February 5, 2007
-
I wasn’t able to get this out by January because of other priorities, but I’m pleased to present to you another edition of ‘style & grace’!
For those who missed it, you can view my first edition.
This upcoming year, trumpet|mermaid style dresses are very popular. The style is more challenging to walk in, but accentuates the beautiful curves of a woman’s body. You will see this style all throughout designs below.
[below . Amsale]
Also this season, I see a lot of designers playing with fabric instead of embellishments to create textures and movement.
Ruching. Pleating. Gathering. Layering. Draping. All of which create various looks. Ruching [pronounced Roo-shing] is shown in almost every bridal gown below – it’s when the fabric is gathered.
In addition, I have added another element of style which is very important to the overall look . . . hair.
For the CLASSIC bride . . .
[below . Amsale]
french twist
or
light and lovely half-up
For the ROMANTIC bride . . .
[below . Vera Wang]
half-up with loose waves
For the VINTAGE CHIC bride . . .
[below . Amsale]
loose low pony
For the GLAMOROUS bride . . .
[below . Jim Hjelm]
regal, smooth and sleek updo
or
opulent updo
For the MINIMALIST bride . . .
[below . Jenny Yoo]
low and simple chignon
For the MODERN bride . . .
[below . Vera Wang]
or
[below . Judd Waddell]
or
[below . Lazaro]
Lace is still in!
loose waves
For the DESTINATION bride . . .
[below . ABS by Allen Schwartz at Nordstrom]
floral accents
For the INDIVIDUALIST bride . . .
[below . Valentino]
starlet waves
or
60s chic
Now for the ladies who support the blushing bride . . .
When I was looking for dresses for my bridesmaids almost four years ago, I was joking around that I wanted them to wear the dress below. All joking aside, I couldn’t believe this was even available under bridesmaid attire!
Bridesmaid attire is also complimenting bridal gown fashion with ruching and sashes. Ruching is very flattering on almost any body type! Most of the dresses below come in various colors.
For Spring, Summer, or Daytime weddings
[below . J.Crew]
[below . Bari Jay at Nordstrom]
[below . Bari Jay at Nordstrom]
[below . Siri]
For Fall, Winter, or Evening weddings
[below . Priscilla of Boston]
[below . Siri]
[below . Lazaro]
[below . Watters & Watters]
Best wishes on your search for the perfect dress[es]!
tip: When holding your bouquet for pictures or walking down the aisle [if you can remember], hold it slightly below the waistline for more of a slimming and flattering effect. Most girls automatically think to hold them higher to hide their waist, but that actually hides the smallest area.
Yes No
Poll:
1. What are brides looking for during the whole wedding research process?
2. What is one feature you wish wedding magazines or websites had . . . or had more of?
Comments (28)
so pretty
I don’t know what ruching is but it sounds very pretty!
i say, magazines should feature me in jewelry. hahaha
i wish they would have more stories about the process of weddings.
how different people went about the actual planning.
like, wedding is in july, then in january, february, etc. what did each couple do?
not a strict time schedule but a general background story. and where they went to do it.
like, when and where a couple went for invitations.
i saw a reality tv show on this once (the process of wedding planning and the wedding itself).
why not have it in written format! =)
i think that’d save a lot of extra research time or save you from having to hire a wedding planner.
i’m disappointed that they didn’t have the over-the-top-through-tidalwave-half-up-with a mctwist updo as a trend this year. ;p
I love that Jenny Yoo gown above.
My girlfriend just got engaged over the weekend, so this will be helpful to her!
When I went dress shopping, I was so naive. I had no idea how expensive dresses could be!
hi. grace sent me to ur page! i love the overload of wedding info!!! i’ll be stalking ur page from now on!
Caroline – I don’t know what ruching is either… :T
Grace, i seriously look forward to your issues of “style and grace” with so much excitement and anticipation!
i love everything you share! it’s so fun to read all your notes with the beautiful pictures. i’m not even close to getting married, but i love looking at pictures and learning. i hope i can come to you for advice when i am getting ready for my wedding in the future. 
and hope i can go to you and Hun for wedding pictures, too. 
