Archive for the ‘Brides’ Category

Jessica May Bridal Sale

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Let me get the specifics out of the way: It’s one wedding dress, in one size. If you’re lucky enough to fit a Bust: 34″ Waist: 28″ Hip: up to 37″ frock, you may still be able to purchase a stunning Jessica May Bridal gown for a mere $450. The designer, a a Utah based seamstress who specializes in custom-made modest bridal wear, occasionally sells one-off ready-to-wear dresses to clear out the piles and piles of fabrics that build up in her home.

modest wedding gown

This particular wedding gown was crafted from ivory satin and has a bodice lined in taffeta. The v-neckline is complemented by cap sleeves, a natural waist, and an a-line ivory lace skirt with pickups over natural colored cotton sateen lining. The Dupioni silk sash is not included, but costs a mere $12, and the veil, necklace, and earrings are also available for purchase.

If the dress currently for sale is too big or too small for your frame, Jessica May is still accepting custom orders from brides-to-be all over the US. Drop her an e-mail if you’re interested in setting up a consultation.

LOVE/HATE: The Golden Girls Edition

Friday, December 5th, 2008

I love gold wedding gowns, but I’m biased, having worn a gold gown myself. Tradition aside, I just couldn’t see myself wearing a white or ivory or cream dress. I’m naturally pale, so most of the whites I’ve encountered in my lifetime match my skin tone just a little too closely for comfort. Gold, on the other hand, made me look and feel all glowy and angelic.

Gold wedding dress

Here we have a metallic-blend French taffeta wedding gown in a beautiful light gold. Roses and beaded re-embroidered Alençon lace accent the bodice and embellish the two-tiered bubble skirt with its chapel train. Finally, the lace adorning the bodice is heavily beaded with Swarovski crystals.

I think I’d really like (maybe even love) this gown if the roses and Swarovski crystals and hangy beady thingies all went bye-bye. I like the overall shape of the bodice and it’s looking like I have finally found a bubble skirt I can appreciate. But as it exists now, this wedding gown is way too busy for my particular tastes, so I’m leaning toward hate… or at the very least, active dislike. The model seems to dislike it as well.

What say you?

Waiting, Going All the Way Style

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

First kiss

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most brides and grooms have shared a kiss (and possibly a whole lot more) before their weddings. With cohabitation going mainstream and s-e-x all over the p-l-a-c-e, the wedding of Melody LaLuz and Claudaniel Fabien is definitely unusual.

Melody and Claudaniel teach abstinence in the Chicago public school system and apparently practice what they preach. Prior to saying “I do,” the couple had never once locked lips. In fact, they’d never even been alone together in a house!

Their first kiss — begun only after their wedding officiant gave his permission — lasted a full two minutes and was punctuated by the stamping and hooting of onlookers.

“It feels like such a gift,” said Melody. “When you value a kiss, it becomes something of worth.”

The couple will leave for a honeymoon in the Bahamas today, but planned to stay in Chicago on Saturday night.

“We got business to take care of tonight,” her husband said, doing a little dance in his white suit while his new bride giggled.

Um, ew? I’m all for waiting if that’s your thing — in fact, it rocks that you’re so dedicated to your convictions! — but there’s something kind of creepy about the new groom alluding to the evening’s bedroom antics in a newspaper article. It makes me wonder if he announced at the reception that he and his new bride would be unavailable because they’d be “getting jiggy with it” from 8-10 p.m.

Bridal Necklaces, Four Ways

Monday, December 1st, 2008

It’s Monday (again), and perhaps you took the weekend off from the rigors of wedding planning so you and your sweetheart could have some quality time. Now that you’re back at your desk reading wedding blogs and thinking about all the things you still have left to buy for your nuptials, it’s time for some inspiration. On the chance you have not yet bought your bridal jewelry, here are six looks from Haute Bride in San Francisco that may get your creative juices flowing.

Bridal Jewelry from Haute Bride

The question, of course, is which to buy or emulate or craft! Most brides choose their bridal jewelry after picking out and putting a deposit down on a wedding gown, but if you’ve fallen in love with a certain style of necklace, there’s no reason you can’t base your wedding day look on your jewelry. While almost anything goes, there are some bridal necklace basics of which every bride-to-be should be aware.

Short Looks
Neck hugging necklaces are lovely when paired with strapless bodices (and long-necked brides), though don’t discount chokers if your wedding gown ends just below your collarbone. A substantial choker will look smashing sitting just above a boat or jewel neckline.

Insubstantial Looks
Simple, minimalist strands worn close to the throat (think y-drop or princess style necklaces) complement bateau and scoop necklines beautifully. Thin necklaces are a practical choice for brides who don’t want their jewelry to outshine their wedding dresses and/or want to wear their bridal necklace again.

Layered Looks
Necklaces can be heaped one upon the other or made to look that way, but almost all layered looks will pair best with simple, unadorned, low necklines. Layers of thicker necklaces can lessen the jarring impact of a plain strapless neckline, while thinner layers can add softness to a square neckline.

Long Looks
Necklaces with enough length to hang loose on both sides of the bride are best worn with wedding gowns that plunge in the back as well as the front… so the necklace itself can take center stage. This look is even more dramatic when the necklace is augmented with a jeweled brooch.

Personally, I opted for a loose but rather thick one-strand choker paired with a off-the-shoulder neckline. Now I’d love to know what you chose to wear or are planning to wear around your neck on your wedding day.

14 Sentences On Goodwill Wedding Dresses

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

second hand wedding gown

A woman I know loosely through another web site — one Diana Heideman — recently contributed a poem to that web site, and I was so enamored with it that I asked her if I could post it here in its entirety. She said yes, and I thought that the day before Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to take a break from all the wedding invitations and ceremony accessories and bridal bouquets.

Here is her poem, entitled “14 Sentences On Goodwill Wedding Dresses”:

Strapless, vanity size 0, from David’s Bridal, never worn with original tags.
She never lost the 50 pounds she swore she would, and bought the proper size the week before the wedding, and looked beautiful.

Eggshell sheath with sash, tags removed, altered, never worn.
Two months before the wedding, after the final fitting, her pregnancy test came back positive, and while she still fit in the dress, he did not want to be a father, and one morning he was gone.

Princess dress, beaded, some beads missing, carefully mended tears, light soiling on the hem.
Years after their mother’s wedding, three sisters each in turn played bride, or princess, dancing around in mama’s dress, but all three girls are grown now.

Vintage dress with intricate beading, carefully hand sewn from a pattern, worn once, musty but clean.
Her children and their children were too busy fighting over jewelry and furniture to notice her real treasures, and got rid of anything they couldn’t put a price on.

Tasteful silk tea-length dress, clearly worn, some wrinkles and snags in the fabric.
The dress was stuffed in the back of her closet after six years, two children, and one misplaced phone call that revealed his cheating, since she couldn’t bear the reminder of better times.

White satin dress with train, worn once, pristine condition.
The wedding and the marriage have been perfect, but she feels it criminal to put the dress away where it will never be worn again, so she offers someone else a sliver of the joy she has.

Traditional off-the-shelf classic gown, worn once, cared for well.
Always pragmatic and less than sentimental, after her only child–a son–was in college and she hit menopause, she saw no reason to keep a dress her family would never use again.

It’s rather bittersweet, no? But the overwhelming theme that runs throughout — that memories can and should be passed on, for better or for worse — is fascinating. Not many brides opt for second hand wedding dresses, but those who do are inadvertently sharing a rich history with someone they will likely never meet.

I gave my wedding gown to my paternal grandmother’s church so she or someone else from that institution could make sure it was passed on to a bride-to-be who both needed it and would enjoy it. I’ll probably never find out what happened to my dress, but I hope it went to someone whose marriage has been as happy as my own.

(photo via)

How Much For That Gown?

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

It’s time for a guessing game.

silk_chiffon_wedding_gown

I want to know how much you think this open backed, sized-to-order silk chiffon wedding dress costs. It could be $5,000…it could be $500. I don’t have a lot of details other than that it is available in white or black, it’s tight fitting, and it comes with a short bustle, though I do know how much it costs. If you can’t even begin to guess how much the above wedding dress costs, answer me this: How much do you think is should cost?

(the answer — no peeking!)

This Suit is Meant to Suit Whom, Exactly?

Friday, November 14th, 2008

I’ve been poking around Oscar de la Renta‘s Spring 2009 bridal collection recently and, more often than not, I’m absolutely blown away by what I see. There are gorgeous, chic long wedding gowns and pretty, feminine short wedding dresses. Playful accents like belt buckles, big bows, and blossoms made of silk and lace give the collection character that might otherwise be lacking. Overall, the wedding gowns and dresses that appeared in the runway show are right up my ally.

The single bridal pantsuit included in the collection, however, is most decidedly not.

bridal_pantsuit

I cannot think of a single person in my life who would look good in this white silk bridal pantsuit. Heck, the runway model doesn’t even look particularly good…especially when viewed from the back. That could explain the expression on the model’s face — if I were asked to walk the runway in this suit, I’d look a tad pissy, too.