16 (Awesome) Nontraditional Wedding Dresses

Kate Headley

Who says you need to wear a big white ball gown?

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Kate Headley
These Red Wedding Dresses Will Have You Re-Thinking White

White wedding dresses are classic, but they're far from the only option. Nowadays brides are getting more and more creative, opting for wedding dress styles and shades that are as one-of-a-kind as they are. Non-white hues bring vibrancy, personality, and intrigue to any wedding, and are great for the bride who wants to stand out. Not to mention, they can be worn again (if that's your thing) and may be less prone to unsightly stains. Name a color of the rainbow and we've probably seen it, which goes to show that there's nothing wrong with a little wedding-day fashion diversity. We love it when brides go off the beaten path and wear non-white wedding dresses, separates, or custom-designed bridal looks. Here, a roundup of our favorite unconventional dresses from real weddings.

Red Wedding Dress

Because in traditional Indian culture, only widows wear white, the bride wore a statement-making scarlet Vera Wang dress.

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Black & White Wedding Dress

Trent Bailey Photography
Get Wedding Dress Wisdom from Vera Wang

While the bride initially desired a simple white silk gown, she couldn't resist this Vera Wang black-and-white gown. She completed the look with leather gloves.

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Printed Wedding Dress

Corbin Gurkin
Get Inspired by These Floral Wedding Dresses

This fashion-forward bride wore a custom Stella McCartney top and skirt with bold floral details. Whimsical star-studded platform Oxford shoes completed the look.

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Red Wedding Dress

Aaron Delesie
Go Inside Chrissy & John's Wedding In Italy

Chrissy Teigen slipped into a hot-red dress for the reception at her wedding to John Legend.

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Boho Wedding Dress

Max & Friends
Get the Best Boho-Chic Wedding Ideas

For her bohemian wedding reception, this bride selected a sexy brown silk Rubin and Chapelle gown.

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Green Wedding Gown

The bride chose a celery-colored silk faille gown with intricate hand beading all over—including on her Christian Dior booties!

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Tie-Dyed Wedding Dress

Q Weddings

A rock-'n-roll bride through and through, she stunned in a custom Momo Soho gown of tie-dyed silk satin.

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Gold Gown

Brushfire Photography
More Gold Wedding Ideas

Gilded hair accessories matched this bride's strapless ivory-and-gold wedding dress perfectly.

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Peach Wedding Dress

Taylor Lord
Why Peaches and Cream is a Great Wedding Color Combo

This bride wore a peach Vera Wang gown and held an all-white bouquet—such an eye-popping look.

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Something Blue Wedding Dress

Elizabeth Messina Photography
Get Unique Ideas for Your "Something Blue"

At this Connecticut wedding, the bride's "something blue" was her wedding dress! The Oscar de la Renta gown took 25 people and 650 hours to make.

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Ocean-Hued Gown

KT Merry
Get Inspired by These Dreamy Beach Wedding Dresses

This bride wore a baby blue Oscar de la Renta gown to her destination wedding in the Maldives. The dress matched the light blue hue of the ocean. 

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Fun and Colorful Dress

A Bryan Photo

This bride found her wedding dress in a store in Old San Juan while in town with her mom and sister to plan the wedding. "I made a few alterations that felt special and custom, adding a pink suede wrap belt borrowed from my mother and changing out the buttons on the cuffs for enamel ones with crystal accents," said the bride. "It really just felt like 'me' and because it had a tiny bit of blue in the pattern, I automatically had my something blue—an incidental but fun detail."

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Fringed Wedding Dress

Sara Hasstedt
More Fringed Wedding Ideas

This bride worked with Christina Kara of Blue to create a custom gown featuring a tea-length hem and fringe detailing. 

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Nude Wedding Dress

Carrie Patterson Photography

Instead of a traditional white or ivory, this bride's nude Vera Wang gown with petal and lace details fit the rustic feel of her Wyoming ranch wedding.

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Sparkling Gown

Rebecca Fishman for Birds of a Feather

We love this bride's sparkly Aiden Mattox number.

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Floral Wedding Dress

Shaun Menary Photography
YolanCris Spring 2017 Wedding Dress Collection

"I didn't expect to wear a blue floral dress or one this romantic," said this bride. "But the minute I put it on, the gown"—a blue and cream strapless number by YolanCris—"really spoke to me."  

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