Wedding Dress Trends 2016: The Gospel According to Vogue.

Dear Reader,

This week Vogue Magazine published their guide to bridal trends for 2016 – based on the latest couture collections. 

Wedding dresses by Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa

I'm not sure my clients would agree with all of them – and I'm not giving away my own predictions yet! As always, I'll make mine at the end of this year, based on what my brides are loving and asking for. But it's fun to see these from Vogue, and to give you my take on them…

Wedding Dress Trend 1 – Sweet Nothings
The first trend Vogue noted is for barely there dresses, almost lingerie. This is a very couture look – much easier to carry off on a catwalk than in an English church or a garden reception. Super pretty, though. And very reminiscent of all those slinky 1930s and sultry 1940s dresses…

1930s inspired Butterfly wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Original 1940s lace wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 2 – Sparkles
Always in fashion, and rightly so. A generous sprinkling of sparkle appeared on the catwalks for next year, particularly from Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera and Marchesa. A little sparkle has always been one of the delights of vintage wedding dresses, of course. With many of the dresses in my Heavenly Collection, you can choose to add just a little bling… or a lot!

My 1940s style wedding dress, Bette, with its sparkly trim.

Pretty bling: Florence, 1940s style dress from my Heavenly Collection.

Wedding Dress Trend 3 – Knee Length
Shorter dresses made a welcome appearance on the bridal catwalks. But to see this trend at its best, simply look to the 1950s for the most fabulous tea–length wedding dresses…

'Blanche', 1950s style wedding dress, from my Heavenly Collection

Original 1950s 'cupcake' wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 4 – Bare Shoulders
Always popular with so many brides. Yet vintage dresses often take a subtler approach. Think of pretty keyhole openings, lace shoulders or tiny petal sleeves. Every bit as sexy, but a lot more subtle.

Angel, 1930s inspired lace wedding dress: vintage is more subtly sexy.

Original 1950s wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

1970s off–the–shoulder wedding dress, from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 5 – Separate Overskirts
A full-length transparent overskirt, cut to reveal a shorter one underneath...? Oh so fashiony! Very modern, a little bit mad, and quite fun – but not exactly a classic look. What do you think?

Wedding Dress with Overskirt, by the usually classic designer Vera Wang!

Wedding Dress Trend 6 – Cream
Ahhhh, beautiful. Now here's one I really can enthuse about – drawing as it does from the softness and romance of vintage wedding fashion. White is lovely too, of course. But cream, blush and ivory are so much more flattering to all skin tones. Often my clients come to me expecting to choose a white wedding dress, but once tried they fall in love with these lovely muted tones. That's why I offer my Heavenly Collection dresses in a range of pretty and flattering shades.

Full length lace wedding dress in cream by Oscar de la Renta

Butterfly, from my Heavenly Collection in a soft ivory.

Florence: a lace wedding dress with toning underslip (Heavenly Collection)

Well done, Vogue – fun predictions and a good showing for vintage styles. What did you think of them? Later this year, you can see how my own predictions match up!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

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Wedding Wednesday- 31 More Good Ideas for ONE Month Out!

from followpics.net/christmas-cinnamon-roll-wreath/‎

Alright people! We are exactly one month out today! So rather than just do one great idea, I figured I would do 31. I probably won't have another chance to trot out the fun ideas I come across on my blog hopping (which is almost over too! I mean, I am watching them slowly wane from my interest- once you have made your decisions, it just isn't as fun). I especially love that Offbeat Bride, and there a couple on here that I have left at the side for quite a while. So anyway, drink this in people, because it is almost over!

Ok!  Off we go!

1. This isn't technically only for weddings (It would be awesome for like holidays too) but for a brunch wedding it would be really cool. I can easily explain why we did our wedding the way we did (we want to dance), but if you aren't dancey, I think a brunch wedding would be so cool.

from offbeatbride.com/2012/07/washington-garden-food-wedding

2. Comic book postcards as your guest book. Very cool. I especially love the way they are displaying them. 

from offbeatbride.com/2012/07/unity-sandwich

3. A Unity Sandwich! As opposed to sand or candles or that business. The Boy HATES those, but we would do this if we could. Just amazing. Lifetime commitments do look like sandwiches. 

from kotaku.com/5930485/

 4. A Tetris Invite- This is Genius!! Would be very cool for a gamer wedding.

from indulgy.com/post/u4sqPheVT1/must-take-wedding-photos

5. This picture of guys getting ready. I just think this is pretty sweet. 

from offbeatbride.com/2012/07/nerdy-wedding-invitations

6. Dinosaur bone motif- I just think this is adorable- very tongue and cheek without being overly cutesy. 

from www.examiner.com/slideshow/wedding-activities-for-kids

7. Kids packs- I like this wayyy better than the coloring books that A) they don't use and B) are usually perpetuating a bunch of heteronormative silliness. I mean, if you are at a wedding for a heterosexual couple, some of this business is hard to avoid, but I think there is no reason to treat it like the only option. Or even something they should aspire to? If you just give them notepads, they can use it however they want!

from whengeekswed.com/blog/2012/04/16/hidden-spiderman/

8. This. I am pretty sure this was described as "something for the groom" but I think this could be awesome for anyone! Think of all the weirdness you could have crawling out of your wedding cake! This idea truly has a ton of potential.

from www.mazelmoments.com

9. This is probably the last time I will post a picture of this wedding, the dream one, on the blog. Yet another picture of it has been circulating around the internet, and it seriously has to be the prettiest yet. This is the reception that launched a thousand paper lanterns. Still, come on people! This is amazing!

from www.uncommonplaceblog.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

10. Having a wedding at the cheesy astro turf oasis in the middle of Joshua Tree. Just so creative and bizarre. I love the kind of intentional cheesiness of it all, but Joshua Tree is also so beautiful, so you get a very strange combination. 

