Dresses & Gowns

You have a budget and are planning for your wedding; your main concern is how to stay within budget for your perfect discount wedding dress.  Don’t worry because  many brides have the same dilemma. You are not alone and here are 6 ways to hunt for discount wedding dresses:

1. Determine your budget.  Decide exactly how much you can afford to spend on your wedding dress.
2. Identify your body shape and learn what styles may be most flattering on you.
3. Determine  your preferences  for: style, color, fabric , length, etc for your discount wedding dress.
4. Make lists or collect ideas of favorite photos, drawings or elements of bridal styles you like from magazines.
5. Research and locate sample sales, overstock sales, discounted wedding dress sales, bridal auctions, classified ads and other related listings where bargain offers for discount wedding dresses in your area or nearby may be advertised or listed.   Tip*Contact bridal salons and inquire about bridal orders that have been canceled, returned or slightly damaged.
6. When visiting salons, try on ONLY discount wedding dresses
   that are within your price range and preferences to avoid falling in love with a bridal gown that is out of your budget range.

Sometimes the excitement of shopping for discount wedding dresses can be overwhelming and easily entice you to forget your budget. However, remember to stick to your budget so that you will be able to select your discount wedding dress with out regret or remorse.   Take a friend, sister or your mother with you when shopping for discount wedding dresses . They will guide you and offer honest feedback regarding what styles look the best. Shopping together will also create a truly memorable and bonding experience.

Always explore your options, never buy something in a rush, give yourself time to look for and consider all of your bridal gown options until you are certain you have found your perfect discount wedding dress.  Remember to be patient, browsing through what may seem like hundreds or even thousands of discount wedding dresses can be tiring.  Lastly, remember to have fun looking for your discount wedding dress; you may never know what treasure you will find in your search.

It was during the 1950’s era that tea length wedding dresses and tea length dresses in general became popular.  They have reappeared on the bridal runway in the last few years.  It is said to be inspired by the design concept of “constructed but not simple”. Recent fashion forecasts predict more and more modern brides  are choosing to incorporate this off-beat bridal style to exude  vintage 1950′s  retro style.

Tea length wedding dresses are typically hemmed at mid calf length. Like all other type of wedding dresses,  trendy tea length dresses can be found in any range or combination of colors, styles, patterns and materials.  Tea length wedding dresses are also attractive in cost. A full length or floor length wedding dress can cost you anywhere from $700 to $10,000 for a Vera Wang; while a tea length version gives you the grand bridal look and feel for a fraction of the cost.  More and more mainstream bridal designers have considered the growing demand for this kind of wedding dress and are begin to include tea length styles in their collections at a much lower price.

If you are planning a  destination wedding, tea length wedding dresses are a perfect option to consider.  Less dress means less bulk to travel with.   Plus, being a less formal wedding dress alternative, it is an ideal bridal gown for garden weddings, beach weddings, outdoor weddings, court house weddings  and weddings celebrated abroad. The forgiving yet highly feminine style tea length wedding dresses is flattering for all figures including petite or plus size brides.

There are a wide variety of tea length wedding dresses on the market. Brides of all sizes and shapes will definitely look their bridal best in a tea length wedding dress without breaking the budget.

Still undecided on what wedding dress to wear? You can never go wrong with considering silk wedding dresses.   Silk is one of the material choices for a sultry wedding dress. The queen of all bridal fabrics, prized for Read the rest of this entry »

Most people say that getting ready for the big day starts 8-12 months before the wedding. It includes shopping for or creating the perfect custom made wedding dress, reception venue,  invitations, honeymoon locale, making lists of bridesmaid, groomsmen and the list goes on and on.

When shopping for a custom made wedding dress, it is a general rule of the thumb to always take a trusted friend, sister or relative with you to try on concept styles. They will provide you with honest feedback regarding how a bridal gown looks on you. Never rush into buying your wedding dress because most of the time, hasty decisions do not turn out in your favor.

Take into consideration the length that will be most flattering to your body shape and height. There are various length options for a custom made wedding dress. These include are ankle-length, ballerina, floor-length, intermission, high-low, knee-length, mini skirt and tea length.  The setting and theme of the wedding ceremony can determine which length to be ideal and appropriate.

Often times, brides planning a modern Asian wedding chose to wear traditional attire as part of their cohesive bridal look.  You name it, we’ve featured it:  Blue Chinese cheongsams, Yellow Korean hanboks, Golden Vietnamese Ao dais, Cambodian Khmers and Japanese kimonos (to name a few).

