Encore Bride Style

I've been very busy lately planning my first wedding as an event planner. In the process of getting some inspiration I came across these fabulous gowns I think would be great for an Encore bride, from the sexy shapes to the different gown colors. I saved them on Pinterest, of course!

Source: marthastewartweddings.com via The Encore Bride on Pinterest

Source: amouramour.com.au via The Encore Bride on Pinterest

Source: akissonyourmolteneyes.blogspot.com via The Encore Bride on Pinterest

Do you agree?

Lost In Pinterest

Do you "Pin"? I'm addicted to Pinterest, I can spend way too many hours lost in all the beautiful visuals. It's a wonderful site to save all the inspirational pictures you find online.

Board by Lovely

Source: lovelybride.com via Vania on Pinterest

Follow Me on Pinterest!

Chiffon and Sequins

I'm loving Elie Saab, this time around is his Ready to Wear Fall 2011 Collection. I can only imagine any of these dresses for any encore bride out there.

All Photos by: Alessandro Viero / GoRunway.com via style.com

Spring Beauties

**I finally have a new look that I love thanks to Deluxe Designs, please take a look around and stop by my Facebook page, feel free to "Like" me!**

The couture shows are my favorite and Elie Saab is always on point. Look at the lovelies he brought us for Spring 2011.

 Photo: Umberto Fratini / GoRunway.com

  Photo: Umberto Fratini / GoRunway.com

  Photo: Umberto Fratini / GoRunway.com

Photo: Umberto Fratini / GoRunway.com

All pictures found on style.com

All perfect for an encore wedding, don't you think?

Sneak Peak: My Dress

I realize I hadn't posted pictures of my dress. As you may recall, I ordered this dress, sight unseen since I was in Iraq at the time. I wanted something other than Ivory/White and decided to go with a Light Gold, in reality it's more of a dark ivory though.  As you can imagine, it was a huge risk ordering like this. I was so worried about the fit and color and whether I was going to like it.

Lucky for me my future sister in law and her husband own a bridal and tux store in their town. I was able to email her and let her know the designer, style and size and she ordered it for me. The dress was suppose to arrive around the first week in December but instead arrived around Thanksgiving, not bad! The only opportunity to pick it up would be Christmas weekend while we were there and we picked it up the Monday after Christmas and I must say, it is the one!

Here it is on me, please excuse the poor iPhone pictures taken by Mr. E and my sister in law.

Hmmm, I think we can tell which ones were taken by Mr. E and which one was taken by my sister in law....


I love my dress and can't wait to wear it next week!

9 Days To Go!

9 days to go and I just received my mom's dress, 'cause we do stuff late like that! Since many stores don't deliver straight to PR (what's up with that?) I have to re-package it and mail it to her. I just hope it fits! Here were the contenders:

Adriana Papell

Adrian Papell

J Kara

Pisarro

In the end, she liked #1 but hers will be sleeveless (meaning we have to find a gold cardi or something). I'm running around today but have to get back home early as I'm expecting the delivery guy with more wedding related stuff.  Thank God for free shipping and 2 day shipping!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's to all! While others are working on their resolutions for the year I am hard at work shoe shopping. We have 10 days to go and I have ordered plenty of shoes to find the right one. After wearing boots and sneakers for a year it is going to be hard to spend a whole day on high heels but oh wells...the things we do. I had purchased a pair of purple shoes last year but once I tried them on I knew I was not going to be able to spend too much time with them on. So, shopping I went!

1. Badgley Mishka-Randall

 Review: Beautiful, sexy shoe but painful around the widest part of my foot.

2. Paris Hilton-Kara

Review: Nice shoe and cushioned well but too high.

 3. rsvp-Michaela

Review: Did not like the quality of it (fabric seemed glued while wrinkled) difficult to walk in as it would slip from my heel.

 4. rsvp-Rain

Review: Beautiful shoe I really liked this one but the heel still slipped off my heel as I walked.

 5. Nina-Electra

Review: Beautiful purple shoe, I'm not a fan of the ankle strap but I gave it a shot. It was very comfortable to walk in!

With 10 days to go I found my shoes!!! I'm going with #5, thanks to shoes.com and zappos.com I was able to purchase, try and return more shoes that I would've been able to find locally. Yay for shoes!

Who knew wedding shoe shopping would be this hard?

Elie Saab Paris-Spring 2011

Although I haven't had much time to follow the recent fashion shows my inbox has been flooded with all the reviews. I haven't been able to open them like I usually do but I had to look at one of my favorite designers, Eli Saab. I was a bit disappointed that the glamour and bling he usually brings to the runway was muted this season. The bling was scarce but it was a very wearable collection. I did find 2 looks that I like and thought I would share.

Elie Saab RTW Spring 2011

Have you been following the season's shows? Any favorites?

Inspiration Board

Now that you know which dress I chose it's time to reveal the look we're going after, the only way I can describe it is: Old Hollywood Glamour. I think it's the dress and Mr. Encore's uniform. We chose the colors based on the peacock feather and I hope to have a peacock feather here and there.

