So the impossible has happened!!! Vera Wang teamed up with David’s Bridal and has launched her exclusive line of wedding dresses for a lower price point than her designer line that you would find at an upscale boutique salon. I have mixed reviews on this…the biggest downside is the fact that David’s Bridal is a mass market store for brides and therefore the customer service will not reflect what you would find at an upscale boutique that normally carries designer lines such as Vera. On the upside though, if you haven’t seen the line yet, I recommend you take a look. She has done a great job of creating a line that will fit almost every type of bride. The dresses might not be as intricate as her regular line but they are surely stunning enough on their own and at a lower cost to the consumer…you the bride! Gowns begin at $600 and go up to about $1400.

I love Fashion Week, love love love looooooove it. I get so excited and spend countless hours on the internet flipping through every single fashion show, gushing over a million gowns that I would never be able to afford, ah wonderful!!! Now it’s not often that most of the major trends work in the wedding dress world, but this year they totally do. Fashion is very pretty right now and that works really well for wedding dress shopping.

  Sheer fabrics were all the rage on this years catwalk. I love this trend!!! It can be really sweet and ethereal...it can also be super sexy and revealing. I think the key to this trend is making sure that it’s not too sheer. I mean, I am all for a little scandal, but your wedding day is not the time. I am also a fan of sheer fabric bunched together so that it’s opaque and full of volume. 

Draping rocks my socks. I can’t get enough of this! It’s stunning and interesting and I prefer it to the hard, edgy origami that was all the rage last Fall. This trend houses so many different looks within itself. I am a sucker for a Grecian drape, but I also love the modern and funky things being done a la Vera Wang and Lela Rose. This trend work beautifully for wedding dress. love.

Sparkle. Who doesn’t love to sparkle? Answer: Bitter, mean-hearted souls. Shine is everywhere this season and I am a super fan! The goal is to not look like a child playing dress up or a cheap prom date. Don’t think shiny lamé and plastic sequins, think crystals, pearls, glass beads, and any iridescent fabrics. Yes, this will cost you, but it is so worth it to get the intended affect which is, of course, guests/groom to be knocked speechless by your radiance. Plus, I adore the way sparkly  gowns look in black and white photos, it is such a to die for look. Seriously, I die. Yes, I have been watching far too much of the Rachel Zoe project.

Now, as you can see many of the gowns mix and match within these three trends and I say as long as one is definitely the more dominant trend, rock it!!! Just as always, less is more, unless you are a drag queen, then more is definitely more.

Until we meet again, stay bridal and walk that aisle like a runway, can you say FIERCE!?!?!

Lauren

The subject of eco-friendly is the hottest topic around! Forget a fancy foreign sports car, you’re only uber cool if you own a dorky Prius. Even Hollywood is crazed with saving dear ole mother earth, crazies like Alicia Silverstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and a host of others have jumped off the deep end for saving our planet. I have to admit, I do love my reusable grocery bags and my new organic sulfate-free shampoo, I’m so hip. But weddings and eco-friendly have not always gone hand-in-hand in my mind, but that has all changed. The amount of super chic and sassy planet loving designers out there is astonishing. It is so easy and affordable(gasp!!!) to find environment friendly wedding gowns. You have two choices when going all DiCaprio on your wedding, using a new gown made with renewable/sustainable products made with the least amount of detriment to the earth or buying used, not only can you find super great deals on gowns and designers you might otherwise never be able to afford, you are doing a little something to help out our world.

Olivia Luca is the coolest website ever, you  are essentially designing your own gown and having it shipped to your door. The website offers great descriptions of styles, fabrics, you even get to pick the models skin color to get the perfect idea of what the dress will look like on, plus you can order swatches before making your final decision. You get to choose from a huge variety of eco-conscious fabrics, such as organic cotton sateen, organic linen, fair trade handwoven silk shantung, and hempcel, a 100% sustainable biodegradable product. Now this is a great idea even for the non eco-chic brides because the site offers the “norm” wedding fabrics as well. And get this, the dresses average for about 1200 dollars! Killer good!

Morgan Boszilkov, an Atlanta based designer(whoo-hoo), has a great offering of eco-friendly traditional wedding gowns in her “natural bridal collection.” She also decided to enhance her greeness by making some of her gowns convertible with detachable skirts so that they can be worn shorter and possibly again.

Now, Deborah Lindquist makes me really happy! This is not for the traditional bride, this girl has got some serious spunk and I love it! Prices start around 750 for separates, skirts and bodices, but get up to 3000 dollars. That still nothing compared to a Reem or Monique!

If Deborah Lindquist makes me happy, Wai Ching puts me over the moon! This is some crazy wild stuff, but on the right lady this is the perfect gown for a boho chic wedding. And trust me some of it is seriously nasty, seriously, but the rest of it is just amazing.

Used or Vintage

I have no idea why more brides don’t do this, but I found TONS of Melissa Sweet, Vera Wang, Reem Acra, etc on ebay for cheap. Some of the dresses for more than half off of the original price tag!!! Beware the words like or inspired by in the descriptions...they’re knock offs. So don’t deprive yourself of the fancy salon experience, just don’t purchase there...go home and find the same dress that some smarty pants has decided to sell. Try ebay and craigslist for some amazing options. Also, hit up vintage stores and/or Grandma’s closet, repurposing a vintage piece is super hip and has loads of character.

So until we meet again, stay bridal and don’t let granola anywhere near your wedding.

Lauren