Filipino couturier Michael Cinco began his career designing hotel uniforms for a Japanese firm, but was soon persuaded by a friend to pick up and move to haute couture haven Dubai in the mid-90s.  Having revamped a stale fashion house in the Middle East, he quickly started to build a name for himself.  To sharpen his skills he set off for London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins.  Just one year later Cinco was back in Dubai where he opened his own couture house and by 2009 brought his grandiose collection to Miami Fashion Week.  If luxury and bountiful femininity is what you seek, look no further than Michael Cinco.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

With throw backs to vintage and antique designs, British bridal gown designer Ian Stuart first made a name for himself at Bellville Sassoon, a London couture house the specializes in gowns for socialites and members of the Royal family.  With a lean towards classic silhouettes and structured fit, Stuart brings to life romantic gowns with a sometimes avant garde touch.  Whether you dream of being Marie Antoinette or Grace Kelly, Ian Stuart has got all of you glamour girls covered.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

From the blush pink dress in Reese Witherspoon’s recent wedding to the pitch black gown worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in her 1997 nuptials, some celebrities are pushing tradition aside when it comes to bridal style.  The classic white wedding dress is still the most sought after gown, but for rebellious brides or second-time-around ceremonies, color can change it all.  Here’s a bit of inspiration for all you rule breakers.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Black

Lisa Ling in Red

Gwen Stefani in Ombre

Dita Von Teese in Violet

Portia de Rossi in Soft Pink

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

Ultra feminine, light as air and with the perfect dose of boudoir, the bridal gowns of Romanian designer Maria Lucia Hohan were tailor made for the girlie-glam bride.  With hands-on schooling in Paris and Milan, MLH (as she is referred to) infuses her Art Deco appeal with edgier accessories to create gorgeous gowns that have graced the carpets of Cannes, Berlin and BAFTA.  With regular exposure in Elle, Cosmopolitan and Glamour, MLH has the perfect platform to sweep brides away with her lush fabrics and floaty silhouettes.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

When I finally got the email from Bliss letting me know that my dress had arrived at the bridal salon, I was so happy I actually squealed. Mr. P came running into the room and asked, “Good news or bad?” When I told him my dress had arrived, he gave me a hug and said, “I am so proud of you!” (Is it possible to over-train a man?? Hehehe.)

Back to the news at hand. I immediately emailed my seamstress Susan to set up an alteration date. Susan is a-MAZing! She was not only able to travel to my house for the fitting, which was so crucial since I was right in the middle of finals, but she also volunteered to store my dress for me while I’m in Amsterdam. Did I mention she is a-MAZing!?!

Within hours of receiving the email, I was plagued with second thoughts! They washed over me and consumed my every thought. I couldn’t study. I could barely even think straight. What if it wasn’t THE dress!?!?

My three doubts about the dress were:

1. The neckline isn’t a true sweetheart neckline, which I knew when I bought the dress, so I was just hoping it would be a pretty easy alteration.
2. I wanted an all-lace dress, but Mr. P and Momma P hated all-lace dresses. (No, Mr. P did not go wedding-dress shopping with me, but we did look at a few dresses in magazines together so I could get an idea of what he liked.)
3. Most importantly, the bottom of the dress isn’t very full. The reality is, I don’t really remember how full it is and it was like five sizes too big, so I can’t really get a sense from the pictures of how the bottom will sit.

Once I bought the dress I tried really really really really hard to stop actively looking for dresses, but now that the dress is here all bets are off! I immediately started Googling mermaid dresses to figure out what I really wanted.*

The reality is, I love a full mermaid skirt. I mean, have you seen the size of Vera Wang’s spring dresses?

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However, it just didn’t seem practical to try and get a dress that size to Costa Rica. Also, I am not sure I’m tall enough to carry it off, so I decided to focus on a more modest skirt.

I love the shape of this Jim Hjelm, and I think it’s a good compromise size. I just think she’s so elegant, romantic, and feminine:

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However, I think that it’s also really important to look at real brides to get a sense of the way different shapes photograph and move throughout the day. Here are three of my very favorite real brides.

