Tripping the light fantastic

Dearly beloved Golden Globe viewers: Sunday night’s festivities at the Beverly Hilton Hotel were, in fact, a celebration of movies and television, not a wedding. But observers could be excused for some confusion as they watched many stars step along the red carpet in colors suited for a bride and her bridesmaids. Actresses such as Goldie Hawn, Nicole Kidman and Kristin Davis dressed in bright white or the palest of hues, while Halle Berry and Debra Messing chose designers best known for their wedding dresses.

And their dates? Well, guys at these awards shows always look as if they’re headed for the altar.

So whatever happened to black?

“I love white because it reflects light, and that’s what we’re all made of,” said Hawn, in a white- and cream-colored brocade gown with zigzagging strips and a fishtail back by John Galliano for Dior.

Others opting for light-hued creations included Beyonce Knowles, Elisha Cuthbert and Sarah Wynter. Messing looked stellar in an off-white Vera Wang halter dress with a deep-V neckline that plunged to her navel. (Wang, of course, made a name for herself designing wedding gowns.) The straps of her shoes were adorned with butterflies, one of the evening’s favorite accessories.

“I’m living dangerously tonight, don’t you think?” quipped Messing. “I fell madly in love with this dress when I saw it. I wanted to wear something light and ethereal and something that, well, had a funky neckline. It works, right?”

Knowles looked like a fairy-tale princess in a Les Habitudes flower-embroidered corseted ball gown. Davis went with a halter dress by Donna Karan. “This dress makes me feel like I’m walking down an old Hollywood red carpet. I just think it’s a nice change from black. Why wear black when you can wear white?”

Berry appeared in a baby-blue cloud of a dress -- sheer and elegant -- by wedding designer Reem Acra. “I wanted something glamorous but not over the top,” Berry said. Kidman made her entrance in a soft lilac mermaid dress with a back bustle by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent. Earrings practically the size of chandeliers dangled above her bare shoulders.

Other actresses chose ethnic themes for their gowns. Laura Elena Harring accessorized her Gai Mattiolo velvet and tulle burgundy gown with a 22-carat gold and ruby and emerald-loaded choker she recently bought on a trip to Sri Lanka. CCH Pounder felt “like a princess from a faraway land” in her Angela Dean yellow tunic top over a multicolored ball gown skirt inset with gemstones. And Helen Mirren went for what she called a Frida Kahlo look with a Christian Lacroix couture gown: black with embroidered flowers.

Of course, no awards ceremony would be complete without a bit of Halloween -- best costume was a tie between Sharon Stone in a black flapper-dominatrix Versace gown and Lara Flynn Boyle, who looked like a second-grader headed for a dance recital in a pink tulle ballerina get-up. Tutu much.