Image credit: Joe Brennan. From The groom’s mother designed the bride’s dress at this psychedelic purple wedding filled with fungi and florals

What makes a wedding dress a wedding dress? In this age, it seems, the answer is just context and intention. Western brides may historically have approached their choice of gown with a set of rules in mind; wearing white was a given, as was the dictum of something borrowed and blue. 

But modernity has prompted us to shed our more antiquated prescriptions, and embrace a way of dressing that’s attuned first and foremost to individual taste. Reds and golds, the bread and butter of brides across Asia, have been gaining favour in parts of the UK and North America, as well as Australia. “There are usually requests for latte tones, silvers and blush pinks,” bridalwear designer Steven Khalil told Vogue earlier this year of the increasing popularity of the non-white gown. 

It’s an emergent desire well-reflected in the weddings we’ve published here on Vogue. Rosy hues and champagnes have been particularly favoured, taking the form of tea-length taffeta dresses and drop-waist dresses. But recent months have also thrown up a crowd of bolder, ballsier things: a searing fuchsia gown, a breath of lilac silk, a column of sunshine yellow.

Below, discover the best non-white wedding dresses from the Vogue Brides archives.

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Image credit: David Bastianoni. From This bride wore 5 Chanel haute couture looks at her lavish Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc wedding

Rachel Aminov in Chanel

Rachel Aminov tells us that she colour-matched her pink dress to her wedding cake, baked by Bastien Blanc-Tailleur. “He actually visited Chanel’s haute couture atelier to do it,” she tells Vogue, “and incorporated the buttons on the dress, as well as the flowers embroidered on the veil, into the final product.” The final result was a long-sleeved baby pink gown from the maison’s haute couture autumn/winter ’21/’22 collection.

Image credit: David Campbell. From Inside a regal garden wedding that blended Chinese and Bengali traditions

Humyara Mahbub in By Elora

“Our final looks were embroidered with zardozi embroidery,” said Humyara's husband Michael, “an embroidery style with a rich history in South Asia and the Middle East, which involves using strands of metal on fabric. They were hand sewn by artisans in India and took a couple of months. By Elora allowed us to have everything completely customised, down to the specific colours, the specific silks, and the design of the embroidery. They showed us samples and illustrations throughout the process, and it was wonderful to be able to be involved throughout.”

Image credit: Jessica Tremp/Brown Paper Parcel Photography. From This fashion designer eloped in Gabriela Hearst for her charming, Peloponnesian seaside ceremony

Sarah Kourim in Gabriela Hearst

“I knew I didn’t want to wear all-white, so when I saw the Gabriela Hearst dress, I knew it was the one. “I loved the silhouette, and its merino black bodice also made it feel more relaxed and went back with James’s look. I paired the big floor-length bow, made by my mum, with Simone Rocha heart pearl earrings and some ballet flats from my local ballet store.”

Image credit: Sophie Davidson. From This bride’s ultra-rare ’80s Chanel gown came from one of Karl Lagerfeld’s earliest collections for the house

Erin Cunningham in vintage Chanel

“I love vintage items for the story they come with—what drew me to this dress was that it was older than me and that it was from one of Karl Lagerfeld’s earliest collections for Chanel,” the bride told Vogue of her champagne-coloured gown, originally worn in lilac by Jerry Hall on Chanel’s spring/summer 1985 runway.

Image credit: Lost in Love Photography. From This bride wore a blush gown and Loewe trompe l’œil heels for her rose-themed, dance hall wedding

Olivia Burke in Kyha Studios

“When I first started at Kyha Studios, I remember seeing a swatch of the dripping rose-beading hanging in [founder] Kyha Scott’s office, and I secretly fell in love with it,” Olivia recalls of her blush gown. “As time went on, I never saw it in any collections, so when I sat down with Kyha she suggested using that for my gown and I screamed inside.”

Image credit: Kai Gillespie. From Vivienne Westwood created a special fabric for this bride’s golden wedding gown

Genevieve Morano Campori in Vivienne Westwood

“The only thing I knew is that I wasn’t going to wear white,” the bride told Vogue of her golden wedding gown. Echoed head of couture at Vivienne Westwood, Brigitte Stepputtis: “Genevieve’s individual and modern choice of colour and style complemented the classical opulence of the wedding location perfectly. The result was a seamless balance of rich colour and volume—contrasting beautifully with the historical Baroque architecture of the intimate church setting.”

Image credit: Yuko Weddings. From The bride wore six custom looks by Indian designers for her wedding weekend in Arizona

Kajal Patel in Chamee & Palak

“My wedding outfit by Indian designer Chamee & Palak. I wanted an outfit with different shades of red incorporated throughout. They were able to take the vision and turn it into reality.”

Image credit: Jimmy Raper. From How Rowi Singh got ready for her wedding, rhinestones, braids and bold colours included

Rowi Singh in Abhishekh

For her wedding in the Botanic Gardens, make-up artist Rowi Singh chose crimson. “There was a serene peacefulness to the ceremony—it almost felt like the frequency of the greenhouse changed as I made my entrance.”