from www.pinterest.com/cocobeancoco/updos-low/‎

11. Bride with each bridesmaid pictures- I really love these, because they turn out so much sweeter than the big group pictures. Melissa did these for her wedding, and I really thought they were great. 

from tiedbowblog.wordpress.com/tag/wedding-chair-signs/

12. Pictures on the back of the bride and groom's chairs. I saw another one in a magazine wherre the pictures were of the bride and groom as kids. I thought that was such a sentimental idea without being saccharine or overly agressive in its cuteness.

from www.pinterest.com/demomorty0/

13. Engagement pictures that prominently feature pets (and maybe nothing else)- this engagement pic is so cool because it isn't trying to hard. But putting them in a studio-like space, the photographer avoids some overly domesticated , Beidermeier style intimacy- but it is still intimate!

from offbeatbride.com/2010/08/guestbook-alternatives

14. A Blue French Horn as your Guest Book- Perfect for the exceptionally avid How I Met Your Mother enthusiast (or french horn players, I guess). 

from www.pinterest.com/vanityscare/engagement-pix-to-copy/‎

15. Another great engagement picture- God Bless Neon shoe laces- also, couples which are not equally matched in their eccentricity- I totally get that!

from www.geekosystem.com/eye-of-sauron-cake-always-watching/

16. Eye of Sauron groom's cake- Wow I wish I had thought of this! THis cake is AMAZING. Now I just think we need to have a Lord of the Ring's themed party so I can make this cake. Just about the most evil cake ever, in a good way. Seriously, one of my girlfriends with babies needs to have a Lord of the Rings themed 1st birthday party so their kid can eat the eye of Sauron!

from offbeatbride.com/2012/07/jenga-guest-book‎

17. Jenga block guest book- Just, cute. I would prefer a settlers of Cattan Guest Book. Maybe Uno. Or Pirateer.

18. Cookie Bouquet! Another genius sweets-related Idea- It is so sweet and they look delicious!

from www.pettipond.com/image_bf4.htm

 19. Ok, I am not a hot pink person, but I will happily respect any person's commitment to color. The inside of this skirt is just so cute. A great way to spice up a boring white dress.

from weddinggawker.com/?s=harry+potter

20. Harry Potter Engagement Pictures. This is sooooo good. This is why you can't spend too much time on blogs after a decision is done and over with. How do you live with yourself when you realize that you didn't think of a Harry Potter themed engagement shoot? 

from www.pinterest.com/ugotj/baby-shower-ideas/‎

21. Fruit Monster-  I love this guy. Way better than your regular fruit display. The three eyes and strawberry ears are my favorite part.

from www.pinterest.com/coffeehit/wood/‎

22. These signs. I like the mix of fonts and colors on this particular one. 

from www.pinterest.com/smorey10/late-night-wedding-snacks/‎

23. I know I used these before, but they are so cute! You have to appreciate cinammon roll lollipops! (its funny that cinamon rolls came up twice in one post!)

from ruffledblog.com/handcrafted-saskatchewan-wedding/

24. A beautiful Prego bridesmaid! I mean, I have a couple pregos in the mix, and i love the look they did for this girl! I just want them to feel cute too!

from www.chicagoillinoisweddingphotography.com/

25. I go back and forth on loving this and thinking like it looks like a sea of hung up used tissues.My Dad's dog would love it! 

from indulgy.com/post/FKWaFJZFT1/up-fingerprint-guestbook

26. These guestbooks- Probably the Boy's favorite thing we got for the whole wedding. It's very cute!

from etsy.com

27. Brides with Bettie Page bangs. I miss my blunt bangs, but I hear having them for your wedding leads to all kinds of annoyances and such.  Still, this girl looks adorable.

from www.pinterest.com/nannasoozanna/the-groom-and-his-men/

28. Suspenders!  I love them, I love this picture, and I love the commitment of the two guys on the left.

from ruffledblog.com/coral-savannah-wedding/

29. Polka dot bridesmaid dresses- I love some pattern. In Pam and Carlo's wedding, we wore black and white patterned dresses and they were so cute. People shouldn't be afraid of patterns!

from www.pinterest.com/duvadesigns/‎

30. Quilting details. So pretty!

from www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/featured-shop-sibo-designs/‎

 31. This veil. Just beautiful!

Alright people!! We only have 31 days to go!! It's almost the end of Wedding Wednesday!

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Real Bride Sophie shines in a 1950s-style wedding dress, 'CHANTILLY'

Dear Reader,

Remember I promised to share more pictures of Heavenly bride Sophie, and her wedding to Jeremy...?

For her city wedding in Ealing, Sophie looked fabulous in 'Chantilly' - a 1950s inspired lace wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection. She teamed the dress so prettily with silver Jimmy Choo 'Luna' peep toe pumps, a sweet veil and gorgeous bright Spring flowers.

Husband-to-be Jeremy looked dashing too, in a blue Reiss suit, Thomas Pink dress shirt and Alexander McQueen tie and cufflinks...

And their whole happy day was filled with wonderful personal details, from the 'Molly Bakes' cake-pops to the London Bus tour!

"Many of our guests travelled to London for our wedding from all over the world, so we hired a routemaster to take them on a tour of London before arriving at our reception at The Amadeus in Maida Vale."

 

Thanks so much to Sophie for sharing for her super-stylish day with us (and for her kind words!) If you've enjoyed this post, check out the nice feature in Brides Magazine, here.

"I just wanted to share some pics from Saturday - I felt wonderful in my dress and received so many compliments, so thank you for all your help and support in making my dream dress!"

See you all later this week, for another inspiring Real Vintage Bride!

Love

Helena 

Heavenly Vintage Brides

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