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Dressed to Ill: Bridal Edition

GiggleSugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:30:00 -0700

Wedding gowns were traditionally white to represent the bride's innocence and purity.
Not so much anymore.

Would You Line Up For a Bridal Gown Sweep?

DearSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:30:00 -0800

If you caught the Today show this morning, you probably saw every soon-to-be bride on a budget in New York City bombard Filene's Basement. Women were lined up since the early morning hours to get their hands on discounted, nonrefundable bridal gowns. And the women came prepared - they brought team members, walkie-talkies and whistles, and plans to divide and conquer the room of brand new gowns to get the right dress in the right size.

In this economy, bargain shopping is a must, but racing to snatch the gown of your dreams almost takes the excitement out of it. Since I'm not in the market for a wedding dress, I don't know how to answer this one. So tell me ladies, would you go through the trouble to get your dress on sale? Or would you rather pay a little more to have a relaxing, memorable experience?

To see the hilarious scene from this morning's shopping spree, read more.

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Toilet Paper Wedding Dresses

GiggleSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Most brides-to-be would include Vera Wang, InStyle magazine, and the Fashion Institute of Technology as their wedding-prep dream team. Others, like the following women, will settle for Charmin, Cheap Chic Weddings, and Ripley's Believe It or Not! They're winners in the fourth annual design-a-wedding-dress-with-toilet-paper contest. They could only use TP, tape, paper, and glue. Dang - these dresses are awesome! I just hope they were allowed to use 3-ply. They look pretty delicate.

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Fab Flash: Economy Forces Bridal Designers to Think Bigger and Cheaper

FabSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:50:22 -0700

During trying, economic times, bridal designers are forced to think creatively. On top of slashing prices, designers are cooking up new, imaginative designs to lure in the bride to be. Vera Wang, for example, reduced her price points up to 50 percent with gowns retailing at $3,600 compared to $5,500 last year. "There is a bigger challenge. You have to be creative and be sure you want to show something special,” said Carolina Herrera who came up with a unique bridal collection inspired by classic painters such as Claude Monet and Édouard Manet.

(L-R: Carolina Herrera, J.Crew, and Oscar de la Renta)

To read more about how bridal designers are thinking bigger and cheaper read more.

J.Crew is offering its once online exclusive bridal collection in select stores.
Alfred Angelo, a 75-year-old bridal label, launched a Recessionista collection with prices starting at $298.
To play up brides’ unique personalities, Junko Yoshioka teamed up with astrologist Susan Miller to create a collection inspired by the various astrological signs.
Monique Lhuillier designed a new bridesmaid line retailing between $250 and $390.

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Fab Ad: Temperley Bridal

FabSugarUK — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:00:27 -0700

When it comes to designer bridal wear, Alice Temperley knows what she's doing! She creates beautiful gowns which are surprisingly affordable with prices starting from £1300. These images are taken from the latest ad campaign for the collection and feature two key dresses, the Twinkle and the Catriona. Twinkle features a long train with applique white flowers, where as Catriona has plenty of ruffles! What do you think of the wedding gowns?

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Carolina Herrera's Bridal Toppers: Love It or Hate It?

FabSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:00:22 -0700

No doubt Carolina Herrera makes some desirable wedding gowns. She just showed her Spring 2010 collection and, while gorgeous gowns glided down the runway, I was distracted by the bridal toppers. It's a fun runway idea, but in real life, not so much. Maybe if it weren't with a traditional white gown. White bikini and fedora? Now that makes sense. What do you think, if you were engaged, would you ever consider wearing a hat on your big day?

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Get in Shape While Planning Your Wedding

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Being a bride-to-be is joyful and exciting, but there's no denying that planning for the big day can be really stressful. You have so much to think about: flowers, the ceremony, invitations, your dress, the cake, and the honeymoon. Planning the wedding can be as much work as a full-time job! In order to prevent feeling overwhelmed with your enormous to-do list, you're going to have to make multitasking a part of your planning process.