I'm still trying to decide on a veil or no veil...I know, this encorebride is considering a veil....yes I am. What type of veil do you guys think will work with the dress?

The Dress!!!

Planning a wedding from Iraq is hard, shopping for a dress is even harder! I picked a few gowns I liked. I emailed my sister, best friend, mom and Mr. Encore for their votes and I made my decision.

These were the runner ups:

Pronovias-Radiante

Pronovias-Francoli

Enzoani-Dorothea

Maggie Sottero-Scarlet

Can you guess which one I picked?

Encore Bride Style File: Resort 2011

I haven't been able to monitor all the new Resort '11 collections but I had a few minutes and decided to check and see what my favorite designers were up to. Inspiration comes in many ways and I love these gowns presented by Carolina Herrera. Her collections are always elegant, feminine and refined, she did not disappoint this year.

Carolina Herrera Resort 2011

Source: Style.com

Do you have any favorites?

Encore Bride Style File: Pronovias 2011

I love the Pronovias brand, their designs are always so elegant and feminine. Their 2011 line did not dissapoint, here are a few of the ones I liked the most, it was hard to choose just a few!

Pronovias Glamour "Fiordo"

I love the asymetrical neckline and detailing of the torso area, it is definitely in my "must find and try" dresses.

Pronovias Fashion "Francoli"

I love the fishtail detail on this one, perfect for a Spanish style wedding in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico!

Pronovias Dreams "Formentera"

Source: Pronovias

Wonder if they offer these beautiful gowns in something other than white or off-white for this encore bride. I would love any of them in a platinum color, it would look great with my purple shoes!

My New Favorite Wedding Colors

I found a wonderful new color combination on the beautiful blog The Inspired Bride. The deep jewel tone colors make for a beautiful romantic fall wedding. Don't you think?

 

 Source: The Inspired Bride

What do you guys think? Yay or Nay

I'm here, Discussing Wedding Colors

(Cont.)

It had been relatively peaceful in Baghdad since the elections and we even thanked God for that on the service before Easter. The next day I could hear faint explosions, frankly it sounded like thunder to me but the next day I walked in the office and read about the Easter explosions in Baghdad, up to 30 people dead and hundreds wounded. It is one thing to be here alone, another to be with the one you care about. I don’t worry so much about me but I worry about him worrying about me.

Days are long around here, I will probably be at work around 10-12 hours a day but that includes several breaks for lunch, dinner and workout time. It is one of the keys to staying sane around here, staying busy as much as you can throughout the day and only going to your sleeping quarters to sleep.

The good news for us is that Mr. Encore and I have designated specific days and times to spend together. We have dinner together on Wednesdays, spend a few hours together on Friday afternoon and we meet up at the WiFi spot to check email and surf the internet and few nights a week.

We have discussed wedding options and I love this look I found here a while ago:



Once I saw these pictures I sent them to Mr. E via email a while back and asked him what he thought, he replied: "I love the pictures you sent, the first one with the really vibrant colors on the table entitled Peacock Tables is absolutely beautiful!! It reminds me of you. If I had to draw a picture of your love and passion I would use those colors to do it".

Needless to say friends, he's a keeper...

Wedding Color Inspiration

Mr. Encore has suggested we marry in Puerto Rico in the Fall of 2011, I've begun to research different venues and we hope to visit them during our mid-tour vacation to PR. I've also showed him pictures of colors and decor that inspires me and he is loving it! The other day while visiting my sister we were walking at the mall when we came across what will be the focal point of our wedding style design.

The Shoes!

There were inexpensive but very cute, so here you go, a total frugal purchase but hey, they're cute!

Encore Bride Style File Paris Couture II

One of my favorite designers, Elie Saab presented a wonderful collection of dreamy dresses perfect for a special occasion, especially a wedding. It was very hard to pick just a few so here's a double dose of my favorites.

Part I

(click to enlarge)

Part II

Source: Style.com

If I had the budget I would wear any of these for my wedding, would you?

Encore Bride Style File Paris Couture

Aren't these perfect for that special day? Introduced by Armani Privé during Paris Couture Fashion Week last month they make a great source of inspiration for any bride.

Source: Style.com

I think the short one at the top will be great for a City Hall wedding while the bottom ones are great for the formal reception. Which one is your favorite?

The Encore Bride Style File-Couture Brides

I've been playing Army BUT the new Spring 2010 Paris Couture shows are being presented right now. These are my favorite shows as designers push the envelope when it comes to construction and imagination. I look at them as a form of art and I marvel at the construction techniques used to create these one-of-a-kind ensembles.

Most shows end with the designer's take on "The Bride", they are often ostentatious and heavy with detailing. Most of the time ready to wear designers will take one trend of a dress and use it as they develop their own future collections. Take a look at what they came up for Spring 2010.

Alexis Mabille

Chanel

Elie Saab

Isn't the one above from Elie Saab dreamy?


All pictures from Style.com