Wedding Gowns Made Out of WHAAAAAAT?!

And the bride wore ivory... Covering her caged hips!
Via Tumblr 

When you think stop to think about it, wedding dress possibilities nowadays - or, more specifically, what materials you can use to put together a great wedding dress - are pretty endless.  Historically, we went from using flax, muslin and papyrus for clothing in ancient Egyptian times, to the Cretans who added to the textile library with animal skins, linen and wool.  Throughout history, you could find all kinds of wardrobes choices in as varied of elements as silk, bamboo and felt; cotton and hemp joined the mix and as time progressed, imagination came to the party and brought cool ideas like dyed and patterned textiles.  Then, as we move along the fashion timeline, we started to accessorize with lace and playing with silhouettes and detailing; collars and cuffs became a fierce competition and would tip society off to how much of a VIP a person was.

 A wedding dress fit for a Queen (in the good old, old OLD days)
Via agnautacouture.com

Clothes had come a long way, baby!  It was no longer just to protect humans from the elements, signify economical status and preserve modesty (read: cover your naughty bits) but it became a way to be colourful, be striking and express who you were. So it's no wonder that clothing wore for marriage ceremonies would go through the same journey as regular ol' clothes and becomes yet another frontier for 'the next big thing'.... I mean, wedding dresses have changed a LOT in the last century. See Exhibit A, if you will:

Via YouTube 

And let's be real, wedding dress watching is its own history lesson.  The dress du jour is celebrated almost as much as the ceremony itself!  Collectively, there are dresses that are etched into a consciences, and with each wedding comes another image for the mental bridal catalogue. Who can forget this beauty of a dress -

This dress is bananas - B-A-N-A-N-A-S! But Pink!
Via eonline.com

-or this one...

Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Junior - gone way, way too soon
Via crhphotos.com

...or this dress that brought all kinds of drama ...

Via stylecircle.com 

....this wedding look encapsulated the era and was a snapshot of a whole new world for brides ....

Via fromthebygone.wordpress.com

...and this wedding look? Keep it klassy, Britney!

Via rollingstone.com

I feel like this bride gave us #bridalfashiongoals - one outfit wasn't enough and they were all equally stunning!

Via virgula.com.br

And wowza, this couple redefined what we consider crisp, classy and flawless.

Via celebritybrideguide.com

But in terms of the marriage between textile and ingenuity, these dress concepts are fierce AF!

Via flushthefashion.com

Via Pinterest 

Via makesantafe.org

Via chicagoweddingblog.com

Via taipeitimes.com

Via Pinterest 

Via bustle.com

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Last week, I came across a post on Buzzfeed that highlighted and celebrated a competition that takes place every year that challenges even the most imaginative minds by severely limiting what they can work with. Their mission, if they so choose, is simple: Construct a stunning wedding dress using nothing but Charmin toilet paper, needle, thread, glue and tape. Those that accepted the challenged brought their A-game and came to PLAY!

*~Mission Incredible: Wedding dresses made from toilet paper that SLAY!~*

These creations  make every toilet paper dress that I've made at every bridal shower I've ever gone to PALE by comparison. But am I ever in awe of what they've pulled off with just the bare minimum of materials and an immeasurable imagination! Congrats to every designer in the top 10 and to every soon-to-be bridal-shower attendee - here's a lot of inspiration for your future creations!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

A Dress Worth More Than Can Be Measured!

One dress, three unforgettable days!
Via weddingjournalonline.com

The wedding industry is constantly looking for the next big thing, even as it's enjoying the current big thing.  Sometimes it feels like no sooner have we fallen in love with a colour theme, a dress style, or a food trend, than we're having our head spun by a brand new, exciting -MUST-HAVE!- wedding detail. But then, out of the blue, we hear or see something that reminds us that ever so often, what's old is new - and heartwarming!

This is the story of a dress that found itself a star not once, not twice, but THREE times, by three generations of women in the same family.  We wanted to share it with you all because it's A) a sentiment that's so touching!; B) an idea that's so snag-worthy!; and C) a timely reminder of how you can create a beautiful and memorable wedding tradition!

