Wedding Dress Alterations

You've spent a lot on the wedding dress already so the temptation to put the brakes on the money train is understandable. But should you? Should you attempt to dye your wedding shoes by yourself? In truth even the most beautiful wedding dress can be ruined by an unskilled alteration.

The answer is simple. Unless you have a seamstress with a wonderful reputation for wedding dress alterations and tend to be a gambler, most people are better off using the alteration services of the bridal shop through which you purchased the gown. This is true despite the fact that bridal shops tend to be more expensive for their alteration work.

Why?

Because they carry the risk. That means that if their seamstress messes up the dress, they are responsible to fix the problem. Therefore, you can rest fairly comfortably that they will make certain the individual they employ / contract to do the work will actually know what they are doing!

Wedding Gown Silhouette Definitions

The silhouette describes the outline of the wedding gown. This is the big picture. This is the over all look of the dress. It, along with the bride's body type, is the single largest factor in how the bride will appear in her wedding dress.

As such, it is generally advisable to choose the silhouette of the wedding gown first before choosing the type of train, veil, etc. because once a bride has found the basic style of wedding dress that best compliments the unique nature of her body, most of the rest of the choices, from necklines to barefoot sandals, will fall into place.

• A Line: Fitted bodice with slight flare starting at the waist or higher, reaching to the floor.
  
• Ballgown: An off the shoulder bodice accented by a natural waistline with a lavish, full skirt.
  
• Bustle Back: A gown with an exaggerated fullness in the rear of the skirt, built with a pad or frame. This is often done with a bridal train for easier movement at the reception.
• Drop Waist: the bodice may be loose, tapered, or tightly fitted, with the waistline of the dress dropping several several inches below the natural waist.
  
• Mermaid: Similar to what it sounds like. The mermaid silhouette is essentially a sheath gown to the knees with a flare at the bottom.
  
• Trumpet: Very similar to a mermaid silhouette, but the gown starts to flare out higher on the leg
  
• Sheath: Column or tube shaped gown without a defined waistline following the contours of the body

Wedding Dress Bargains

Just a short note: The Brides Against Breast Cancer wedding gown sale for Making Memories in Portland, Oregon is happening right now. It's a great way to save money on your wedding dress (the dresses are donated and they sell them at a discount) and help a worthy cause at the same time.

Know of any similar sales around the country that are coming up? Tell the world about them by leaving a note in my comments box.

Wedding Dress Neckline and Waistline Terminology

Buying a wedding gown can be terribly confusing. There is a different name for everything, some of which we use in our everyday life and some have never made it into mainstream life. Today’s input are the definitions of the most common wedding dress neckline and waistline terminology to help ease decision making process - after all after the dress there is still the bridal bouquet and so much more to decide on, so why not make it easy.

Necklines

• Bateau or Sabrina: This neckline follows collarbone from one shoulder to the other with a slight curve.
• Halter: Straps go around to back of neck
• High Neck: The High collar actually brushes the chin.
• Jewel: Encloses the natural neckline like a tee shirt.
• Off-the-Shoulder: Gown sits just below shoulder line and is held up by bodice
• Portrait: Wide scoop that sits just on shoulder bone.
• Queen Anne: Higher on the sides and back of neck, open to the bra strap line, and ending in a sweetheart shape.
• Queen Elizabeth: The Queen Elizabeth has a collar that stands high in the back and forms a "V" in the front.
• Scoop: Similar to the Bateau but with a deeper, rounder cut.
• Spaghetti Straps: Thin straps that go over shoulders
• Strapless: The Strapless neckline attaches around the rib cage and does not employ straps to hold it up. Such a gown is kept up by bodice
• Sweetheart: The front is heart shaped with a back that is higher going straight across from shoulder to shoulder.
• V-Neck: Shaped like a "V"

Waistlines

• Basque: A dropped waist style that dips below natural waist forming a "V" in the center of the gown.
• Dropped: Waistline that sits just a top the hips
• Empire: High waistline just below the bust
• Princess Cut: A term sometimes applied to gowns, especially a-lines, that have no defined waist
• Natural: Waistline sits between the empire and dropped waistlines

I hope this helps. It can be helpful to understand the details so you know what the clerk and the bridal boutique is talking about. At the same time don't forget to take the entire package into consideration - and this includes your wedding shoes. Ultimately, it is not the name of the design that matters, it is how the entire ensemble comes together.

Wedding Dress Train Options

We all know what a train on a wedding dress is, don't we? In the simplest terms, yes we do. But when a bride goes to choose her wedding dress she will usually find options that she did not know existed. But there is no need for any bride to go into a wedding dress store unprepared and risk feeling foolish. Take a look at this brief run down of train options:

Detachable Train: Popular with brides who plan a dance as a part of their wedding reception since the detachable train is joined to the gown at the waistline with hooks and eyes, and can be removed for the reception.

Watteau: The Watteau train is a separate piece of material (that may or may not be detachable) that falls from the back yoke of the dress.

Caplet Train: The Caplet Train is also a separate piece of material that flows from the back of the shoulders.

