Weddingbee Blog

Others speak of that “dress moment,” and I think I had the “fabric moment.” It was when I was in the fabric store, having just solidified the vision for my wedding dress, and I was looking for the perfect fabric. I was looking at all the ivory silks, and I saw this little glimpse of something and, as cynical as I can be, as I just *knew* that it was my fabric. And after realizing that, my inner girlie-girl screamed, “It’s pink!”

My convictions about this wondrous fabric were so strong that, initially, I didn’t think twice about wearing a non-white/ivory dress.

Being somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to weddings, I’ll admit that I did think briefly about the implications—what would my more traditional family members say?—but honestly, I didn’t think about it for longer than 10 minutes before my mind went back to saying, “It’s pink!” and then I would do some kind of happy fabric dance.

Besides, I’m unabashedly romantic, and the only thing more romantic than a white wedding dress is—think about it—a pink one. The fact that it is visually and culturally recognizable as a wedding dress means that the hint of pink color is just a little unexpected, and maybe even more subversive than going completely Offbeat Bride about the whole thing (although that’s fine too, of course).

While I was figuring all this out, and my dress was being made, I thought back to my favorite “pink dress” brides while I was planning. I still subscribe to a few of the wedding blogs, and I haven’t seen any since, so feel free to add them in the comments. Of course, I’m all married now, so the dresses I loved when I was planning are a bit older. Still, the Spring 2010 lines seem to be so much more romantic, and feature a lot more dresses offered in colors like “blush” or “rum pink” or some variation thereof; so I imagine a lot of you will be wearing some of these lovely rosy dresses!

The first “pink” dress I loved was this Alvina Valenta (Lazaro) dress. The ivory lace is really beautiful, and the pink color really shows it off well. The idea of contrast was what solidified my own decision for my dress, since I already had my own ivory beaded lace in hand. Alvina Valenta offers many dresses in what they call “rum pink.” It was featured in Season 5 of Say Yes to the Dress, which aired this spring and again in the summer.

This Amsale really defined my vision of the wedding dress: the natural waistline, the embellished top, the swishiness, the romance. It’s an older dress (spring 2008), but it’s a classic. This is basically how I wanted to look, save for the pleated waist. I think of this as a “pink” dress. I’ve looked at it on several different monitors and all over the internet, and it still looks pink to me. Anyone else? Anyone?

One of the cool things about wearing a light pink wedding dress, especially if the fabric is a silk dupioni or taffeta, is that it will photograph differently in different types of light. Some people won’t even notice right away (which is the “unexpected” factor). Is it pink? Is it white? It’s a chameleon (which is what my husband says about my dress.)!

A good example of that is this spring 2009 Amsale: the Aurora. Here it is from a seller at preownedweddingdresses.com, and the same one as worn by Lisa Loeb (via Justine Ungaro/People Magazine).

It’s not quite my style, but this very glamorous Priscilla of Boston (Spring 2010) is in a beautiful pink silk satin. I love that it’s a little modern, which seems to offset the super-romantic factor.

When I had just chosen a fabric and was finalizing my design, I Googled “pink silk dupioni.” I found this astonishingly talented bride from Australia that made her own wedding dress. Being a custom dress bride myself, I have a special affection for this particular example, and a whole lot of respect for her craftsmanship. An art/sewing student, she crafted her own strapless dress with minimal outside help. I think she did an unbelievable job:

You can see her wedding dress process here, and her more recent work at her current blog.

Perhaps my favorite is the bride who wore a pink dress to remember her grandmother, who’d passed away from breast cancer. It was a beautiful dress and a loving tribute.

If you’d told me at the beginning of my wedding planning that I’d be in a pink dress, I wouldn’t have believed you—and I’d have been a little worried. I believe it’s a delicate line to cross—too pink and too frouffy, and you won’t look like a bride (which, admittedly, is a personal preference). Too bright, and you might end up looking a little prom-ish or maybe like you’re having your quince. And of course there’s the matter of finding the right pink for your skin tone: not too dark, not too purple, not too Hello-Kitty.

Um…

As for my family, they never said anything weird—positive compliments all around. I’m sure a few of them never noticed; a few knew because I’d told them. I’ll never forget the guest who said that she was happily surprised to look twice and see that the dress was “butter pink,” as she described it, and that she loved it.

You can see my own contribution to the pink dress trend here (and you’ll definitely see more of it when we get our professional photos!).

What made my dress special to me is that the color wasn’t anything I sought out—it seemed to be a serendipitous, even magical find. My immediate reaction to it meant that it really resonated with me and with the aspects of me that I wanted to show at our wedding. So basically, it was perfect for me in the way that any bride’s dress should be perfect for her, which is what makes my choice more personal and (hopefully) less of a romantic cliché.

I would love to hear from more “pink dress” (or other colored dress) brides. I have not even seen any in real life. Are we really that rare? If you wore/are wearing a pink dress, what led to your choice?