Ivory vs Champagne Wedding Dress: Which is Best For You?

While both ivory and champagne are among the most popular wedding dress colors, you shouldn’t take the choice between them lightly.

Although both colors have warm undertones, the seemingly subtle lightness variation can significantly impact your overall appearance.

A correctly chosen color will make your skin glow and enhance your facial features, guaranteeing you’ll look gorgeous. To achieve this, you should learn which shade of wedding dress suits you the best.

Undertone Differences

Ivory and champagne are sometimes used interchangeably. Some argue both are shades of white or beige. However, that’s very wrong.

The ivory color is the timeless classic of wedding dresses and, hands down, the most versatile shade. Ivory is commonly considered a shade of white rather than an independent color, unlike champagne.

Ivory shade can be described as a light, nearly white, warm color between pure white and beige. It has a very soft, warm hue, not distinct like that of beige or sand colors. Ivory is also commonly called off-white or cream.

Champagne is a much more distinct color than ivory. Even the name of this shade suggests it is celebratory and optimistic, awakening thoughts of a bubbly drink you’ll likely enjoy at your wedding.

Technically speaking, champagne is a yellowish-orangey shade of beige.

However, you may sometimes come across grayish-yellow or peachy wedding dresses described as champagne, too. Then, there’s pink champagne – but that’s a whole another story.

Champagne shouldn’t be confused with nude or mocha colors that are also popular in wedding dresses.

Nude wedding dresses have a balanced pinkish-yellow undertone that is closer to mid-beige, while mocha dresses are darker and brownish.

So, both ivory and champagne colors have warm undertones, though champagne undertones are more distinct. Champagne also tends to be darker, while ivory can sometimes be confused with regular white due to its lightness.

Consider Your Skin Tone

Your complexion should be the pivoting point in choosing your wedding dress color.

A correct wedding dress shade can make your skin glow and your overall appearance fresher. But if you pick the wrong color, you may get “lost” in it or look tired.

Both ivory and champagne are warm colors, so it would be logical to suggest that both suit brides with warm skin undertones. However, it isn’t that simple.

If your skin has very distinct warm undertones, a champagne wedding dress may be way too vibrant for you. It will enhance your skin’s warm undertones, making them more saturated.

Ivory also has a warm hue, but it’s more on the neutral side and is lighter. Thus, an ivory wedding dress will balance the warm undertones of your skin and make your complexion brighter.

Brides with neutral skin undertones are the luckiest in terms of wedding dress choice – they can pick any color they prefer. Both ivory and champagne will look harmonious on neutral skin, just like blue, pink, or snow white.

Brides with cool skin undertones may want to warm up their skin to avoid looking too pale. A champagne wedding dress will look especially flattering, though ivory is a great shade for women with cool skin undertones, too.

How to determine your skin undertone, though? Simple! Just look at your veins.

If your veins appear greenish, you have warm skin, and if they seem blue or purple, your skin is cool. If you can’t tell your vein color, you likely have a neutral complexion.

Another method of determining your skin undertones is trying on a white and off-white T-shirt (or a wedding dress).

You shouldn’t wear any makeup during the test. If the pure white looks better on you, your skin is warm, and the opposite.

Apart from skin undertone, there’s also the general skin shade – dark, olive, medium, or fair. Your skin shade doesn’t matter as much as the undertone when picking a wedding dress.

For instance, a champagne dress will look equally great on brides with fair or dark neutral skin. However, you may consider how contrasting you wish your dress to be for your complexion.

If you’re going for a more distinct, contrasting look, pick an ivory wedding dress for dark skin and champagne for fair skin.

And if you wish to achieve a more harmonious look, pick an ivory wedding dress for fair skin and champagne for darker shades.

Consider Your Eyes & Hair

Skin plays a vital role in determining which colors suit you the best. However, it isn’t the only factor that matters.

Your eyes and hair color may either create a beautifully balanced ensemble with your wedding dress shade or contradict each other.

Some women may even change their so-called “color season” after changing only their hair color.

For example, if your skin is medium with neutral undertones, you may appear as “winter” with black hair and “autumn” with ginger hair.

You can pick both champagne and ivory wedding dresses if you have warm and light hair and eyes, such as golden blonde or ginger hair and green eyes. However, ivory will look more neutral, whereas champagne will enhance the warmth.

Brides with cool light hair and eyes, such ashy blonde hair and blue eyes, will generally look better in champagne dresses. Ivory may make the skin look too pale.

Brides with warm dark hair color, such as auburn, will look striking in ivory dresses – a lighter color will create a beautiful contrast with the hair. The same applies to dark eyes. Champagne may oversaturate the look.

Brides with cool dark hair color and cool eyes can pull off both ivory and champagne dresses. This merely depends on the skin undertones.

If you have blonde hair, make sure it doesn’t merge with your dress color. So, if you have platinum blonde, go for a champagne dress, and if you have honey blonde, pick an ivory one.

Overall Style

If both ivory and champagne wedding dresses suit your skin, hair, and eye color, you may consider other factors, such as the overall style.

Ivory has been a traditional wedding dress color for decades. It’s a calming and relaxing shade associated with pureness and softness.

Champagne is a modern unconventional color, though not as extravagant as mint or black. The champagne color is associated with celebration, cheer, and positivity. It slightly resembles gold but lacks the sparkle.

An ivory wedding dress may be a better choice for modest brides who value tradition. It goes perfectly with neutral or cool accessories in minimalistic style.

Champagne wedding dress, in turn, will suit extroverted and cheerful brides who love to be in the center of attention. It looks best paired with neutral or distinctly warm accessories, especially gold or rose gold.

Lighting Matters

Lighting may affect how we perceive color, so you should consider your wedding venue when choosing your wedding dress. It’s also an essential point of consideration if you’re picking a wedding dress online based on pictures.

Even lighting in bridal salons may be deceiving. Ask the salon assistant to show you the dress near the window in natural light. Many dresses appear overly warm under artificial lighting.

If your wedding venue has distinctly warm lighting and your ceremony will be held in a church, an ivory dress may be a better option. Champagne color may seem too warm and saturated in low artificial light conditions.

However, if your wedding ceremony is held outdoors or your venue has bright neutral or cool lighting, ivory may look overly light and appear pure white.

Contrast

The contrast between your wedding dress color and your skin or hair plays a significant role.

Meanwhile, the contrast between your wedding dress fabric and decorative elements such as lace or beads is no less important yet often not taken into consideration.

A pure white lace pattern on a dark champagne dress creates a very distinct, noteworthy look and is bound to draw attention.

Note that not every bride can pull off such a contrast – your overall appearance must also be bright and contrasting.

If you have a muted appearance, for instance, dark skin with dark hair or light skin with blonde hair, the decorative elements should also match the wedding dress color to avoid them becoming the center of attention.

In this case, golden or beige lace on a champagne dress will be a better choice. On the opposite, if you’re going for an ivory dress, white lace will create a more muted look, whereas colorful lace creates contrast.

However, even brides who can pull off a contrasting look may wish the lace or bead pattern to be more subtle. And sometimes, the lace pattern is too beautiful to be hidden. It’s a matter of personal preference.

Lastly, the bigger the lace pattern, the more difference the base color makes. A small all-over lace pattern may blend with the base color, appearing as an even color from a distance.