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!

My Dress!

After unanimous votes by those closest to me, I chose:

Yes, I'm a super Pronovias fan but I ended up choosing a Maggie, I don't think I can go wrong with a Maggie, it does something great to curvy girls! I ordered this same color too, Light Gold, can't wait to see it!!! Oh yeah, did I mention I haven't seen it in person? Well, it's a little hard to shop from here BUT I tried on wedding gowns in the past and I knew I needed an A-line with a corset top. I think I have a winner. Don't you think?

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 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?

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

The Encore Bride Style File The Bride Did Not Wear White

As an Encore Bride I'm not into looking like the meringue-whipped cake topper doll on my day. I know that I won't wear white and so far I only have one design house I truly love:Pronovias. That is, until I found the most recent bridal line from Essence of Australia called Martina Liana. I came across this designer from another encore bride at the encore board on Weddingbee.com. I love that most of the gowns are offered in gold, champagne, rose and blue. In my humble opinion as a fashion design major, details on a "colored" gown show much better in pictures than a white dress will, if you don't believe me, look at the countless real wedding pictures in all the major bridal blogs. Can you see the details on a white dress when you take a full length photo? I've also read how many photographers enjoy non-white gowns, possibly for the same reason.

Look at these lovelies....

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Martina Liana

Would you wear a non-white/ivory gown?

The Encore Bride Style File-Weddings Nouveau

Pink Gowns!

Source: Wedding Nouveau

I just came across a blog that I would love to share as I can identify with their vision of a non-traditional wedding. The description from their site says:

"WEDDING NOUVEAU is a cross cultural style guide for today’s bride. It features images taken by some of today’s sought after photographers documenting real weddings of interracial/ multicultural couples that dare to dream outside the box. "

They have beautiful images from real weddings where couples combined their cultural backgrounds to make a gorgeous event. Check them out!

The Encore Bride Style File-Fall 2010 Bridal Week II

Reem Acra presented great alternatives for the Encore Bride, her gowns looked sophisticated but easy to wear.

(Click to Enlarge)

Source: Martha Stewart Weddings

I found Jenny Packham's collection to be very sexy and "grown-up", perfect for an Encore Bride. This is the type of gown you wear when you approach your wedding as the "best party" you two will ever throw together.

Source: Martha Stewart Weddings

I love the "bling" on Packham's collection, do you?

The Encore Bride Style File-Fall 2010 Bridal Week

There were beautiful collections presented at the recent Fall 2010 Bridal Fashion Week in NYC. Some were very innovative (for bridal) and others were pretty much "wearable" and as Michael Kors would say "They were clothes, not fashion" in my opinion. It is difficult to do bridal, you loose the color aspect of designing and it tends to be very traditional. Having said that, I will start with my favorites from the Encore Bride perspective.

Angel Sanchez, an architect by trade has been known for his geometric designs and architectural shapes. He presented a new diffusion line called "Angel". His shapes did not disappoint, his dresses were not fussy but were elegant and had a great fit.

(Click to Enlarge)

Source: Martha Stewart Weddings

Claire Pettibone's collection was beautiful, the 3-D flowers, embroideries and use of color made her collection stand out from a sea of plain ivory gowns. I thought these would be great for an informal beach/garden ceremony. Your thoughts?

(Click to Enlarge)

Source: Martha Stewart Weddings

I'm wrapping up the other collections, more to follow! Do you have any favorites?

The Encore Bride Style File-Milan Fashion Week

After NY Fashion Week, the party continues to Milan. From the shows presented there are two "wedding inspiration" worthy collections. Alberta Ferretti's collection was dreamy and included tones of blush, lavender and purple, I especially liked the short lavender dress. Click on photos to enlarge.

Source: Style.com

I also enjoyed the collection presented by Gianfranco Ferre, he used more metallic colors as well as white and ivory. I loved the draping and soft fabrics he used, especially the white knee length dress, I love the side draped treatment of the dress.

Source: Style.com

I've been anxiously awaiting the complete collections from Paris. Most of my favorite designers present in Paris every year and I will recap my favorites as soon as they are posted? Do you have any favorites?

The Encore Bride Style File-Mauve Beauty

As soon as I saw this Christian Lacroix 2010 gown, I knew I had to make a board inspired by it. I love the ruffles, sleeves and draping, I could live without the bow, but the whole look works for me. I think this style can work for a daytime garden wedding. What do you think?

Credits: Dress: Christian Lacroix for Rosa Clara, Flowers: TheKnot.com, Bracelet: Etsy.com, Shoes: Manolo Blahnik via Barneys.com, Clutch: Etsy.com, Earrings: Etsy.com

The Encore Bride Style File-Very Pink

I'm usually not a "pink" girl, but lately I've been seduced by the different shades of pink, I think this board would be great for an intimate civil ceremony in a nice courtyard. What do you think?

