Alternative Wedding Dresses: Getting Married in Red

More and more women are choosing alternative wedding dresses over the traditional long white and ivory gowns.

Getting married in red is a bold but beautiful move. In this hub we discuss the story of Lucy, a woman from Chicago who got married in a red bridal gown.

We go over why she chose red, the reaction of her family and friends, and how she worked red into the theme of her wedding.

Lucy

Why she chose red:

Lucy knew she wanted a red dress because it had always been her favorite color and she always loved the symbolism and effects of the color as well.

"Red is the color of passion and it enlivens the room. To me, a white wedding dress is boring, and I had no desire to wear it."

Lucy says she is not an untraditional woman but she doesn't like to follow trends simply because everyone else does it.

Reactions of family and friends to her color choice:

"My family didn't like that I wanted a red wedding dress and they thought I was insane, and so did my fiance's parents.

To be truthful, my in-laws aren't that crazy about me, but they realized I was paying for the dress so they kind of had to stop mentioning their dislike of the dress color after a while.

My parents ended up liking the dress because they saw it hanging up for a few weeks and got used to the idea. But I loved it from the beginning and my fiancé thought red would look beautiful on me, so that is all that mattered.

Most of my guests knew my fashion sense, so they weren't taken aback at my choice to wear a red bridal gown. I was thankful for that. It was nice to look into the crowd and simply see happy faces, and not ones of judgment over my choice."

How she worked red into the theme of her wedding:

"The color theme at my wedding was red and white - mostly red. I had red tulips, red and white table linens, red shoes, red and white foods - strawberries and cream, red velvet wedding cake. I just had no desire to have a typical wedding, so I dressed it up my way."

Is a red wedding dress for you?

Similar to Lucy, the color bridal gown you choose will depend upon your personality, if your family's approval is important to you, your comfort level being in a crowd while turning tradition on its head, and whether you feel red flatters you. The numbers of consumers for alternative wedding dress colors have increased in the past ten years, so you would not be alone in your choice.

A note about red veils:

Red veils are much more difficult to find than red wedding gowns, but there are a number of specialty websites you can order from. You can also take a swatch from your red dress into a store that sells material to find a matching red lace or netting, and make the veil yourself.