How to Choose the Best Bridesmaid Dress Colors

Dresses & Accessories
Written By Colleen McCarthy
 
PInterest pin of a bridesmaid in a purple dress with the title "Best Bridesmaid Dress Colors".

A bridesmaid in deep purple, with a calla lily bouquet.

 

When you start thinking about your bridesmaid dress colors, it seems like a lot to ask for, from just one dress. It has to be pretty enough for a wedding. But comfortable enough to wear all day. 

The ideal color would match the wedding palette, or coordinate with the wedding style. Most importantly, it should be a color that’s flattering on everyone. With all these requirements, how do you choose the best color for your bridesmaid dresses?

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Choosing the Best Bridesmaid Dress Colors

When you’re deciding on the colors for your bridesmaid dresses, there’s a few different strategies you can use:

  • Use your wedding color palette.

  • Match your bridesmaids’ coloring.

  • Match your wedding season.

  • Choose neutral colors for your bridesmaid dresses.

Use Your Wedding Color Palette for Your Bridesmaid Dresses

When you’re choosing the colors for your bridesmaid dress, you can use the color palette you’ve chosen for your wedding. It your wedding colors don’t look good in clothing, you can choose a lighter shade instead. 

For example, if you’ve chosen a bright yellow for your wedding color, you might not want to dress your best friends in that shade. You can look for dresses in a pale yellow instead. The dresses will coordinate with your wedding style and your friends will look fabulous.

Choose Dresses to Match Your Bridesmaids’ Coloring

Depending on your bridal party, the same color might not look great on everyone. You might all have different hair color, eye color and skin tones. Hot pink could look great on a brunette - but not so great on a redhead. One way to make sure everyone looks great is to choose mix and match bridesmaid dresses.

Mix and Match Bridesmaid Dresses

If you have bridesmaids with different coloring, you can choose a palette of colors instead of just one. Each bridesmaid can wear the color that suits her the best. When you’re choosing colors for mix and match bridesmaid dresses, it’s important to give them some direction:

  • Preselect a few colors and let them choose any dress in that palette.

  • If they choose different dresses, have a unifying element. For example, all the dresses should be the same length, or the same fabric.

  • Or you can select one bridesmaid dress style, in a few different colors. Let your bridesmaids choose the color most flattering on them.

Order Sample Swatches of Bridesmaid Colors

Most dressmakers offer fabric samples. It’s nice to have swatches to check and compare. You can order a few in different shades, if you’re undecided. If you’re doing mismatched bridesmaid dresses, you can order a few different colors, to check how they look next to each other.

Dress Colors to Match Your Wedding Season

Some bridesmaid dress colors are perfectly suited for certain seasons. Think pretty pastels, like dusty blue and blush pink for a spring wedding. Sage green or dusty rose would be perfect colors for a summer wedding.

Colors like burnt orange and gold would be gorgeous at a fall wedding. Deep jewel tones, like red or hunter green would be a great choice for a winter wedding.

Bridesmaid Dress Spring Colors

If you’re planning a spring wedding, you can look for colors that suit the fresh, light season. Consider pretty pastels for your bridesmaid dresses. Dusty or muted shades of blue, pink, peach or yellow are some other great choices for springtime.

  • Dusty blue

  • Slate blue

  • Sea glass

  • Buttercup

  • Blush pink

  • Blossom 

  • Peony

  • Peach

  • Cantaloupe 

  • Wisteria 

  • Lilac 

 
Six bridesmaids posing in dusty blue dresses.

Different bridesmaid dress styles in Fog blue.

 

Summer Dresses For Bridesmaids

Lots of colors will work great at a summer wedding. You can choose muted tones, like sage green and dusty rose. Or for a more vibrant color palette, consider royal blue, purple or hot pink for your bridesmaid dresses.

  • Sage green

  • Sea foam

  • Dusty rose

  • Rosewood

  • Pink

  • Royal blue

  • Cornflower blue

  • Mint 

  • Sky blue

  • Teal 

  • Yellow satin

  • Hot pink

  • Berry 

  • Purple

  • Violet

 
Bride posing with four bridesmaids wearing sage green dresses.

Mismatched bridesmaid dresses in Sage Green.

 

Bridesmaid Dress Colors For Fall

If you’re planning a fall wedding, you might have chosen a classic color palette. Some perfect colors for fall include burnt orange, rust orange, red and brown. If you’re looking for more glam colors, gold bridesmaid dresses are a fantastic choice for a fall wedding.

  • Red

  • Spice 

  • Cinnamon 

  • Burnt orange

  • Mustard

  • Marigold 

  • Mahogany

  • Brown

  • Gold

  • Moss

  • Fog 

  • Dusty sage

  • Cinnamon rose

  • Eggplant 

  • Mulberry

 
Bridesmaid wearing a red dress, walking down the aisle with a groomsman.

Bridesmaid dress Rose in Cinnamon.

Bridesmaid wearing a v neck dress in gold.

Bridesmaid dress Dottie in Gold.

 

Mismatched Fall Bridesmaid Dresses

Fall colors look fabulous together. If you’re doing mismatched bridesmaid dresses, you can choose from all the colors of the season. Consider mixing and matching orange, gold, rust and brown. Or you can choose your favorite fall color and let your bridesmaids choose different styled dresses.

 
Four bridesmaids wearing dresses in different styles and the same spice orange color.

Mix and match bridesmaid dresses in Spice.

 

Colors For a Bridesmaid Dress Winter Wedding

Deep colors like burgundy, navy blue or hunter green look great at winter weddings. If you’d like a neutral color for your bridesmaid dresses, black is an elegant and sophisticated choice that would be perfect at a winter wedding.

  • Burgundy

  • Claret 

  • Maroon

  • Bordeaux 

  • Plum 

  • Navy blue

  • Marine 

  • Sapphire

  • Hunter green

  • Emerald green

  • Black

 
Bridesmaid wearing a navy blue dress and holding a burgundy and pink bouquet.

Bridesmaid dress Cameron in Navy.

Rustic bride posing with six bridesmaids wearing black dresses.

Rustic wedding with black bridesmaid dresses.

 

Choose Neutral Colors For Your Bridesmaid Dresses

If you’d like a color that looks good on everyone, there’s lots of beautiful neutrals to choose from. For a romantic look, you can try rose gold or champagne for your bridesmaid dress colors. 

A little black dress looks great on everyone. Or consider a pretty gray, taupe or blush for neutral colored dresses.

Some bridesmaid dress colors that look good on everyone are:

  • Blush pink

  • Champagne

  • Rose gold

  • Taupe

  • Latte 

  • Fawn

  • Ivory

  • White

  • Dove 

  • Gray

  • Charcoal 

  • Black

 
Bridesmaid wearing a dress with rose gold sequins.

Bridesmaid dress Davis in Rose Gold.

 
 

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Pinterest pin of a bride and two bridesmaids wearing gold dresses and the title "Choosing Bridesmaid Dress Colors".

A bride with two bridesmaids, wearing champagne colored dresses.

 
Colleen McCarthy
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