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1. The fullest—I love this tiered skirt. My dress isn’t tiered, but I love the shape this dress gives the bride. I think this skirt has the most crinoline, and I kind of the love that it doesn’t need to be messed with in order to get that great shape. However, my train is a little longer than this one, so I have to figure out how that would look.

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2. Medium fullness—I think this dress is the closest to my own dress shape, and if it isn’t then I think it’s the shape that I want the most!

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3. No fullness—This dress doesn’t seem to have any crinoline and still has an amazing shape. I think this has a lot to do with the bride’s natural shape and the tiers of the skirt.

At the end of the day, I think its gonna come down to my budget versus my obsession with having the “perfect” dress. I haven’t even met Susan, but I get a great vibe from her (AKA she answered my emails while on a Caribbean cruise and even apologized for taking 48 hours to respond!), and I think she’ll be really helpful in deciding which of these looks will be best for me. I hope that this process of looking at dresses has helped me collect my thoughts so that I can both articulate my feelings and be at peace with whatever decision I make.

*I am obviously also trying to keep open the possibility that I will just love her once I get her on and perhaps I did pick the “perfect” dress.

How much did you alter you dress? How bad were your second thoughts, and when did they finally stop!?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

In honor of the many fashion week shows that have been and will be kicked off shortly, I bring you a gift of inspiration for the truly daring bridezillas.  Haute couture, especially straight from the runway, is definitely tricky to bring into real life.  If you want a high fashion, maximum impact, never-to-be-forgotten wedding however, the runway is destination number one.  As with most couture pieces it’s all about finding inspiration, then searching and digging to hopefully uncover a fabulously affordable wedding gown that encompasses the mood the couture number evoked.  You never know what you will come up with given the right inspiration.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

One Saturday in November, my amazing MOH drove in from Boston for the day (that is love and dedication), and my one and only BM came with me to one of the larger bridal-gown places in New York. The plan, since this was my first time out shopping, was to check out what styles I might like and see how the pricing was. I had a tiny budget in mind, but Mr. Crepe told me not to worry about it that day and just figure out what I liked. Sweetest man. So I tried on a few dresses that I loved, but they were definitely over budget. The store didn’t let us take photos unless we purchased the gown, unfortunately.

Before I went, I did a little bit of research on pricing. I was afraid of falling in love with a dress I couldn’t afford. I found that Watters & Watters dresses were a balance of style and price that we might be able to manage.

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The first dress I tried on was almost exactly what I was looking for, which was a sweetheart neckline and an A-line shape. The only issue I had was that the material was on the heavy side. I loved the pockets! I’m not crazy about the flower, but it actually wasn’t on the dress when I tried it on. Being a jewelry designer, I wanted to add my own accessories, so I loved that it felt like a blank slate with structured details.

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For the next dresses, I thought I should try on some unexpected shapes, since everyone told me that you couldn’t tell what type of wedding dress would look nice on your body until you actually tried them on. I loved Inez because of the interesting fabric with this organic layered look, but the crumb catcher on top made me look like I was being eaten by a giant clam monster. The dress was also much too heavy, and I could see myself drenched in sweat at my late May wedding with this on.

The Regina was soft and romantic looking in the photograph, but it was on my body for two seconds before both my MOH and I said “no” simultaneously. Couldn’t get that dress off of me fast enough. Looking back, it must have been how large the sample was. Both of these dresses would look much more beautiful on someone who actually fit the sample perfectly.

This was also when I realized that I should just stick with my instincts on what generally looks right on my body type—a slight pear shape and tiny bust. Back to sweethearts and A-line dresses!

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At this point, I had tried on all the dresses that we could find at this location that I had written down beforehand. My MOH had pulled a few for me, like this Kalahari. Oh my, this dress was just gorgeous. I went into this process avoiding pick ups, but the ones on this dress were organically placed around the skirt. I came out of the dressing room, and my MOH burst into tears. I stood there and swished the skirt around but, in the end, it was too much money and was a little too grand for our overall wedding style.