*~One Wedding Dress, Three Beautiful Brides!~*

I don't know what part makes my eyes well up more, the fact that the three ladies - a mother, her daughter and her granddaughter - have this lovely wedding-day bond between them or the fact that one very lucky fellow got to escort three beautiful brides down the aisle in the same dress.  No matter which is it, I have a serious case of the feels right now!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

The Devil's In The Details!

Stunning, sweeping and sensational, a cape that brings the drama!
Via starletweddings.co.uk

On second thought.... Forget the devil, there's nothing but magic in these bridal details.  Nothing evil here at all, just a collection of some of the sweetest and simply stunning bridal attire elements on the big day!  A dress can make you swoon in the most understated or unexpected ways, whether with beautiful beadwork....

Via  bridebox.com

a unique cut-out.....

Via thedcladies.com

or a a delicate trail of buttons....

Via madamebridal.com

Wedding day outfits are inherently lovely, but as you look a little closer, you'll find touches that will make you weak in the knees!

*Small details = Big Impact! Wedding day bridal attire perfection!~*

So when you're looking for your outfit for your walk down the aisle, even if you're in love with the big picture, you might very well feel your heart skip a beat as you zoom in on the little things!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

Your Wedding Dress: The Day/Week/Month/Year After!

We hope you all had a great couple days of holiday shenanigans, festive hijinx and good times all around with all your favourites!  As always, it went way too quickly, there were way fewer cookies than I would've liked and I couldn't get enough of my dad's stuffing.  But, if  these were indeed my biggest problems this Christmas, then I had a really, really good holiday!

So, in the middle of all the looking forward - to New Years Eve, STAR WARS NIGHT! with April and my brother-in-law (yep, the force was strong with us, we waited an ungodly amount of time to make plans to see the movie!), the endless tying up the best of 2015 and the best projections of 2016, I came across a piece that kind of seemed appropriate as we close out the year, especially for brides who took a stroll down the aisle this year.  What do you do with your wedding dress, post-big day?

*~Wedding dress 'what now?'~*

There are some great ideas, the first idea speaks to the bride-to-be who might be considering a non-traditional dress that she can wear again and how marching to the beat of your ow drum = a dress that isn't relegated to one day.  This might sound strange but consider this: Keira Knightley's adorable, ballerina-sequel Chanel wedding dress? She wore it to a party in 2008 - five years before she got married. AND she wore it to the SeriousFun Gala a few months after her nuptials. Each time she wore it, she was styled a little differently for a unique look, but make no mistake, this is the epitome of wearing something you lovelovelove to get married - and finding a way to wear your gorgeous dress AFTER your wedding day!

One dress, three ways:

The Dress: Prior to the wedding.....
Photo via thegloss.com

.... on the Wedding day.....
Photo via chicvintagebride.com

....and post-wedding!
Photo via celebmafia.com

*~Keira Knightley, and her awesome Wedding Dress Encore!~*

Some of the ideas weren't my favourites at all - like trashing the dress. Sadness!  Wedding dresses are soooooo beautiful; like a piece of art.  I mean, someone (or a few someones, depending on how intricate your dress is) spent HOURS working on it and it feels almost cruel to not honour that, you know? But then my heartbea returned to normal and I unclenched my fists when the article rolled around to my absolute favourite idea, to display your dress. Again, wedding dresses are BEAUTIFUL. Brides look absolutely stunning in these creations - so what could be better than giving your dress a little VIP treatment? Cleaned, pressed and framed, right next to your favourite wedding picture.

( Full disclosure: I'm dying for April to do this because her dress was a real beauty, so I'm highlighting this idea here. No pressure, April. No pressure!)

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

Wednesday Look-Ahead

Photo via dippedinlace.com

On Monday, we took a look at what the next few months will look like, in terms of the colour and textures that are on-trend.  For folks who are getting married in the spring of 2016 and onwards, it's time to start dress-shopping in earnest, and what better way to whet your wedding gown appetite than by looking at a great sampling of the styles and details that graced the runways - and are headed our way next year? Whether it's feathers, layers, flowers, overlays, and shades other than white, these dresses have all these - and more!