So kill two birds with one stone by researching wedding info while working out. You can download wedding podcasts from iTunes and burn calories and tone up while you listen. Here are a few for you to try:

For free, download The Wedding Planning Audiocast, which is the Internet's number one wedding show heard around the world.
Also at no cost, download 70 of the most recent podcasts from Wedding Podcast Network.

To see what else you can listen to while hitting the gym, read more.

Download free episodes of Wedding Workout from the Wedding Podcast Network to help you get bridal-gown ready.
If you need more wedding exercise ideas, check out five free episodes of The Healthy Bride Podcast Workouts.
If a green wedding is important to you, check out two free episodes of Your Guide to Green and Eco-Chic Wedding.
Brides Magazine has four free podcasts that discuss the latest trends, style tips, and cost-saving strategies in planning your wedding.
If you don't mind paying a little, the audiobook called Wedding Planning ($12.95) gives insights from wedding planner Susannah Richardson, so you can have as little stress as possible when planning for your big day.
Or download season six of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? for $17.99. It shows how wedding planners help real couples get through the hectic planning process, and have the wedding they always imagined.

If these don't float your boat, there are tons of other wedding-related podcasts from iTunes, so you're bound to find something that will help make planning your wedding a little easier.

For more wedding tips, check out all of the Sugar Network’s wedding coverage here.

Friday Fab News Roundup!

FabSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:50:22 -0700

Coco Chanel: A life on camera - Guardian UK
Why a posh store is selling on eBay - WSJ
Gilles Bensimon's new gigs - FWD
Elie Tahari designs a dress inspired by Michelle Obama - Vogue UK
Buyer sues Louis Vuitton after discovering that his $12,000 Murakami prints came from repurposed materials - LA Times
Meisel and his muses - New York Times
Which fashion designers would make it in the movies? - Guardian UK
Top designers urge backing for piracy bill - WWD
Vivienne Westwood launches five new bridal gowns - Vogue UK
First Look: Lulu Frost + Loft - Nylon

Let PriscillaofBoston.com Be Your Wedding Planning Guide . . .

FabSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:50:11 -0700

Choosing a wedding dress can be one of the most stressful decisions in a stylista's life. After all, you'll be walking down the aisle (or a beach) with hundreds of pairs of eyes gawking at your every step. Luckily, PriscillaofBoston.com is here to help every blushing bride find the dress of her dreams. This site makes wedding planning a piece a cake by providing an abundance of wedding dresses and bridal party gowns for you to pick and choose - there's even a very organized trunk show calendar announcing when they'll be in town! There's also a special planning section offering floral, photography, and even vacation destination ideas for you to ponder and peruse. Done and done. There's nothing left to do but say "I do!"

Couple Uses Bartering to Afford Santa Monica Dream Wedding

SavvySugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:50:39 -0700

How do you get a $40,000 wedding for $3,000? If you're Jennifer Mae Fletke and Chris Watters, you barter, borrow, and bargain your way there. The couple traded the videotaping and editing services of their production company for other vendors to sign on for their wedding day. When it came to getting a photographer and videographer, they offered to simply take some projects off their competitors' plates after the wedding.

While the couple used their creativity to trade their time and skills, some aspects of the wedding couldn't be handled through bartering. Jennifer brought out her bargaining guns to get the venue she wanted for half its usual price and negotiated a rate for out-of-town guests that would put most Priceline deals to shame. She was able to get her guests a four-night-stay for $150 from the typical nightly rate of $200 to $400, and at the last minute a bridal salon agreed to lend the bride-to-be a wedding gown that she loved.

The events design firm they hired commended the couple's efforts and said, "To stay on top of the economy, you really have to put yourself out there. You have to have the right tools to promote your company and your services." If you're not in the industry like Fletke and Watters then your bartering success rate would likely be much lower, but it doesn't mean you couldn't try in some areas.

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