Credits: Dress: Jim Hjelm via Brides.com, Bracelet: Etsy.com, Flowers: TheKnot.com, Earrings: Etsy.com, Shoes: Emilio Pucci via Zappos.com

The Encore Bride Style File-Pink Fairy

The inspiration for this board came from this beautiful pink and gold tiara from Etsy, then came the "fairy" Vera Wang dress, soon after I had a board inspired by a pink fairy. Enjoy!

Credits: Tiara, Etsy; Earrings, Etsy; Capelet, Etsy; Shoes, Zappos; Bouquet, The Knot; Invites, Etsy; Clutch, Etsy; Cake, Pink Cake Box, Dress: Vera Wang via Martha Stewart Weddings

The Encore Bride Style File-Vintage Tropical

Well, well, well, we have a wedding location picked out!!! Of course, we'll have to wait longer than average to have the event but we're making decisions, yay for us! I was in the middle of putting this board together when he leaned over and asked me what our colors would be, what was I going to wear (I didn't even say anything) and he even admired the cakes I was looking at. Finally it was my turn to ask the questions; where did he want to get married? How big/small did he want it to be? So, the location will be....Destin, FL or at least the Florida Panhandle for now. We will have an intimate event with no more than 50 guests and he wants a lobster/crawfish/low country boil for the rehearsal dinner. OK, we're getting somewhere. Now, comes the work, any suggestions for intimate locations in the area?

In honor of the beach event I have put together this board of some of the things I would consider wearing for this event. I love Pronovias gowns and their 2010 collection did not disappoint. I love the aquamarine, gold and cream tones used for the board. It would be a very "airy" relaxed look, perfect for a beach side wedding in Destin, FL.

Credits: Earrings, Bracelet, Sandals, Dress-Pronovias "Gabriella", Headpiece, Flowers, Clutch

The Encore Bride Style File-Urban Chic

The Fall 2009 Couture Shows ended earlier this week in Paris; there are a few winners and some that didn't even make it to the finals in my book. And there is of course Elie Saab, who left us all wondering where he was last season when Chanel presented their all white collection in the same venue Elie Saab just presented another all white collection. The all white collection gives us plenty of inspiration starting with this beaded white jumpsuit that I think would be super chic for an urban setting. As always, I've composed a board of high fashion, killer shoes and handmade beauties straight from Etsy.com. I love the idea of wearing a jumpsuit but to be honest, I love so many different styles that I would have to get married a few times to wear everything I have in mind. Would you wear a pantsuit?

Enjoy!

Credits: Jumpsuit: Elie Saab

Left Row, top to bottom: Hat; flowers, Clutch

Right Row, top to bottom: Necklace and Earrings, Shoes

Christian Dior Spring '09 Couture-Favorites

Just in time for the new Couture season in Paris I have put together some of my favorites looks from the last season. Not meant to be taken literally (although I would wear the white and black dresses straight from the runway) you can choose one trend and keep it in mind as you shop for the right wedding dress or suit. Any of these would be lovely for a daytime affair and/or a civil ceremony. Enjoy!

All pictures from Style.com

Something Blue-The Encore Bride Way

I love couture but it wasn't always that way. It took me a really long time for me to appreciate couture for what it is: works of art. I have admired John Galliano's work for Christian Dior and his Spring 2009 Couture show was no exception. It was hard picking one dress so I will show you a few of my favorites on another post. For now, I picked his beautiful Ivory and Blue gown and created the "Something Blue" board. I love color on bridal gowns and would love to wear one for the day. Would you?

Credits: Dress: Christian Dior via Style.com

Left row, top to bottom: Blue Fascinator, Clutch, Shoes

Right row, top to bottom: Earrings, Bracelet& Necklace

Black and White-The Encore Bride Way

Black and White seems so formal, so elegant...so, "grown up". Zac Posen's Resort 2010 black and white gown and blazer would be perfect for the encore bride, it is elegant with the blazer but can be very sexy without it. I put together an inspiration board with some of my favorite elements: handmade items with a modern twist. Enjoy!

Credits: Dress: Zac Posen

Left Row: Clutch, Flowers and Shoes

Right Row: Earrings, Rings and Bracelet

The Encore Bride Style File-Purple/Lavender

With the Fall 2009 Ready To Wear collections already presented I decided to search for beautiful gowns that can be perfect for the encore bride. I found a few and I decided to put together a board based on Elie Saab's silver draped gown. Silver and lavender would look very sophisticated on an evening garden event. Would you consider wearing a "non-bridal" gown for your wedding?

Credits: 1st Row: L- Fair Child Designs; R-IMH Designs

2nd Row: L-Elie Saab; R-DingbatPress

3rd Row: L-Fay Cullen; Middle- Kate Spade via Nordstrom; R-Brides.com

Chic Loft Wedding

Today I wanted to share and inspiration board I did some time ago, I don't have all the credits for the pictures but please let me know if you recognize any of them. I thought this would be lovely for a "chic-garden" wedding. What do you think?