*~Here comes the styles....not just in white...Oh la la la la la lalalala la la la!~*

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

#TBT - 100 Years of Wedding Dresses

Photo via exquisiteweddingsmagazine.com

The folks at Mode have come up with some awesome timelapse videos that show how fashion has evolved over the last century so we knew a wedding dress retrospective would be inevitable.... And here it is!

*~You've come a long way, baby!~*

It's amazing to see each decade represented from head to toe, and to see just how each decade had its own distinct aesthetic and style. The beauty of the video for me was that there was a charm and appeal in elements of each style of dress, and not only that, you can see how some of those same elements have been re-imagined and incorporated with current dresses, making them a fresh and modern interpretation of some very classic looks.  Long sleeves, flapper-esque beading, cocktail length - it goes to show that wedding fashion has an element of timelessness and never really looks dated (ok, maybe the 1985 dress wasn't a classic, but hey, she worked that dress and make-up like a champ, so maybe the takeaway from that look was less about the dress and hair, but more about sass and fearlessness? Let's go with that!)

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~
Lisa and April

I Simply Remember My Favourite Things...

I’m sure that I’m going to sound like a broken record when I tell you guys (again) that I got married in an ivory pantsuit. Which I loved.  Like, lovedlovedloved.  But…. if I had to do it all over again (please avert your eyes and plug your ears pantsuit, because this might insult you just a teeny bit!) I DO have a dream wedding dress that I would have loved to float down the aisle in, in an alternate universe/sliding-doors situation, of course:

Julie Andrews, aka Maria in “The Sound of Music”

Look at the neckline and collar – she was Fierce before Sasha! And yet, the delicate buttons at the sleeves were so feminine. This dress was always my idea of perfection.  And if that wasn’t enough bridal style, I always had an alternate to my dream dress:

I know,  I know,  it looks like I’ve got an old-fashioned sensibility, but this style of dress made an appearance not too long ago, just five years ago, and it was courtesy of Sarah Burton, Creative Director of Alexander McQueen.  And the House of McQueen is anything but old-fashioned or stuffy!

The one thing that all of these dresses have in common (other than the ability to make me bow down and observe a moment of silence out of respect!) is the sleeves.   It’s amazing how something so ordinary can elevate a dress to another level when you don’t see it all the time, you know?  Strapless dresses are gorgeous and inherently romantic… but oh, the capped sleeves, the floaty long sleeves and all the sleeves in between can make you swoon! So of course, I was so ridiculously happy to see a Buzzfeed post this week celebrating a lovely bunch of dresses with sleeves and I knew I’d have to share!

33 Impossibly Pretty Wedding Dresses with Sleeves

I know that there are an infinite amount of choices for dresses…  but it feels nice to take a minute and have a look at a little themed collection sometimes?

#sleevesareadreamyourheartmakes

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~

Lisa and April

Dresses, Dresses and Dresses!

Full disclosure: I got married in a simple off-white pantsuit. My wedding was super-small,  seventeen people in attendance on a Friday afternoon and it took place at City Hall. My suit was perfect for that day, and after moving house three times, she still hangs in my closet twenty years later and ever so often,  I unzip the garment bag, take her out and give her a once-over.  I always think of Carrie Bradshaw in ‘Sex and the City’ and her wedding dress situation: she was gifted an amazing Vivienne Westwood wedding dress, but when she finally married Big, she wore her no-name, sweet and classic suit and she’d never looked better.

But ohhh, wedding dresses are probably my favourite part of the planning process. I love the feel of them on the hanger – heavy, full of promise -  the way the material swishes or falls seductively, the beading that demands to be admired,  and the little differences from dress to dress that make each beautiful in their own unique way.   I can’t wait for our brides to start the hunt for their perfect dress.

Last month, Flare magazine collected 35 of the sweetest, prettiest, dreamiest dresses that highlight the trends for 2015 – and beyond. But even though these dresses are lovely examples of the hottest bridal trends for the year, they are fresh and beautiful – with no shelf life! So if you’re looking right now for dress ideas, this is a great place to start….

2015 Bridal Ttrends for the fashion-loving bride!

Wishing you a day as limitless as you are~

Lisa and April