What is The Meaning of an Ivory Wedding Dress?

Meanwhile, an ivory wedding dress encompasses everything a white dress does – and even more. Like white, ivory is associated with innocence, virtue, and balance.

When choosing a white vs. ivory wedding dress, you should consider the ivory’s warmth. Apart from practical implications, this subtle yellowish hint also carries a different meaning.

An ivory wedding dress embodies elegance, modesty, and wisdom. It’s a well-balanced, traditional color that suits any bride and represents all the traits a woman needs to live a happy married life.

History

Ivory is a color with a long, fascinating history that stems from the early Middle Ages. The first record of the word “ivory” being used to describe a color in the English language dates to the 1380s’.

Ivory is one of the colors that were named after an actual thing they resemble. Ivory is a hard material made from animal teeth or tusks. It has an off-white, slightly yellowish color, often described as very light beige.

Since the early times, ivory was considered a precious material due to its scarcity and cruelty involved in its production. People mainly used ivory to make carved interior elements, jewelry, and ritual items.

Natural ivory is now banned in many regions and replaced with synthetic ivory as its production has endangered multiple elephant species. However, ivory preserved its high value throughout the centuries.

That’s why an ivory wedding dress may symbolize luxury and prosperity. It represents something rare, unique, and exclusive.

Virtue

Ivory color has long been associated with virtue. It’s a perfect color for brides who have high moral ground and wish to be an example to others. Such symbolism lies in the history of ivory as a material.

One of the main objectives of religion is teaching people to lead lives of virtue, co-exist in peace, and help each other. And ivory was historically closely tied with religion in many regions.

In Ancient Greece, ivory was commonly used for cult figurines. People carved from animal tusks figures of gods, emperors, and famous warriors. Many Late Roman Empire figurines and diptychs ended up in church treasuries.

Anglo-Saxons observed the same practice – historians found numerous examples of ivory crosses with intricate carvings dating to the 10th-13th centuries.

In Byzantine, ivory was commonly used for triptych carving during the Iconoclastic period. They often depicted Biblical motifs and were likely used for devotion.

Asia always was a significant center for ivory production, trade, and carving. In India, it was often used to make figurines of Lakshmi – the Goddess of wealth, fortune, beauty, and virtue.

It’s easy to see how ivory became associated with honor, integrity, and high morale. An ivory wedding dress means that the bride strives for ethical behavior and values her principles.

Chastity

If you ask someone what the color of chastity is, they will likely answer “white.” However, from a historical point of view, ivory has more rights to be associated with purity and innocence.

The practice of wearing white for a wedding can be traced to over 2,000 years back. In the Roman Republic, brides used to wear white tunics.

However, at that time, “white” wasn’t snow white like we’re used to nowadays. Instead, the tunics were off-white or yellowish-white. Today, we know this color as ivory.

White and its shades represented the bride’s chastity and her transition into a married Roman matron. Romans associated white color with Goddess of hearth Vesta.

When the Roman Empire Era ended, white wedding dresses fell out of fashion. Women used to wear the best clothing they had regardless of color. The Queen Victoria of England brought back the tradition in 1840.

In Victorian times, white or ivory wedding dresses were associated with wealth and elegance rather than chastity.

They weren’t a practical choice for most women, as only the wealthy ones got married in clean places where the dress wouldn’t become dirty.

Although modern ivory wedding dress symbolism may be different from Roman times, it remains the liturgic color of purity, virginity, and strength in Christianity.

Interesting fact – Tower of Ivory is one of the Virgin Mary’s names. And Jesus’ mother is among the oldest symbols of chastity in the world.

Warmth

Let’s drift away from religious and cultural implications for a minute. In general, ivory is associated with warmth in all its manifestations. The warmth of the home, sun, hug of the loved one – you name it.

It’s no wonder, as ivory is a warm, yellowish shade of white. Light ivory can be easily confused with pure white, but only until you see these shades side by side.

Note that even such a subtle undertone difference can significantly impact your overall appearance. Thankfully, ivory shade is much more versatile than pure white with distinctly cool undertones.

Pure white suits a relatively small fraction of women. It looks best on women with medium to the dark complexion with neutral or warm undertones. It may make brides with cool fair skin appear too pale and tired.

Ivory, in turn, suits women of any complexion. It will look equally stunning on brides with fair and dark, warm and cool skin, making the complexion glow.

So, if you aren’t sure whether you should pick a white or ivory wedding dress – choose the latter. You can’t go wrong with ivory color.

This undertone difference has not solely practical but also symbolic discrepancies. Bright, pure white color is undoubtedly beautiful, but it doesn’t represent the desire for home comfort and affection that ivory color does.

Tradition

It’s hard to argue that brides choosing ivory wedding dresses value tradition. Ivory was used for wedding attires long before pure white came into play.

In the times when you can pick a wedding dress of any color, be it pink, red, or black, sticking with white or ivory may be considered conservative and even boring – and so be it. Ivory is a timeless classic that never goes out of fashion.

Traditions are passed from generation to generation, bringing people together. And this symbolism perfectly fits such a family-centered occasion as a wedding.

By choosing an ivory wedding dress, the bride shows the great importance she places on family ties and cultural heritage. She symbolically vows to preserve the family traditions and expresses respect to the older generations.

An ivory wedding dress is a perfect option for a church ceremony due to religious implications, but it will look equally stunning on the dancefloor. And such a traditional choice will undoubtedly be appreciated by elderly wedding guests.

Ivory is also the traditional 14th wedding anniversary gift. Of course, natural ivory isn’t common nowadays, so anything of ivory color will do the job.

Stability & Balance

Ivory is a highly durable material – it doesn’t scratch easily and doesn’t burn. Historical ivory artifacts can be preserved in excellent condition throughout many centuries.

Furthermore, ivory carvings have long been used to embody eternal values and beliefs – values that are passed on from generation to generation and praised regardless of cultural and political changes.

Thus, ivory color represents stability and loyalty to one’s philosophy or loved ones. These are essential characteristics of a happy family encompassed in an ivory wedding dress.

Ivory is also a calming, relaxing color that can ease headaches and anxiety. It’s a neutral shade we can look at for extended periods without getting tired. Ivory helps to balance emotions and brings harmony.

The tiny hint of yellow in ivory color makes it feel exceptionally cozy and comfortable without being overly saturated. For this reason, ivory color is so popular in interior design.

Ivory color makes people feel safe and sane. And being close to your loved one is supposed to bring the same feeling of safety like ivory color does.

Elegance & Modesty

Ivory is an endlessly elegant color. It’s a neutral yet not bland shade that is not as saturated as champagne and not as bright as snow white.

While a champagne wedding dress meaning is celebration and cheer, an ivory wedding dress embodies modesty.

A woman dressed in ivory color broadcasts to the world that she doesn’t seek attention because she already knows her worth. Ivory is a perfect wedding dress color for modest brides who find white too radiant.

Wisdom

The idiom “ivory dome” refers to a highly intellectual person, for instance, a professor or teacher. The ivory color is associated with wisdom and a high level of expertise.

Building a strong relationship requires wisdom, and wisdom comes over time. For this reason, ivory wedding dresses are commonly chosen for a woman’s second wedding.

While pure white symbolizes innocence, ivory represents the wisdom and experience acquired from the first marriage.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t wear ivory for your first (and hopefully, the last) wedding. But ivory is an excellent alternative for women worried about wearing white for the second wedding.