Archives for October 2007

Virtual Wedding Planner Tool

By and large I am not a fan of big box stores; I much prefer the hands on customer service at a local salon. Having said that, one of them has done something right.

David’s Bridal has launched a virtual wedding planning tool that I can see as the cause of countless hours spent online. Dress Your Wedding allows you to play around with all the many different aspects of the look of your wedding. You can customize the coloring and physical features of the bride and groom and all the members of the wedding party. Add a bridesmaid, delete a groomsman, shrink one to a ring bearer. Mad at the groom, insert his best friend, is after all a virtual world. What fun.

That is just the beginning of the fun. As you would expect you can play dress up to your hearts content (as long as you want something from David’s). Like the style of the dress but not the color? Change it.

Keep going and you can just move your wedding if you don’t like the location. They offer a variety of different ‘location’ backgrounds from which to choose. Of course you can also manipulate a variety of little things like flower color and such.

I wouldn’t say that this is the planning tool to end all others I’m just saying it is a heck of a lot of fun and even if you aren’t planning on shopping at David’s you can still play with their toys. Hehe

Dresses That Heal

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and even while you are shopping for your bridal finery you can help. Just look for the Compassion Collection hang tag.

Bridal designers are banding together to help support Dresses That Heal, Inc by doing what comes naturally, creating beautiful things. Dresses That Heal was started as a charity that auctioned off donated gowns to aid the Breast Cancer Recovery Fund. Rachael Rivard, founder of Dresses That Heal, Inc has taken it a step further and asked all her friends in the bridal industry to design a piece for their collection to be included in the Compassion Collection. The designers will then donate a portion of the proceed to Dresses That Heal, Inc
Breast Cancer Recovery Fund is all about helping those with breast cancer to become breast cancer survivors. This is a charity dedicated to recovery through the Infinite Boundaries program which hosts retreats created by survivors for survivors. Healing the mind and the spirit as the body heals.

Now you don’t have to wait for an auction date. Just look for the tag. To see a list of designers participating check out the DTH website.

Oh The Bling!

Now you didn’t think I would be able to cover Bridal Market without drooling over a bit of bling, now did you?

As more designers start to show gowns in their collections that are softer with less overall embellishment the jewelry will start to take on more importance. Consequently there was bling in abundance.

The crystal necklace in the center tile is from my good friend Susan Allen. The girls from Weddingish tell me that the way-too-adorable onsie will soon be available in a full range of larger sizes. It’s just so me! I can’t wait.

Here are the rest from left to right:

Tsarina Bridal, Weddingish, Eugenia Couture, Sara Gabriel Veiling & Headpieces, Aalexis Bridals, Susan G Allen, Aalexis Bridals, Susan G. Allen, Aalexis Bridals, Tigerlilly, Tigerlilly, Susan G Allen

The Gowns

These beautiful creations are from Eugenia.

These are four of my favorite gowns from Sophia Tolli’s newest collection.

National Bridal Market Chicago

National Bridal Market Chicago

I’m just back from a whirlwind two days in Chicago for Bridal Market. Everyone was showcasing their new ranges for Spring 2008.

It was wonderful to catch up with so many friends. Among them was Heather Levine, fashion editor for the Knot, Rani Totman, the force behind the fabulous St. Puchi and Mandy from Tiger Lilly Tiaras.

I am sad to say that for the most part there was nothing new. I kept hearing the comment that everything looked alike. Strapless, moderate beading, structured bodices with semi full skirts, ruching every where, fewer pick ups and lots of satin. In short the same thing, different day.

What I did see as new and fresh in some of the collections is a move toward a certain softness. Lovely soft laces and drapey silk chiffons. Soft net overlayed on beaded satin or taffeta. Two real standouts were Eugenia’s Nitsa line and Enzoani and Enzoani’s Blue.

I also got a really good look at the Sophia Tolli collection and I will have some nice shots of those in a day or two.