Many designers are getting clued in to this beautiful trend, and finding original ways to bring tradition to the new century with accents such as kimono shoes or fusing Asian style with Afro-centric fabric in a new Afri-Asian couture look.

So when I was introduced to the work of Anne Namba of Honolulu, HI, from one of my favorite blogs: Lotus Haus, I knew it was a gem worth sharing.

Anne Yuri Namba‘s over 20 year old boutique collection, offers a refreshingly seductive alternative for today’s modern bride.  Each piece has a flirty cherry blossom quality that conjures up a vintage geisha, a forest nymph and the spirit of modern romance, all wrapped up in one stunning look.  Drawing from her life experience in Hawaii, Thailand and Iran, Anne endows each piece with a polished cosmopolitan feel.

{CREDITS: Photography by Blue Nalu Photography; Dresses by Anne Namba Design}

The highlight of every wedding in history no matter how big or small is the custom made wedding dress. Every bride has the right to look their very best during that special day. Weeks or even months before the wedding, wedding planner(s), bride(s)-to-be, bride’s maid(s), mother-in-law(s), and specially the mother meticulously search for that one exceptional elegant wedding dress to be worn on the wedding day.

The lavish Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky wedding changed the wedding trends especially the elegant wedding dress. For the wedding ceremony, the bride wore a beautiful custom made wedding dress made by Vera Wang. The groom, on the other hand, wore a Burberry Tux.  Outside Astor Courts, the venue of the wedding ceremony, a lot of local people, media people and tourists waited to have a glimpse of Chelsea’s elegant wedding dress.

Fashion trends and forecast suggest that bride(s)-to-be should consider wearing Chelsea’s custom made wedding dress for their big day. It was said to be a suitable elegant wedding dress for women of all sizes and shapes. This particular wedding dress enhances the beautiful features and hides the unwanted fat especially in the stomach region and thighs. And in the words of ABS designer Allen Schwartz, Chelsea’s elegant wedding dress is “a very forgiving dress”.

Aspiring brides can also walk the aisle in a similar elegant wedding dress without breaking their budget. Spending a lot of money for a silk wedding dress or a tea length wedding dress is impractical. Yes, your wedding day marks the start of your new life, but what about the rest of your life? Brides can still look ravishing and beautiful while sticking to the budget.

There are many styles and choices for elegant discount wedding dresses. For example, there is a tea length wedding dress and there is also a silk wedding dress. You can find a wide selection of discount wedding dresses at DivabyDesign.net. These are high quality custom made wedding dresses that will truly make you stand out during your wedding day. They are offered in all sizes so that aspiring brides of whatever sizes or shape can have a memorable wedding day.

Have you thought about changing things up a bit and going green? Whether or not you are trying to save the earth, being green and eco-friendly is a hot trend, and what better way to embrace a trend than going for a socially conscious friendly one. Fortunately, no matter what your taste is, taking a few extra steps in making your dream wedding into a green wedding, isn’t really that hard. Here’s a few things, tips, and ideas to make your wedding go greener!

• Use a recycled or up-cycled Wedding dress, same goes for shoes, bridesmaid dresses, grooms, etc.

• When buying wedding favors, invitations, flowers, decorations, use an eco-friendly perspective

• They do make cakes from organic materials

• Use organic restaurants for the dinner rehearsal, or have the wedding on an organic farm or botanical garden.

• The reception can also be at one of these earth friendly places

The Green Wedding Dress:

It’s as simple as getting a dress that’s already been worn once before, aka a “recycled wedding dress.” You can get really nice recycled wedding dresses by perusing your local Goodwill stores or the thrifts stores located in your area. That’s the easiest and most economical way of getting a wedding dress for a great price as well as keeping the earth a little greener. The same can be said for the grooms tux, and most likely his groomsmen, however, bridesmaid dresses may be a little tougher to come by depending on how many you’ll have. An interesting thought here, is if you aren’t too torn on tradition, your bridesmaid ladies could all where different dresses. This actually, if done right, can look really great and give your wedding more personality. Just a thought!

If you are wanting to have a brand new dress, there are many outlets for buying an organic cotton dress, you’ll just need to research because these sometimes come at a hefty price.

This photo here from GreenWeddingShoes.com, shows that you can use different bridesmaid dresses to make a completely beautiful wedding attire.

