For a long time, I was an advocate of looking for wedding-ish gowns amid the prom dresses. Then I noticed that today’s prom styles have more cut-outs than a paper snowflake. I’m talking about frocks so risqué I can’t help but say things like “Back in my day, we wore dresses that covered our belly buttons! And we walked ten miles to and from the prom in the driving snow in peep toe pumps! You don’t know how good you have it!” I’m only twenty-eight…I shouldn’t be talking like that, right?

Consequently, I’m not so quick to suggest that brides-to-be poke around the prom gowns anymore. That’s not to say that one can’t save a buck or two in the teen section, but the selection of wedding-appropriate frocks simply isn’t as large as it used to be. The best prom/wedding hybrids I’ve found thus far come from designer Sherri Hill. I like her dresses so much that I’m currently constructing a time machine so I can go back and wear one at my own wedding. I’ll let you know how that goes.

There isn’t a lot of white in Sherri’s collection, but who cares? Color is in!

These two chiffon styles would work equally well on the bride or on her bridesmaids. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a sucker for pink, but I think I like these dresses in particular because they remind me so much of this one.

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You know what is truly fantastic? Ill tell you: When I come across a designer’s web page that doesn’t use all manner of Flash, so I can actually pull some images without having to resort to PrtScn–>Paint–>The Gimp. Jesus Peiro, I thank you for your use of plain old jpegs!

Damn, that is just gorgeous — perfect for those looking for a little shoulder and décolletage coverage. I usually like a little more flare in the hips, but if you’ve got kind of a flat tummy (or some super foundation garments) why ruin a good straight line? I think the classic simplicity is what I love best.

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I wore a rather heavy gown during my stint as a bride and I was comfortable outdoors on a May day in Florida. I do admit that it was an extremely blustery Saturday, which kept things just cool enough for comfort. I could have gone with something lighter and airier, but I just love heavy, full, princessy gowns and there were plenty out there to be had.

When I was shopping for the perfect dress, I found myself faced with a great many extremes. There were the heavy, multi-layered formal frocks guaranteed to keep your legs warm even if your upper body is freezing. And there were the sexy, slinky sheaths that would have highlighted my “lady lumps” in the worst possible way. What was lacking was that “something in between” that would be princessy enough to tickle my particular fancy yet light enough to be wearable in a variety of weather conditions.

That’s why I’m in love with Chris Kole’s collection, The Cotton Bride. No, the gowns are not all cotton — in fact, most are linen, and some are silk — but they are all natural, hand-sewn, made to order, and designed to be comfortable. The best part is that prices start at $1,800, which is high-ish but not unusually expensive for a piece of clothing with the word “wedding” in its descriptor.

I do feel like these dresses take some getting used to…they’re not particularly shiny and we tend to associate shine with formality. My personal favorite, in case you were wondering, is the dress in the middle. How about you: would you eschew bridal satin in favor of cotton or linen?

Writing about all things bridal for a living does funny things to your head. For instance, being that my own wedding has come and gone, I’ve taken to rewriting it in my imagination. It’s an unusual day when I don’t accost The Beard the moment he walks through the door to tell him that “if I had to do it all over again, I’d buy/do/wear this!” It’s not that I’m unhappy with the way my own wedding turned out. Rather, it’s that there were simply all these wonderful things I didn’t know about while shopping for it!

My latest “I wish I had some reason to buy it” find is a dress from Eden Bridals, of all places. I tend not to like most of their inventory — what, for example, is up with the gathers on this number? The dress I’m lusting after today, however, is rather different than most of the ones I’ve come across on that web site.

For one thing, this organza and taffeta dress is green. Specifically, it’s a color Eden Bridals likes to call thistle, which is an incredible muted green that reminds me of twilight and old fashioned things. It is also available in all white, all ivory, or all iridescent rose. The rose sounds intriguing, but as it turns out, it’s way too much pink for me.

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I like to read the local paper and not just because I spent too many years of my life –i.e., something like three years– getting paid poo-poo to cover dull as dirt community meetings. One, a good townie rag is a great place to find out about free stuff to do. Two, they’ll profile just about anyone so you get to read the life stories of people like Jim Bob, who won a trophy for his 100 pound pumpkin. And three…wait, there is no three.

Designer Patricia King-Davies apparently live (or used to live) a few towns over from me. I know this because they did a big profile of her in one of the local papers. The article talked about her splendid gowns, so I felt a pressing need to look her up, but the only pictures I could find were from last year’s Nolcha Fashion Week. All I can say is the King-Davies likes the shiny! Her shiny, shiny, shiny World Culture Collection apparently paid tribute to various countries’ styles and attempted to honor their traditions.

Two gowns from the show caught my eye.

Here you have the epic win. I just want to reach out and touch this one because the fabric looks wonderfully delicious and soft. I bet it’s nice to wear, too, with very nothing at all scratchy or poky on the interior of the gown. It looks like King-Davies’ logo is on the midsection, but unlike an LV or a Gucci bit, it’s pretty and subtle. My one criticism is that the model’s boobs need to be hoisted into the designated boob triangles or the triangles need to be brought down a bit.

And here you have the epic fail. Shapeless mass much? Sure, there’s a place for free-flowing fabric…however, all I can see is a sleepy bed-headed woman who was forced to improvise when the doorbell rang too early on a Sunday morning. But if you happen to like it, I’d be happy to travel to your home at your expense and drape high-end bed sheets around you until you’re sufficiently covered up.

There are always plenty of concerns when choosing a wedding gown. How does it fit? Does it flatter? Will you be able to dance in it? But when you choose to get married on a beach, there are a couple extra things to keep in mind. So what makes a gown perfect for the beach?

Keep it simple: A hoop skirt and long train may look magnificent in a grand church or hotel ballroom, but they look stiff and out of place on a beach. Heavy fabrics and lots of beading can also seem funny in such an informal setting. Consider something with little trim and simple details like this Dessy Group chiffon gown that relies on draping rather than additions for its beauty.

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The dresses below came from eBay auctions.

When I found them, each auction had about three minutes left to go. Both began at about $15 with no reserve. The origin of the dresses was Shanghai, China, and shipping was listed at around $150. Neither auction specified who would create the dresses, though they were obviously made to order as a buyer could choose from a variety of colors not usually associated with weddings.

The seller has a 100% positive feedback rating, but if you look closely, almost all of the ratings were giving by other sellers, not buyers. Some of the buyer feedback is all right, like “Stunning dress, very happy!” And some doesn’t exactly inspire one’s trust…”The shawl is lovely and was delivered very quickly, but it is not cashmere.” And even worse, “Made in very quickly, but the material of the dress I received did not match picture or description.”

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