(Illustration via Wedding Dress Online)

The other day on the Huffington Post wedding page, in the Ask Amsale column, a bride asked what to do if she doesn’t look good in white.

Amsale tells the bride to look into a gown in ivory, blush, caffe, or champagne.

Those are all good suggestions… as far as they go. But there’s an important thing to keep in mind: what color you wear makes no difference to the legality or spiritual significance of your wedding, or the commitment you feel in your marriage. White or a neutral color is not required to be a bride.

So pick a color you like, look and feel good in. You are still a bride whether you wear white, pink, bright orange, ice blue, kelly green, or purple like the woman in the photo at top of this article. My own beloved mother wore scarlet from head to toe – including her stockings! – at her 1959 wedding to my father. When she died more than thirty years later, they were still in love.

That’s the part that matters. Not what color the dress is.

(Illustration via Cap Classique)

It’s been quite a while since I talked about brides in glasses here, so I thought I’d discuss it a bit today.

Most of us know Dorothy Parker’s quip:

Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses

But you know what? Men do. And women do. And some of those men and women who do make passes at girls in glasses wind up marrying them.

If you’re one of those brides who wears glasses, there’s good news! In decades past, nearly everyone would have advised you to leave off your specs and simply crash adorably into walls when you aren’t specifically on someone’s arm. This, though, is bad advice and the world is beginning to get the heck over it.
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(Image via The Breathtaking Bride)

Shopping for a wedding gown can be one of the most exciting, and one of the most frustrating parts of planning a wedding.

It’s exciting because you’re getting to play dress up with wildly luxurious dresses, the like of which you will probably never wear again. It’s exciting because finding that just right dress makes the whole thing seem real for the first time to a lot of women. It’s exciting because salons pamper brides.

It’s frustrating because it’s rare that a bride has the budget for the really spectacular gowns. It’s frustrating because sometimes it’s hard to know which gown to pick… especially when choosing between gowns that look an awful lot alike. It’s frustrating because everyone you bring with you has an opinion, and sometimes it’s the polar opposite of yours, which leads to second-guessing and fear of making a bad decision.

And then there are those oh-so-helpful guides to choosing the right gown for your figure flaws.
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This was the picture illustrating an article at Stuff.co.nz by one Paula Joye on the dearth of style to be found in brides.

I don’t know about you, but this picture doesn’t look like any wedding day I’ve seen. It looks more like a scene from a comedy film about wedding excess, or an ironic bridal anti-fashion show.

In the article itself, Joye provides just one illustration of the way she believes that nearly all brides completely eschew good taste and redo themselves horrifically. She felt the bride in question would wear something along the lines of what Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy wore on her wedding day, but the lady went for a hoopskirt and tiara, bridesmaids in red dresses with puffed sleeves and more makeup than she normally wears. Was it all the excessive horror that Joye describes? I don’t know. She apparently thought that photograph was an apt illustration of how the majority of brides choose to look at their weddings. It may well be that her description is similarly exaggerated for effect.

But in one thing I do agree with Joye: it’s best to be yourself on your wedding day. Whether your style is typically fresh-faced girl next door, Burlesque babe, goth til it hurts, or sleek elegant lady, be the best version of that you can accomplish. Be aware that the camera can wash you out, so do wear slightly more makeup than usual (unless your usual is already taking this into consideration), and don’t be afraid to try a somewhat more dramatic style of dress than you usually wear, since this isn’t a typical day. Just remember who you are at your heart, and try to express it well.

After all, your intended chose you. Be you when you walk down that aisle.

Let’s talk about bridal ponytails. I don’t mean some really uppity up-do masquerading as a bridal ponytail, but rather sleek and simple bridal ponytails that are totally accessible to the DIY bride with a little pre-wedding practice. And before you reject this easy-peasy wedding day hairstyle, remember that there’s nothing that says a bride has to have hair teased into the stratosphere.

Isn’t that a sweet look? Admittedly, it’s unfussy and less-than-formal, but some brides are like that. And a simpler hairstyle can really showcase an elaborate wedding gown and/or bridal jewelry. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with pairing a sweet and simple wedding dress with a pony! Want to see more? There are six awesome examples of bridal ponytails under the cut!

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Manolo says, please allow the Manolo to introduce to you the latest addition to the Manolosphere: the blog edited by our good friend Glinda, and devoted to helping you look your best through the beatifying arts, it is : Manolo for the Beauty!

Remember Burt Bacharach singing that everybody’s beautiful in their own way?

Okay, maybe I’m dating myself a bit. Frankly I never much cared for the song, either, but I loved the philosophy behind it. In fact, I believe in it utterly.

There are plenty of guides out there to tell us that if we don’t meet a specific and increasingly narrow set of specs, we can’t be lovely brides. This is flat out codswallop! You don’t need to be a particular size – either vertically or horizontally – to be beautiful. Just go out there and shake what your mama gave you, whether it’s a little or a lot. Remember, that other person at the altar fell in love with you at the height that you are, loves you at the weight you happen to have, and probably isn’t horrified if your teeth aren’t actually whiter than your veil.

Take a good look at some awesome ladies who rocked their bodies at their weddings even if they weren’t considered an ‘ideal’ size and let’s lighten up about height and weight.

A beautiful bride can be quite thin.
via
(Sanity watchers note: don’t read the article or the comments if you don’t want to deal with a whole lot of ‘eat a sandwich, already’ rhetoric. You cannot tell a person’s health from their weight. Yes, she might have an eating disorder or a wasting disease… or she might be just naturally very, very thin. It does happen.)
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