‘style and grace’ is a hit! i love it! that siri dress is super cute..
the poll is n/a for me… hehehehe
i love it! i’m glad lace is still in =D
this is a very informative post… =)
If Harry Potter ever got married, the bridesmaid’s would be wearing that first bridesmaid dress…. holding brooms of course!
i think you heart wedding stuff.
nice! i felt like i was reading a real magazine article. i have a long long time to wait before this kind of info will be useful but it was still fun to read, being a girl is so awesome, hahaha.
1. The perfect dress – to be beautified
Add great pre-marital counseling, and you’re good to go
2. When we were prepping for our wedding, I was looking for more – dresses – ha! I wanted a ‘vintage’ look, vintage meaning construction only dresses with few or no decorations/embellishments similar to the bias cut gowns of the ’30s. At the time I was researching, only A-line strapless dresses were in, but that is okay. I found the perfect sheath v-neck cap-sleeve sweep train 3 point under bustle wonder and was very happy with it.
haha I love it…”roo-shing”. I can totally see Hun going “What is ruh-ching?”
Here are my answers to your questions:
1) I was looking for creative ways to make wedding invites, favors, placecards, etc. Magazines always showed amazing looking merchandise but were mostly too expensive or impractical. I totally enjoyed features that showed future brides how to “do-it-yourself” without the end product looking cheesy.
2)One feature I wish wedding magazines had LESS of…Advertisements!!! I swear, only 10% of the magazine is an actual article…the rest is just pretty pictures. Also, I wish dress designers had more options than just “strapless”. Lace cap-sleeves on a dress can look
pretty too.
it’s more fun looking at wedding stuff when you don’t have to plan a wedding! =)
1) The thing I had the most trouble looking for was “the look” I wanted for my wedding. I kind of had a vague idea in my head and would search endlessly to find something to help put the pieces together.. like something with the final look that I wanted.
2) Finding vendors are tough. Maybe because my wedding day is such a popular date, but I don’t have time to interview 5 florists and 5 djs etc. I was searching for a website that would list all the vendors and ppl could leave reviews (something similiar to citysearch but only for weddings).
yay for another edition of “style & grace”!
] yet, i don’t know how well i can answer your poll questions. but i know that personally, i’ll probably be trying to think of/find original ideas for my wedding [favors, guestbook options, decorations, etc]. 
i think trumpet silhouettes are so elegant/sexy, but i don’t know if i have the grace to walk in one.
since i haven’t researched for my own wedding [too much
I bowled bad yesterday because the untouchables were split up like every other great rock band… haha
Very Beautiful!!! My dress is a trumphet style too! =) I bought it last month before I got engaged! hehehehe!
hi Grace! love this edition of “style & grace!”
and i’m so excited to see our final pictures!
Love it! Lace is a classic, it’ll always be in (as long as it’s not the tacky lace)
I really liked the ’1st bridesmaid’ dress that you chose – wowzers….that would have turned heads for sure. Hmmm, your questions are hard…there’s so much! In a nutshell, I’d say – most who can’t afford personal wedding coordinators, would probably want the one-stop shopping experience (whether by magazine or website). So, essentially Martha Stewart type advice, color schemes, locations, photographers, favors, invitations, flowers, spas, hair (phone numbers/links) [with a what to do list/schedule, calendar, budget breakdown and timeline that notifies you] all at the click of their hands – a virtual wedding planner. Ultimately, they make the decisions, but they have the wedding world in the palm of their hands. As you can tell, I used to be really into wedding coordinating 
And yes Hun, I’m like your wifey – lots of details, lots of explaining, chitter chatter. 
oh and – can’t forget the jewelry and the honeymoon preparation stuff for the guys
yeah…a section for the guys – future marital advice: how to know when to put distance between you and the fiance during the wedding planning (and be there at the right time) to avoid all the screaming from the bride to be 
Yep! Don’t forget the organic brown rice – delicious!!!! Yeah -good point?! Aren’t they afraid of being caught???
But seriously…weren’t those in the last Harry Potter movie?
haha….in the first picture…the distance between the girl’s chin and boobies is like a mile long. hahahaha. it looks abnormal. anywho…mmm…i think really creative affordable ideas for keepsakes would be cool. and dresses for the more everyday affordable working person than just the crazy wedding dresses where you think, “who in the world is going to wear that???” that cost a bajillion dollars…yes i said bajillion.
I got one e-mail from you. If you sent another one…hasn’t arrived.
BTW – AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!
I love it. Stunning.