Everything Else:

Everything else you have planned for your wedding can all be green items if you can do a little research and plan, everything from the flowers to the cake can be made with recycled or organic materials, it just depends on what you want.

I found several cute and reasonably priced items I found tasteful for my own wedding like AmericanBridal.com’s “Natural Impressions”  Eco-Friendly Photo Album. It’s simple, yet very sophisticated and could be used with probably any wedding style, and it’s made of 100% eco-friendly materials.

AmericanBridal.com also has these wonderful name cards for placing at the reserved seats for your guests. The name cards are made of wildflower seeds, so when your guests take them home they may plant them and have memories of your wedding for years to come. Not only a great eco-friendly idea, but also a sweet way to make memories for your guests. They come in a variety of designs and are super awesome!

Another fun tip is after the wedding ceremony when everyone meets outside to greet the bride and groom, they usually throw birdseed into the air as the bride and groom leave for the honeymoon. Whether you realized it or not, this is an eco-friendly act versus throwing paper confetti.  Beau-coup.com has a wonderful selection of birdseed party favors for this event. Be sure to check out there goods and other eco-friendly items for your Green Wedding day!

More resourceful information can be found at Greenhotels.com. They have the updated information on hotels around the country that are Green! You can use their site to research wedding reception locations, dinner rehearsals and the like.

Another great source of information is the book by Kate Harrison, “The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget” . Filled with great ideas and how to have a green wedding based on a budget, is highly recommended to anyone wanting to plan a green wedding!

I hope these ideas can help you better plan your green wedding! If you have ideas, please feel free to share them! Thanks! S!

*Organic Bouquet pictured at top by GardeniaOrganic.com.

Many little girl’s dreams are to have a lovely princess style wedding. With my great love for the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starring Audrey Hepburn in this classic little love tale, I give to you  Breakfast at Tiffany’s wedding theme ideas! Not familiar with this fabulous classic? Check out the movie trailer below:

If you have any love at all for jewelry and/or diamonds, a trip to Tiffany Jewelry Company is a MUST! Their beautiful jewelry pieces are always packaged beautifully in their little blue box with the no tape used white ribbon to keep in securely shut until it’s supposed to be opened.

For this type wedding, no matter what your budget is all you have to keep these tips in mind:

• Predominate colors to be used should be Tiffany (aqua)  Blue and White.

• The bride’s dress must be elegant, fashionable and everything the name “Audrey Hepburn” brings to mind, but don’t worry ladies, all this can be done no matter what your budget is!

• Accessorize! but don’t over do it, you want to keep in mind that you are giving off a classy look, not something that screams look at me. If you do it right, they will all be looking anyways!

Stationary & Invites by Made with Love

To help you envision the colors in your head, these awesome seating arrangement cards by Sophiesfavors.com are a great and affordable way to add your Tiffany’s style wedding. They’re simple and elegant, once again, and can add just the right amount color to your Tiffany’s style wedding. So with that said, good luck with your Tiffany’s themed wedding.That’s easy, right?

USABrideWeddings.com has a beautiful Audrey Hepburn style dress that I fell in love with. Although I could not find a picture of it in teal, it is available in the Tiffany teal color.

This dress is by After Six Bridesmaid and is elegant and very sophisticated looking. I absolutely love the dress and would even consider wearing it as a Wedding dress.



One way to accessorize your wedding dress, if you’re planning on using a white dress, is to accessorize with some teal and aqua items. I found a pair of earrings that would be perfect if you are wearing a white dress. These earrings are made by Etsy member, PrettyinPearlsbyCat. They are awesome and could be worn more than once.

Another approach is to layer on vintage pearls and or diamonds,classic Audrey Hepburn style.

If you consider on getting married in the winter, I think the first dress I showed would be fabulous, but if you are wanting a more summery kind of wedding, I found one more dress that I just had to share! It’s from David’s Bridal and is quite lovely. It’s also on sale right now! The overlay of the dress is made of a lace type fabric, although the bow can be changed to another color, the teal pictured here it just perfect for a Breakfast at Tiffany’s wedding! They also offer bridesmaid and flower girl dresses in the same style. This dress is strapless and comes with a small over jacket and a satin sash to wear. If you’re digging it, you should check it out!

Lastly, I’d like to share just a few images to give you some more ideas about your Breakfast at Tiffany’s themed wedding! Wedding’s are so exciting, and even more with this beautiful theme, it’s something no one who attends your wedding will ever forget!

Checkout the movie trailer for other iconic vintage ideas to incorporate: