Red carpet report! Oscar 2011

I may have already said this a million times, but I love the red carpet! There’s just so much fun in the anticipation, and something sinfully satisfying in seeing the worst dressed stars strut their stuff on the carpet. Bridal Inspiration from the red carpet highlights the crème de la crème of the night, showcasing eye-catching gowns with elements worthy of the wedding aisle.


My favorites for the night were;

Sandra Bullock; she looked striking in a red  Vera Wang. The back of that dress is simply to die for!

Red was a popular color last night, co-host Anne Hathaway showed up in a red Valentino

Jennifer Hudson also wore red. Her gown was by Versace and had a dramatic train. The back of the gown was stunning, but the neckline could have done with a little more coverage; that extreme low cut just doesn’t scream classy to me. Over all her dress was a hit although it just seemed too tight around her upper back. Fit really is everything!

 

 

 

Hailee Steinfield looked sweet in  Marchesa, her dress was really reminiscent of my favourite tea length wedding dress by J Alexander

[Justin Alexander Wedding dress]

Hilary Swank looked stunning as she walked the red carpet in Gucci Première  

Gwyneth Paltrow also chose a metallic hue and looked uber fabulous in her Calvin Klein gown.

Mandy Moore’s gown was by Monique Lhuillier who has consistently been one of my favorite bridal designers. The gown was definitely unusual and looked more like a spray of glitter than anything else.  I do love the weightless look of the dress but the waist line appeared to be a bit boxy and unflattering in my opinion.

Halle berry looked awesome as always. This woman would look awesome in a paper bag! Her gown was by Marchesa and fit like a glove. The top half of the dress was just  just divine but the chaos towards the bottom of the skirt only looked good from certain angles.

xoxo

Color outside the lines!

Wedding inspiration in unexpected places was the title of my most recent article, to let brides know that sometimes the best places to find great wedding ideas aren’t even remotely related to anything bridal such as the hardware store. Read more here...

And while we are on the subject of colors, another excellent source of inspiration is nature. There are tons of breathtaking color ideas all around us that most of us pay little attention to, such as;

The awesome swirls of pinks, purples and orange in the sky at sunset

The vibrant blue and green of a peacock’s feathers

The multidimensional honey, caramel and latte tones of the grains of sand at the beach, and the list goes on and on..

Here are some more fun and fabulous color combos

Lime &  Charcoal

Red &  Lilac

Yellow & Pink

Stay stylishly colorful!!



Wedding websites: The good, the bad, the ridiculous...

I have nothing against wedding websites, honestly I don’t, I think they can be quite useful and informative, which is why I published The importance of being online article but only if they are put together right..


Wedding websites, by their very nature are self congratulatory; they scream "yay us" "we are so amazing" "we are the best couple ever" "our wedding is the event of the century…" I think you get the picture. So that really needs to be played down otherwise 99% of your guests will be rolling their eyes as they scroll through your page. All it takes is a little bit of objective editing to create an awesome wedding website.
Believe it or not, there truly is no need for a lengthy bio of all your personal information; frankly if people don’t already know who you are they really shouldn’t be coming to the wedding at all. And as hard as it may be to accept, not that many people really care to read a giant essay describing all the tiny details of how you met and every moment leading up to the proposal.

The key to a great wedding website is to keep it simple. Include information that is actually helpful to the guests such as the dates, times and travel information for all wedding related events. Providing an option for online RSVP  is an excellent way to make sure all the guests respond, plus its eco friendly too as it eliminates the need for RSVP cards and thus saves a lot of paper

What are your thoughts on wedding websites? Do you love them, hate them, or cant make up your mind?

Xoxo

The running of the brides NEW YORK EDITION - February 18, 2011

So.. if you have never heard of the running of the brides event then you may wanna read up on my latest article about it. But if for those of you who may be feeling too lethargic to click on that link, heres a quick summary just for you;

thousands of designer bridal gowns + giant price deductions + many eager brides + running = utter chaos

Basically the gorgeous bridal gowns are sold at ridiculously low prices, thus it is totally understandable why brides would want to attend this event so they can fight for the dress of their dreams. Brides camp out overnight just to make sure they are first in line to run inside when the doors open.  Once inside,  brides literally run around crazily from one rack to another grabbing as many gowns as they can carry and within minutes all the racks are empty.. Then they start undressing right in the middle of all the craziness and begin trying on the dresses they have grabbed to find out if they are the right size and style. If not, they begin the barter process; running around searching for other brides who have the dress they want and want the dress they have...

I must say I'm undecided about this event, while I do love a good bargain,  and love the challenge of racing other brides to find the perfect dress. I  just feel that all pushing and shoving takes away from the joy of bridal gown shopping. Ideally you would want the experience of shopping for a bridal gown to make you feel pampered and spoilt,  rather than leave you feeling like a war hero or ninja. Either way  the event is open all day, so brides do have the option to go in later when all the frenzy has died down and will still find hundreds of gowns left to choose from.

But for the brave brides who dare to  join the running of the brides, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Do your homework: Make sure you already know or at least have a good idea of the style of dress you are looking for.  Bring pictures of the dress(es)  for your team mates too. Filene's Basement carries over 2000 gowns during this event so it will be a tough search if you go there not knowing what type of gown you want.

Break the rules Usually I advice brides not to take an entire entourage when shopping for a bridal gown because with too many people there, the bride can barely hear her own thoughts over all the loud opinions being voiced. But this is one of those rare occasions when its actually helpful to take as many people with you as you can.

Coordinate: Wear matching colors so its easy to identify your other team mates, this way you don't lose any time looking for each other. And have a clear plan of exactly what each team mate should be doing. Preferrably assign some team members to be the security guards for the dresses because other brides will "steal" your gown if you take your eyes off it for half a second.

Dress the part The event is called the running of the brides for a reason, so make sure you're dressed for running. You'll also need to be trying on dresses right in front of everyone else so wear something thats easy to slip on and off and a sports tank underneath.

And finally the hosts at Filene's Basement urge brides to not wear any makeup to avoid stains and streaks on the beautiful gowns. For more survival tips visit their official website at http://www.filenesbasement.com/running-of-the-brides/

For the full address and information of the NYC event on February 18th click here

Always a bridalista

xoxo

WHITE by Vera Wang {Preview}

The much talked about collaboration between Vera Wang and Davids Bridal is finally here.. well almost. These stunning and yet affordable gowns will be available from February 11th which is only ten days away from now!!

Stay stylish