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Brides Ditch White Wedding Gowns, Buck Tradition

From CNN Living. Ahhh...the white elephant garment.

"Instead of trying to fit a certain mold, Ariel Meadow Stallings cut up a lime-green prom dress she found on eBay, and paired it with an iridescent blue corset.

After all, it was her wedding day. She wanted to look and feel her best. "And that means wanting to wear the color you feel best compliments your skin tone and your hair," she said."

...

"And though lime green dresses like Stallings probably won't be popping up in bridal boutiques this season, designers have begun playing with colors like blush, ice blue, gray, latte -- a member of the beige family -- and even red.

"People are starting to open up their minds a bit," Rogers said. "It takes a certain bride -- usually a second wedding. They've already done the white, traditional gown. They don't want to feel like a first-time bride."

You mean people do this TWICE? I'd figure the cost of the first one was sticker shock enough to swear people off church weddings for civil ceremonies.

"Susie Collins wore a royal blue dress the second time around. Collins was 21 when she married the first time. "My mother planned it. ... It wasn't me. I was just going along with tradition," she said. "A lot of people get caught up in that ... and then it's not a happy day for them."

...

"[White] is universally hard to wear for so many body and skin types," she said. "And the average American bride is older now. ... The whole 'I'm a virgin and I'm wearing white' [thing] is kind of silly now."

Gerin, who paired a silk and chiffon, midnight blue wedding dress with a black coat, said being an anti-bride isn't "just about dressing up and being different. It's about channeling your lifestyle. ... And if you really want a super-traditional kind of wedding -- it's all about you."

Of course, there's no rule that says a wedding needs to fit into one category or the other."

...

"An 'offbeat wedding' isn't about being reactionary or rebellious or a rejection of something," Stallings said.

"It's picking up a wedding magazine and saying, 'this isn't me.'"

It wasn't me the first time around--I wore pearl gray baby-wale corduroy pants (tailored) and a bridal-laced blouse covering a white camisole to the Justice of the Peace office. I guess you could say I was traditional-looking from the waist up. This is what happens when you marry in winter--no dress for this arthritic!

No, there won't be a second time around in my future. I got all the man I can handle. :)

Either garment was wearable to other functions, together or separate. No white elephant garments in MY closet!

Posted by Cute at 9:17 PM

Labels: economy, financial (non-tax)