Vibrant, exciting? You don't dress in pale color and you don't have to dress your wedding that way either! Here's a list of colors and their meanings in our society.

WHITE: Brides have been dressing in white since 1840, when Queen Victoria married in a white, opulent gown. Before that, brides wore any color but black. White symbolizes purity, the innocence of childhood. In the Christian liturgy, it symbolizes the brightness of the day.

GOLD: In Christian liturgy, gold, like white, symbolizes the brightness of the day. In our culture, it often symbolizes riches. As a trim or accessory to earth tones (brown, green, orange) it may give vibrancy and glow. It also works well with bright and full colors such as burgundy, deep green.

BLACK: The traditional color of mourning, but recently it has become the color of sophistication. For a svelte wedding, it is perfectly acceptable to dress your bridesmaids in black, perhaps with white accessories and trim. It also can make a maturing accent with a bright or light main color.

PURPLE/VIOLET: Way back to early Egypt, purple has represented royalty. During the Renaissance, purple, deep red and black were royal colors and, at time, ordinary people could be arrested for using those special colors. But you can use them! Purple, in Christian liturgy, symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ and repentance of sin. In China, though, purple is the color of mourning.

RED: Usually a symbol of blood and fire, it is a conflicted color: One side expresses war and violence, but the other side expresses love, warmth and compassion. Our brides don't usually wear red, but in China it is the traditional color for a wedding dress and symbolizes good luck. It is traditional in India, also. Consider using red, if you love it, at your wedding.

GREEN: Symbol of growth. Combines the spiritual aspect of blue and the emotional vibrancy of yellow. It combines beautifully with other earth tones as well as gold tones. In China is represents the Yin, the passive and receptive principle.

BLUE: Color of the sky, this color is associated with spirituality, feminity (although it is true that boy babies often wear it,) fidelity, cleanness and freshness. There is very little negative aspect associated with this color!

PINK: This is a ?new? color, invented in the 17th Century to describe the color of the flowers called pinks. We think of it as a feminine, sweet color, but in Japan, adult movies are called ?pink? movies. In Catholicism is symbolizes joy and happiness.

YELLOW: Shine, light, knowledge, happiness, and joy. On the other side, it suggests deceit and cowardice. In Egypt it is traditionally associated with mourning, in Japan, courage. The Chinese connect it to the Yang principle of Yin-Yang?the active, creative male side.

ORANGE: It is reported that people who love life like orange. It is stimulating but warm. It adds verve to earth tones and, when used with white, reminds people of those childhood treats, vanilla ice-cream wrapped in orange Popsicle.

BROWN: Could be dull, but it is considered natural, down-to-earth, friendly, dependable. A neutral you can mix with many other colors to warm your celebration.

So consider your wedding image: Vibrant? Responsible? Warm? Gentle? Compassionate? A forever, steady relationship? Think about what your colors are saying!