colour.

“Tradition is really out the window,” said Linda Borges, the manager of Ballett’s Sposabella shop. “Nowadays, it’s really just what the bride is wanting to go with and the traditional white is now irrelevant.”

Instead of pristine white, brides are opting for darker shades of ivory such as mocha, accents of colour that may or may not match their bridesmaids’ dresses and even bridal gowns in darker shades such as red, blue and eggplant.

“Some of them are now integrating bridesmaids colours within the dress, either within the bodice, the train, or sashes or bows,” said Borges.

Beading, stoles and trim are being lined with colour. More couples are also being married away from home and are choosing colours to accessorise weddings on beaches and other venues.

In Vancouver red is the hot colour for bridal dresses, according to David Chung, manager of Tiffany New York Bridal.

“They want something different,” said Chung, who sold a red gown to one bride.
He added that brides have also opted for eggplant, black and light blue but more than 40 colours are available.

“Brides are looking for some way to show their own individuality so it’s not a cookie cutter wedding,” says Bettie Bradley, editor of Today’s Bride.

“In Victorian times, it was quite usual for a person simply to be married in their best dress and for the men to go back to work after the wedding.” The tradition of wearing a white gown started after Britain’s Queen Victoria wore one for her wedding in 1840.

Bradley believes the white bridal gown is likely to remain a tradition for many brides.

“Most brides fancy being married in white or ivory,” she said, adding few brides are likely to go with gowns of one solid colour because they wouldn’t stand out from their bridesmaids.

“They get a kick out of seeing somebody else in them but they don’t seem to quite satisfy what the bride has always seen herself in.”