Sweep or Brush: Just as the name implies, the train barely touches the floor.

Court: A slightly more formal train, extending one foot longer than the sweep train.

Chapel: An even longer train which extends about 1 1/3 yards from the waist. This is the most popular train of young brides of today.

Cathedral: Aka, the Monarch Train. The Cathedral train trails the bride by six to eight feet. This option is usually chosen for the most formal of wedding events short of royal weddings.

Royal: flowing more than 3 yards from the waist. This is the longest train. Usually this is only chosen for the marriages of queens and princesses.

Wedding Dress Fabrics

The world of special order wedding dresses can be a daunting one. And if you do not know the terminology of the industry it can be especially frustrating. So here is a listing of the some of the most common fabrics used in the wedding dress industry.

Batiste - A fine, soft, plain weave fabric traditionally made from linen, now often made with other fibers, most commonly cotton.

Brocade - A heavy, exquisite, jacquard-type fabric with an all-over raised pattern or floral design.

Chiffon - A plain, woven, lightweight, extremely sheer, airy, and soft silk fabric, containing highly twisted filament yarns.

Crepe - Any fabric with a crinkle, crimped or grained surface.

Damask - A glossy jacquard fabric, usually made from linen, cotton, rayon, silk, or blends but in a lighter weight than brocade.

Duchess Satin - A hybrid of silk and polyester woven into a satin finish.

Dupioni - A fabric that is similar to shantung. This textured fabric is recognized by irregular-sized, thick fibers woven into the base fabric. It is different in that the fibers that create the texture, are thicker and heavier than those used in shantung.

Gazar - A criss cross weaved fabric. It looks somewhat similar to linen.

Illusion - A Semi-transparent fabric similar to organza.

Organdy - A stiffened, sheer, lightweight plain weave fabric, with a medium to high yarn count.


Organza - A crisp, sheer, lightweight plain-weave fabric, with a medium to high yarn count, made of silk, rayon, nylon, or polyester.

Polyester - A manufactured fiber which has high strength, excellent resiliency, and high abrasion resistance. Low absorbency allows the fiber to dry quickly.

Rayon - A manufactured fiber composed of regenerated cellulose, derived from wood pulp, cotton, or other vegetable matter.

Satin - A traditional fabric utilizing a satin weave construction to achieve a lustrous fabric surface. Satin is a traditional fabric for evening and wedding garments. Typical examples of satin weave fabrics include: slipper satin, crepe-back satin, faille satin, bridal satin, moleskin, and royal satin.

Shantung - A specific type of finish. Comes in medium-weight, plain-weave fabric, characterized by a ribbed effect, resulting from slubbed yarns used in the warp or filling direction. End-uses include dresses and suits.

Silk - Silk is obtained from cocoons of certain species of caterpillars. It is soft and has a brilliant sheen. It is one of the finest textiles. It is also very strong and absorbent.

Silk Mikado - A type of blended silk that is heavier than regular silk.

Taffeta - A lustrous, medium-weight, plain-weave fabric with a slight ribbed appearance in the filling. A popular choice among brides who want that "rustle" in their dress.

Tulle - A lightweight, extremely fine, machine-made netting, usually with a hexagon shaped mesh effect.

Bodice Vs Bouquet

Fortunately you don't have to choose one or the other, but your bouquet will be carried against the backdrop of the bodice of your dress so it is wise to consider how they will impact one another.

It's simple really. A complex design on the bodice makes a great backdrop for a more simple bouquet arrangement such as a pomander of roses with the subtlest of accents interwoven. On the other hand a smooth bodice allows for a more intricate bouquet.

The complication is found here: Contrary to what most expect, a wedding dress with a smooth bodice is almost always more expensive than one decorated with a more ornate design. Why? The answer is found simply in that it takes more skill to fashion a dress that has no place to hide a flaw in the workmanship or material.

So... if you have splurged, or gotten an incredible deal, on a wedding dress with a smooth bodice the good news is that you get to have that impressive bouquet.

If, however, you are on a budget then choose a wedding dress with a more ornate bodice that will provide a beautiful backdrop for the simpler and less expensive bridal bouquet.

Wedding Dress Colors

I suppose that the white wedding dress will eventually go completely out of style. Its popularity has been fading throughout my life and more and more brides are choosing colored wedding dresses.


That's okay. The white wedding dress is really a fairly recent fashion trend, not really catching on until sometime early in the twentieth century (the first white wedding dress in recorded history - though probably not the actual first - was worn by Queen Victoria when she married her cousin, Albert of Saxe) as the Hollywood starlets began to have money enough to get and clean a pure white dress.

