How to choose the perfect shade of white or cream - Tips from Colour Me Beautiful
When searching for your wedding dress, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's an easy task just deciding between white and cream! However, although wedding dresses have traditionally been white or cream, these colours come in many different shades and you need to ensure that if you're going for white or cream, that you'll be choosing the most flattering shade for you. In order to help you, Cliff Bashforth, MD of style consultants Colour Me Beautiful, has shared his top tips with County Wedding Magazines.
When choosing either white or cream for your wedding dress, your starting point is to know your dominant colouring type. For ease we've broken this down into six categories and then given you suggestions as to your best shades. When trying on your dress, don't be afraid to try a variety of different shades and also fabrics, you'll know when you've found the right cream or white for you as it will harmonise with your skin tone, hair and eye colour.
Light: You have naturally blonde hair with lighter eyebrows and lashes, pale or light coloured eyes and fair skin. Your best White is a translucent white such as gardenia, which has a gentle subtlety to it. The very palest shade of cream, such as ivory, will be best for you as anything too strong might overwhelm your delicate, fair colouring. In terms of fabric you can choose both light-reflecting and matt fabrics.
Deep: You have dark hair, dark eyes. Your skin depth can be from porcelain to black. For your strong colouring you need a bold, intense white, such as chalk white. The intensity of the shade can also be enhanced by selecting heavier rather than sheer fabrics. You need to wear the deepest shade of cream you can find such as vanilla. Avoid the palest, pastel shades. To enhance the colour of the fabric and give it richness, use texture embellishment or lace.
Warm: Your hair colour is any shade of red, from auburn, copper to strawberry blonde. Eyes are any colour, and your skin will range from porcelain - often freckles, to golden brown. The choice of white for you needs a little thought. Balance the warm tones of your colouring with jasmine white, which includes a hint of yellow. The use of texture in fabrics such as shantung silk will soften the clarity of the white. Most creams are made just for you and your beautiful warm and golden colouring. If you want to add embellishment to your dress, think pearls, gold thread, ribbons and trims.
Cool: You have ash tones, blue-black or grey hair. Eyes can be any colour, and your skin depth can range from black to porcelain. You may even have a rosy complexion. Pure white will look good against your colouring. If you're very pale, a slight natural tan will enhance the white. Pure white lace gives you the option of softening the 'hard' quality of this colour. Your cream will be one with a hint of cool pink, such as shell, to balance your blue-based or rosy-toned skin. Avoid creams that are yellow based. Choose embellishments and accessories in silver, grey or bluish tones.
Clear: You have darker hair. Your eyes have a jewel-like quality and are often clear blue, green, hazel or topaz. Your skin depth will range from porcelain to black. The stunning clarity of orchid white will provide you with a backdrop for a colourful and sensational bouquet. Make sure whatever fabric you choose 'shines.' Your cream will be the brightest you can find, such as champagne to contrast with the brightness of your eyes and the strength of your hair colour. Select fabrics that have natural sheen, or are embellished with sparkles.
Soft: Your hair will be dark blonde, blonde, or highlighted. You have more of a blended appearance, as your eye colour will be soft and muted, and your skin depth from light to golden or rose brown. Your best version of white is a soft or winter white. Less clarity can often be achieved by selecting a textured fabric. Matt fabrics will absorb the light and therefore soften the colour. Medium shades of cream will look gorgeous on you. Oyster white will harmonise well with your softer colouring. Embroidery or lace placed on to a shiny fabric will create a more harmonious and elegant effect.
If you're still unsure then why not treat yourself to a bridal consultation with Colour Me Beautiful.
Bluewater's Signature Wedding Fair hosted by County Wedding Events
We live and breathe weddings at CWM towers, so we can't wait for our Signature Wedding Show at Bluewater on Sunday 18th October 2026! It's one of our Signature Wedding Shows of 2026's Spring wedding show season; and a must-visit for all those that got engaged over the summer months. The event brings couples that are desperate for face-to-face wedding planning in touch with local professionals who are on hand to help plan the wedding day. From photographers to cake makers, musicians to florists you're sure to tick a lot off of your to-do list by attending one of our County Wedding Events.
READ ARTICLE
Countdown to the County Wedding Events Signature Wedding Show at Mercedes-Benz World, Surrey
We live and breathe weddings at County Wedding Magazines and Events, so we can't wait for our Signature Wedding Show at Mercedes-Benz World, Surrey on Sunday 11th October, 2026! It's one of our biggest wedding shows of the spring wedding show season. The event brings couples in touch with local professionals who are on hand to help plan the wedding day. From photographers to cake makers, musicians to florists you're sure to tick a lot off of your to-do list by attending one of our County Wedding Events.
READ ARTICLE
County Wedding Events coming to Frasers, Kent!
If you're newlyweds-to-be embarking on your wedding planning journey, pop along to the County Wedding Events wedding show at Frasers, Kent for some much-needed inspiration on Sunday 4th October! Sister company to County Wedding Magazines the event brings couples that are desperate for face-to-face wedding planning in touch with local professionals who are on hand to help plan the wedding day. From photographers to cake makers, musicians to florists you're sure to tick a lot off of your to-do list by attending one of our County Wedding Events. Licensed to hold civil ceremonies, the idyllic rural setting at Frasers offers rustic charm and elegance. With panoramic views across the countryside, it provides a beautiful backdrop for your wedding photographs all year round.
READ ARTICLE
The 2026 UK Wedding Blacklist: The 10 Songs Couples Don’t Want on the Dancefloor
Modern British couples are officially rewriting the rules of wedding entertainment, according to new social listening research released today by UK live music and entertainment agency Jonny Ross Music. An analysis of social media discussions across TikTok and Reddit (r/UKweddings) reveals that traditional party staples are being systematically blacklisted in favour of curated, sophisticated setlists. The results point to a clear change in what younger couples want from their wedding receptions. Group dances, heavily played 2010s pop songs and football-style chants are among the tracks and trends couples are increasingly asking DJs and live bands to leave off their playlists.
