Colors to Wear with An Ivory Wedding Dress

For non-traditional brides, choosing a wedding dress in ivory might be the way to go. The color is still classy, but not as traditional as a white dress. When paired with the right colors, an ivory wedding dress can look elegant and beautiful.

Ivory is essentially a pastel color. Therefore, pairing it with other pastels is a great way to create a cohesive color palette. Pastels can be incorporated using a few different pieces.

SHOES Wearing a pair of shoes in a different color than your wedding dress breaks up your look so that both your wedding dress and your shoes stand out. Some pastel colors to consider are:

• Light blue (you can also use your shoes for your "something blue")
• Pink
• Purple

Pastels work well for spring weddings.

JEWELRY If you want to keep your look classic and simple, you can't go wrong with pearls. You can stick with ivory, or even find pearls in different colors like soft pink and bluish grey.

An ivory wedding dress contrasts well with dark, nature-rich colors such as:

• Chocolate brown
• Navy blue
• Hunter green
• Deep plum
• Burgundy

You could incorporate these colors by choosing shoes in one of the shades, although jewelry in these tones would look radiant. Some ideas for jewelry are:

• A burgundy necklace
• Navy blue earrings (another "something blue" idea)
• Multi-colored pieces

Another idea is to wear a sash across your waist in one of these dark colors. This provides a nice accent color and adds additional embellishment to your dress.

Jewel tones, overall, are a nice complement to an ivory wedding dress. Shades like emerald green and ruby red work well for winter weddings. Jewel tones that are best to avoid wearing with an ivory dress are royal purple and royal blue.

Since jewel tones are rich and bold, you want to be careful when choosing pieces to accessorize with. Keep the season of your wedding, as well as your overall color scheme, in mind. If your bridesmaids' dresses are red, for example, think about whether or not you want to match or contrast with them.

Both emerald green and ruby red are beautiful color choices for jewelry. Consider a sparkling bracelet or stud earrings in either hue.

Since ivory is a warm shade with golden undertones, your best bet for metallic accents is gold. To create a warm look using gold, consider:

SHOES Seasonally appropriate shoes in gold are always a nice complement to an ivory wedding dress. Choose open-toed shoes for spring/summer, or a closed heel for fall/winter.

JEWELRY Gold jewelry doesn't have to be minimal, since gold is not a dramatic color. Wear a gold necklace -- or two -- with some gold earrings, and add a gold bracelet. You can even do thin bracelets and wear several.

If you want something in your hair, go with a sparkly gold headband, tiara or another hair piece.