The choice of a wedding dress in a color other than white is both personal and practical. It depends on what she likes and feels beautiful in, but at the same time don't forget that their are practical factors outside her simple tastes that any bride should weigh before making the decision:

1. The Bride's Flesh Tones: There is no one color that all people can wear well. Most women know what colors best suit them and therefore should consider the possibility of choosing a wedding dress color from the palate that best suits them - after all, they want to look their best on their wedding day, don't they?
2. The Decor of the Church and Reception Venue: No one wants to look back at their wedding pictures only to discover that their dress clashed horribly with the decor - or worse, caused them to disappear into the background of their own wedding!
3. The Colors of the Season: No bride should be a slave to seasonal colors, but do take a moment to consider how the seasonal colors at the wedding will impact the look of the wedding dress she is choosing.
4. The Bridal Traditions of Her Background: This might mean traditional white but it might not. For example a bride of Asian decent might want to consider the tradition of some Asian cultures of red for a wedding dress color. For some descendants of Scotland it might even mean a plaid!

Any bride's choice of color of their wedding dress is a study in what will best compliment her natural beauty and what makes her unique. If that means a white dress, wonderful. If that means a shade of blue, then that is fine as well.

Your Wedding Budget and Your Guest List

One of the most common questions that wedding planners hear is, "How much should I expect to pay for my wedding per guest?" In other words, if I have a certain amount of money how can I figure out how many guests I can reasonably invite?

These questions truly do sound reasonable.

Unfortunately, there is no way to give a blanket answer.

Some try, others simply turn the question away. The reason is simple: It all depends on the expectations of the bride (or couple) planning the wedding event. If one just has to be married at the swankiest place in town, their cost is going to be much higher than one who is married in their church with the reception in the church's 'hall'.

Still, consider this as you start to plan your wedding... the average wedding in North America last summer was estimated to cost somewhere around $25,000 (estimates range from 22 - 27) and the average wedding had 175 guests. If you divide $25,000 by 175 you come up with a ballpark figure of $143 per guest.

If your tastes are simple and you can find a way to hold the cost on the venue, which is one of the biggest expenses in a wedding, you might manage to spend less. But at least last year's $143 per guest is a good place to start.

Stylish Wedding Floral Displays on a Tight Budget

Want great looking wedding flowers? Fortunately as today's tastes turning more and more toward minimalism the costs shrink with the number of flowers needed. This means that in today's fashion world it is easier than ever to put together a spectacular floral plan for a wedding without breaking the wedding budget. Take advantage of this trend with these four simple tips to save money and still have great looking wedding flowers.

Let Nature Work For You: If you choose an outdoor venue that is already beautiful all that will be needed are your own personal touches to tie everything together.

Let the Season Work For You: This is a two-fer – first, don't forget that most facilities decorate for holidays. If you schedule a wedding during these times most of your decorations are already provided with the venue. Second, make use of the flowers that are in season locally. It will save money and add a touch that embraces your unique heritage.

Let Your Budget Work For You: A tight budget is not a bad thing. It is simply keeping your feet in reality. Sure you might want a thousand guests, but cut that guest list in half and you will have fewer rows to decorate at the church and fewer tables to furnish with centerpieces. The same goes for your bridal party. For each member of the bridal party you will at very least need to furnish bouquets or boutonnieres.

Let Minimalism Work For You: Replace those huge centerpieces of the past with flower petals sprinkled on the table around an arrangement of your wedding favors for that table. Or sprinkle sand on the table around a small pail planted with grasses. Or fill a bowl with glass balls and / or fruit and vegetables. Or place old dolls or toys in the center of the table surrounded by your favorite accent.

Use what you have, with a little creativity you can create inexpensive yet stunning centerpieces. By taking advantage of today's trend toward minimalism you can save money on certain aspects of your wedding flowers so that you can spend it in another area that will help place your stamp on your wedding.

Controlling Your Floral Budget

We all want the entire day to be gorgeous but what if the budget, after all the squeezing is done, just does not allow every floral decoration the bride ever wanted? The answer is in priorities. In terms of the amount of time involved in each, the reception will be a higher priority for many. After all, most weddings only last about a half hour where the reception can run anywhere from two to six hours. For those brides, it would be wise to spend the floral budget on the reception where the bridal party will spend more time.

On the other hand, some couples will want to emphasize the solemnity and beauty of the marriage vows and want to place the emphasis there. If that is what is important to them then the financial emphasis should be placed with the ceremony.

Of course, the options are not either / or. For example, one simple way to economize is to use a large display at the front of the church that is transported and placed on the head table (have the florist design this with this dual use in mind or it is likely to be too big on the head table or too small at the front of the church).

Likewise, use a larger display at the head table and simpler, less expensive centerpiece displays like a bowl of fruit or seasonal foliage on the smaller reception tables, to make a display that is more impressive than smaller versions of the head table display that is too sparse to have value.

And don't forget that seasonal local flowers can be a great savings over flowers that have to be imported and in the hands of a seasoned florist can be stunning without breaking the floral budget.

Beautiful Bridal Bouquets

A beautiful bridal bouquet is more than just a collection of flowers. It should complement the bride's individuality, proportions, and dress, as well as fitting the overall theme of the event. This seems that it should go without saying. Indeed, who would want to look back at wedding photos to find that the bouquet was so large that it made her look like a little girl hiding behind a bush? Or who wants to find that the colors or design of the bouquet clashed with her dress.

How do you prevent such a disaster? Is it just a matter of luck? Of course not. Achieving beautiful bridal bouquets is a matter of ...

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