Image credit: Tom Mitchell. From Pink wedding dresses are the coolest modern bridal trend

Olive Uniacke in a London-based couturier

“I never had an idea of what my dream bride dress would be. I knew it had to be a colour—that was the only way it was going to work—something bold, something modern, something different, something wow, something feminine, something sexy, something me!”

Image credit: Joe Brennan. From The groom’s mother designed the bride’s dress at this psychedelic purple wedding filled with fungi and florals

Raenee Sydney in her mother-in-law’s design

“I always knew that I didn't want to wear a white dress, and after some thought, lilac seemed like the perfect fit. The dress I wore was made by Marto’s mom, Jenny. After some planning, we settled on something off-shoulder, with a bit of drama from the tulle train and veil. It really became a collaborative piece between us, which felt really special.”

Image credit: Justin Aaron. From For her French chateau-themed wedding, this bride wore vintage Oscar de la Renta and three Zimmermann ensembles

Georgia Boniface in Oscar de la Renta

“I purchased my ceremony dress from a vintage dealer on First Dibs. It was Oscar de la Renta vintage couture. As soon as I saw it I had to have it! My boss, Nicky Zimmermann, sent it to me and said how much the dress reminded her of me. Funnily enough I had already bid on it and won it that very next day. I purchased it three years before the wedding and never ever got over it. It fit me like a glove, Nicky and I worked with our team in house and added sleeves to it a week before to make it feel more modern. I loved that it was the perfect shade of nude.”

Image credit: Mili Ghosh. From This bride wore 6 looks at her modern Indian wedding inside a New York castle

Rekha Marda in Sabyasachi

“I have always loved Sabyasachi’s regal look, and fell in love with how delicate this lehenga was for my daytime wedding.”

Image credit: India Hobson. From Pink wedding dresses are the coolest modern bridal trend

Anna Rhodes in Cecilie Bahnsen

“It’s turbo feminine without being saccharine, and I was all in. I felt it represented exactly how I wanted to feel, and how I see myself. I wanted to keep it relaxed, but still incredibly special and unusual.”

Image credit: Alice Mahran. From Inside Sir designer Sophie Coote’s secret garden wedding

Sophie Coote in Khyeli

Sir designer wore a blush-coloured gown at her wedding. “I never saw myself in a dramatic dress like that, but there was something about it that felt so unique and different, and I also felt sexy—which might be weird to say about a wedding dress.”

Image credit: Norman & Blake. From inside Sophia Bush and Grant Hughes’s Tulsa wedding

Sophia Bush in Monique Lhullier

“From the moment we got engaged, I knew what I wanted my dress to be. I’d seen a photograph of a Monique Lhuillier dress taken on Lake Como, and I had a vision of creating a personalised version of it, in what I have always thought of as a heritage print: a print of flowers from California, Oklahoma, and Italy, to honour the heritage of our families—where we come from and how we are all coming together to map where we are going.”

Image credit: Lindsey Shorter. From This untraditional bride wore a bright yellow dress and bows for her Savannah wedding

Emma Van Dusen in Lela Rose

“I fell in love with it right away. I ordered it immediately and luckily it showed up a couple of days before I left town. Between my yellow dress, our officiant’s red dress, Ben’s dark suit, and the blue dot we had a nice primary palette happening.” 

Image credit: Alexandra Drewniak and Elle Alihos. From Inside a stylist’s Gatsby-inspired wedding, which featured a ballet performance—and a pink dress

Vydia Rishie-Howell in Off-White

“Virgil and I have chatted before and after seeing the dress [in] the Off-White Atelier in Milan... I knew I couldn’t imagine myself wearing anything else. The blush tone was unintentional, but worked so well as I always knew I was too anti-bride to wear white.”

Image credit: Joseph Willis. From Inside Jesinta and Buddy Franklin’s Blue Mountains wedding

Jesinta Franklin in Vera Wang

“Six weeks out from the wedding Priya [Shukla, of Vera Wang] sent me a photo, saying: ‘This is the dress that didn’t make the collection because Vera thinks she’s going to put it in the next collection. She loves it and it’s champagne, not pink; it’s got really interesting sleeves; it’s a more fashion-forward look.’ I saw the photo and thought: ‘That’s my dress.’”

Image credit: Margot Landen. From Pink wedding dresses are the coolest modern bridal trend

Jamaica Walden in Christopher John Rogers

When Jamaica Walden eloped to California wine country, she did so in the 004 Strawberry Dress by Christopher John Rogers, a tribute to her mother, who had worn pink at her own wedding. “She is my style icon and a constant source of inspiration.” 

Image credit: Rene Vaile. From Emma Mulholland channelled Princess Diana at her ‘Pretty in Pink’ riverside wedding

Emma Mulholland in Aggie Choi

“When my husband Gareth [Budge] and I met, I had pink hair, and it’s always been a signature colour for me and the brand. He kept suggesting I bring the look back for the wedding, which I did think about, but in the end, I incorporated the element into the dress.”

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