Dear Petal’s Edge,
I’ve always wanted all white flowers in my wedding, but the dress I chose is ivory. All of the flowers I am looking at seem to be labeled as “white” though. Can I have a white bouquet with an ivory dress? Are there enough ivory flowers out there?
– Jenna T.
Dear Jenna,
White vs. ivory. The ultimate conundrum for brides, as very few dresses these days are pure white and therefore don’t match other things that are said to be “white”. Very tricky when dealing with paper and fabrics but a little easier with flowers, as they are very forgiving.
The thing is that Mother Nature almost never makes anything a pure white. Most of what we call “white” flowers are actually varying shades of ivory, ranging from very close to pure white to truly almost yellow in tone. So yes! There are definitely plenty of ivory flowers out there. And if you have your heart set on a very simple bouquet such as only roses, then make sure your florist knows which shade your dress is. They can recommend the best rose variety to get you to closer to either a true ivory or a pure white.
Most brides don’t want a simple bouquet of a single type of flower, which means that there is a good chance that some of the shades of the flowers used won’t match your dress. Not to fear! The wonderful thing about flowers is that because they have such a dazzling array of textures (and sometimes even varying shades of the same color within a single bloom), nearly any white/ivory flower will go nicely with almost any other white/ivory flower and consequently your dress or other decor as well. It’s not about matching; it’s about complementing. Furthermore, all of those textures and shades will go a long way to helping the bouquet stand out from the dress.
So go on! Have that all “white” bouquet with that ivory dress! All that will happen is that the beautiful flowers will help make a beautiful bride even more beautiful.
Pro Tip: What actually is of more concern is what color ribbon your florist finishes your bouquet with. All shades of ivory are fairly forgiving, but white-white ribbon really will look out of place against an ivory dress. Make sure you don’t tell your florist the dress is white when really it’s some variety of ivory.
I hope that helps! Best wishes with your wedding!
Do you have a question about flowers or wedding planning? Send us your question in the comment field!
