The Best Wedding Dress Colors for Dark Skin

The dark-skinned bride has many color options besides classic white.

A woman's wedding day is one of the most important in her life. It is the day that she begins a new chapter with the love of her life. For the big day is the dress of a lifetime. Most likely the most expensive dress she'll ever wear: the wedding dress should be everything that the bride has dreamt of. One of the first dress decisions should be regarding the color. White is the popular favorite and has been since Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, but it is not for every bride. For dark skin, other colors can be more flattering.

Cream

Cream is a rich, decadent shade of white. A touch of yellow is added to create this shade, bringing out the richness of a darker skin tone. If you have olive skin or a yellow-based skin tone, this is the shade for you. The cream picks up the yellow in the skin, matching the tones of a dark skinned bride better than a pure, often blue-based white. Rich satins and charmeuse are made more indulgent in cream.

Ivory

Ivory is another shade of white, with a tad of tan, rather than yellow mixed in. Ivory is a bit lighter than cream, and has a closer resemblance to pure white, if that is the desired effect. Ivory is best on very dark or brown-based skin tones, because ivory is not too bright. Pure white can be overwhelming on dark skin and can mute the bride's beautiful characteristics.

Blush

Blush is a relatively new and certainly modern color for a wedding dress. Blush is a very light pink, almost white with a touch of pink. Blush is the perfect choice for the very dark bride, the bride that won't wear white or a tan. The blush brings out the pink in a dark-skinned woman's skin and accentuates the warm tone. Avoid blush if your skin is yellow-toned, as it tends to look chalky.

Champagne

Champagne is a classic, indulgent color for the dark-skinned bride. Champagne is a cross between ivory and blush, the white mixed with both pink and tan to create an off-white shade that is truely flattering on a dark-skinned bride. The darker the skin color, the better for this rich shade. Champagne brings out the tone of dark skin with both colors present, and appears warmer to the eye. Champagne is well combined with jewels and rhinestones, only adding to its appeal.