Once upon a time, a woman only wore an ivory gown when she was... tainted (a "nice" way of saying pregnant, already had children, second marriage, etc.). In fact, it might cause a scandal if a woman otherwise presumed to be virginal wore something besides bright white on her wedding day.

In today's age, it's not uncommon for a bride to wear white to her second wedding, or for a first-time bride to wear ivory. Ivory is a softer color, and it's more flattering to most skin tones than white. All white can actually be quite stark.

Some brides even choose to stroll down the aisle in a white dress with a pop of color -- such as a sash -- that complements the wedding colors. At the extreme, a small but growing number of brides even decide to shock everyone with a bold red dress.

While white may be a sign of purity in the Western world, brighter colors are often the tradition in many Eastern cultures -- symbolizing good luck or future wealth and prosperity. Check out Red Hot Brides for more pictures of women who made the bold choice of wearing a colored dress.

When I was looking for a dress, one of the options that I was leaning toward (and even purchased but returned) was a beautiful ivory lace gown. However, the main reason that I had doubts had nothing to do with the outdated stigma associated with ivory.

The main problem with ivory is that it's just hard to match. Everything about weddings is centered around the color white. From the shirts and spectator shoes that the men in our bridal party are wearing, to the flowers in my bouquet, to the linens on our tables: White takes a co-starring role in most weddings.

Part of me wanted to just wear it anyway. It's close enough, right?

The answer is, "No!"

After talking to my photographer, it turns out that ivory really does show up as dingy when put next to pure white.... And I'm sure that all of my Spelman sisters can agree that the one girl that decided to wear a cream dress for her traditional attire during our first convocation stuck out like a sore thumb.

Me on April 11, 2006 (Class Day) at Spelman in my traditional white dress attire: white dress, flesh-toned stockings, black closed-toe shoes.

In the end, I decided to go with a white wedding dress. Despite all of the unique things that Lu and I are bringing to this wedding, tradition wins on this one.

** Wedding Porn Wednesday: Wedding Gown Style **

Since it is Wedding Porn Wednesday, I would be remiss if I didn't discuss some wedding gown porn. Besides being spammed by all sorts of bridal boutiques, here's some of the better porn that tempted even me:

1) The David's Bridal $99 sale: It lured me into the store twice -- enough said. No, that's not enough because I walked out both times with a great dress. Even though I returned the ivory dress, I was still definitely pleased with my experience.

2) Free Stuff: At some boutiques, they'll offer you free veils, shoes, undergarments, etc. if you buy a dress. Since these accessories can rack up to several hundred dollars purchased separately, it's definitely worth checking out these deals.

3) Running of the Brides at Filene's Basement: The ultimate example of what the wedding industry can do to otherwise normal women. One store + One day + 1700 designer wedding gowns for 70-90% off (i.e. $10,000 dresses selling for $249) + hundreds of "teams" of bridesmaids, moms, etc. = Mayhem!!... But mayhem that's supposed to be really fun. If you're getting married soon, the Chicago event is on Friday, DC's in July 30, and Boston and Cleveland are having their sales at the end of August.