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My ideal dress going into this appointment was the Lasara, but we couldn’t find it to try on. I hadn’t even considered the Austin dress because I couldn’t see how special it was from the photograph on the website. It turned out that the Austin was a close match to what I loved about the Lasara. It had the shape of Mimi (the first dress), with a lighter, more ethereal look to it because of the layers of fabric. It was a dusty ivory, which went along beautifully with our vintage-modern wedding style, and the skirt fell in soft waves onto the ground that fluttered gently when I walked. It was so darn lovely.

I tend to lean on the practical side and usually make less emotional decisions when it comes to clothing choices (no tears here), so I quietly decided that this was what I was looking for, and it came down to price. It turned out to be even more than the Kalahari, so the three of us left to get some chicken katsu curry to discuss our next steps!

Hearing about other brides’ experiences and watching too much TV on the process, I felt like an oddball because I didn’t tear up, not even a little bit. Are there any other stoic brides out there?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Around the time I purchased my gown, I spotted a strikingly similar Monique Lhuillier gown. Wedding gowns that share similarities are not uncommon. After all, how many times can you reinvent the white dress? But this gown prominently featured rosettes—a detail I hadn’t seen anywhere else.

Monique Lhuillier – Addison

Not only does it have rosettes, but they vary in size too. The skirt is covered with them, so it’s not an isolated detail. The differences are the fabric (what appears to be satin versus the crinkle chiffon of my gown) and skirt shape (A-line versus fit-to-flare). I chalked this gown up to a coincidence.

Because her gowns are gorgeous and I’m a girl with a ring, I continued browsing.

Monique Lhuillier – Dasha

Oh, hey. It’s a different silhouette. Click, click.

Monique Lhuillier – Maya

And a high-low version, in tulle. OK…this was starting to get weird.

Monique Lhuillier – Shelby

Monique meets Vera.

Monique Lhuillier – Sunday Rose

Gah! Another one! This Spring 2010 gown marked the appearance of her first rosette-inspired piece. The onslaught of rosette gowns above came later (Spring 2011).

Curiouser and curiouser, I did some digging and found many more gowns…

Allure

Amsale – Bijou

Ann Frances – Poppy (new!)

Ian Stuart – Masquerade

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn for this one.

Ines di Santo – Chiara

That’s one big honkin’ rosette.

J. Crew

Jenny Lee – 1101

Kenneth Pool

Kenneth Pool (love the accordion pleats)

Kenneth Pool – Serafina

Lela Rose – Secret Garden

Martina Liana – 296

Rivini – Lexi

Rivini – Milena

This one offers a more restrained use of the flowers.

I think we can officially say, “It’s a trend.”

After looking at all these gowns, there is no question I picked the “right” rosette gown. I’m still in love with my Wallis.

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Did you dare risk looking at other gowns after you found The Dress? Any dress regrets, or did looking only confirm your love of your gown?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Lebanese couture designer Zuhair Murad opened his first atelier in 1995 to showcase his beautiful blend of Eastern detailing with a classic European feel.  2001 brought Paris’ Haute Couture Fashion Week and several years later he premiered at the 2009 Milano Moda Donna fashion week.  Since 2009, his fame has sky-rocketed with contributions to international fashion groups such as Mango along with a massive list of celebrities parading his pieces down the red carpet including Katy Perry, Beyonce, Rihanna, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lopez.  Needless to say, his couture evening gowns and bridal boutique collections are equally breathtaking.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

French bridal couturier Max Chaoul brings forth gorgeous, light-as-air bridal gowns.  As the head of his own company that is now entering its 10^th year, Chaoul is basking in the glory of his couture gowns and the fame they are claiming worldwide.  What began as a boutique in Lyons, France has now grown to include shops in Paris, Marseilles, London, New York and Beverly Hills.  With demand rising from international clients, Max Chaoul is quickly making a name as the one to watch in bridal couture and it’s no surprise why.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.