For Weddings in Ireland.

Choosing Your Dress.





The style of dress you choose will be governed to a large extent by the style of wedding you are planning to have. Whether your wedding is formal, informal or semiformal, also the time of the year, all these factors will have a bearing on the style of gowns you choose for yourself and your bridesmaid's.

You will probably have some preconceptions as to how the gown should look, you could have a fairy tale princess look, be attired like a mediaeval queen or a Russian Countess, you can have a full length train, your sleeves could be trimmed with hand made lace, your head dress could incorporate a diamond tiara. The possibilities are almost limitless.

Why not browse the bridal salon's page and visit some of the many web site's of top designer's in Ireland and the UK. You will find after some time doing this you will be forming a vision in your mind about the style of your dress, the material of it's compositions and the jewellery and accessories you would like to wear with it, also on the style and colour's in your bridal bouquet.


The Formal Wedding.

If you have decided on a formal wedding, it can take many forms ranging from something approaching a state wedding, your transport could be a glass coach complete with footmen in full livery, the service in a cathedral and the reception in a palace, (provided of course that you are not limited by budget,) to a service in your place of worship and the reception in the local hotel, broadly speaking a formal wedding would contain most of the features set out below.
The ceremony would be held in a church, chapel, synagogue or other place of worship.
 Your reception would be in a hotel, a mansion, a castle, or some other up market venue.
The banquet would have assigned place settings. (See Reception .Seating)
The groom and groomsmen would be dressed in formal wear.
With most formal weddings you would choose a dress of white or off white and full length.
The material used would be of the highest quality silk, velvet or satin, and could be ornamented with jewels pearls or sequins.
The veil in most cases would be full length with matching train.
Gloves would normally be worn, as well as a jewelled tiara.
All your attendants should be dressed in matching outfits.


The Semiformal Wedding.

If you choose to have a semiformal wedding, your choice of dress can be much wider than for a formal wedding. As can your choice of venue's for the service, the reception etc.
For your dress again it could be white or off white, perhaps pale pastels. It wouldn't necessarily be full length, somewhere between the ankle and the knee.
The style you choose for the dress will perhaps depend on whether or not your wedding has a theme, or is aimed at a period, the location may also have some bearing on your choice.
You could have a long veil without a train, or a head piece without a veil, again browse the bridal salon's page for ideas.

The Informal Wedding.

Having an informal wedding leaves your options wide open almost anything goes, the service can be outdoors, in a night club, in your home or garden, on board a ship.
The meal can be a simple buffet, barbecue or picnic.
The brides dress would of course be special but would stray far from tradition, in both colour and style. It could be a simple two piece suit, or even jeans and sweater.
The bride's head dress could be a garland of flowers.
Regarding the groom's attire again anything goes, just whatever they are both happy with.


Time Of The Year.

Spring.

Fabrics such as silk tulle, organza, or charmeuse
A pillbox hat or a decorated headband, with or without a veil
Tea-length or intermission-length skirts
Cap sleeves or off-the-shoulder neckline with short gloves.

Open-toed shoes.

Summer.

Cool fabrics like linen, polished cotton, chiffon, tulle, and organza
Spaghetti strap, halter, strapless, or backless styles
Two-piece dresses with hints of bare skin at the midriff.

Short, medium-length, or ankle-length skirts
Wide-brimmed, polished straw hat or picture hat.
Fresh flower headpiece, with or without a veil.

Autumn.

For autumn weddings, good choices might include:
Medium-weight fabrics such as taffeta, raw silk, silk shantung, silk-faced satin, and silk gazar
Sweetheart, bateaux, or scoop necklines
Lighter-weight trains
A snood
Autumn-toned embroidered detail on the dress
A decorative shawl
Three-quarter length sleeves or above-the-elbow gloves

A mantilla made of heavy lace.

Winter

The time of the year has an important bearing on the type of fabric that you choose for your dress, if your wedding is in winter then you will probably choose to have your dress made from velvet, satin or brocade, possibly with long sleeves and a higher neckline.

Headpieces that incorporate a hat, possibly made from fur or feathers

Fur or faux fur trim, or a stole or muff. Kid gloves Lace-up wedding boots and a Bridal coat.

And to complete this Dr Zhyvago image what about a coach and four or would you be happy with just two, .


Your Budget.

It is highly possible that your wedding dress will be the most expensive article of clothing that you will buy in your entire life, occasionally one sees bridal gowns in charity shops, the financially astute bride could do worse than go for one of these, saving money and donating to a good cause at the same time. At the bottom end of the price scale you can expect to pay about £300.00 for a dress and of course the sky is the limit at the other end.

Whatever you spend on your dress it shouldn't exceed 10% of your overall wedding budget and this figure should include all your accessories, shoes lingerie, gloves etc.

If you are thinking about your wedding budget, well! in all reality you can't escape it, we have written a budget planner, it isn't anything exciting just a spreadsheet written in Microsoft Excel (so if you haven't got Excel sorry) if you download it you may find it some help in allocating wedding finances. When you are downloading it you will most likely get some messages from Windows about macros and viruses, well don't worry we didn't include any malicious viruses in the planner so your computer won't crash, (said us tongue in cheek) no really, it doesn't seem to matter whether you click disable macros or enable macros, the planner will still work, and your computer won't die.

We have had it in our mind for some time to write a complete suite of wedding planning software, but unfortunately we don't have the time, not to mention the skill. At the rate we are getting on, please try and remember to tell your kids (when you get them) it may be ready in time for their marriage's. Note the plural, you are going to be prolific, In the mean time visit Sandals Travel they do free wedding planning software. We'll try to find it in our hearth's to forgive you for not waiting on us. Good luck and God bless.


Your Personal Style.

So what bridal gown will you finally choose, whichever it is it will probably reflect your personality. This is a time that you have dreamed of many times since you were a small girl, your personality will have been shaped by the life that you have lived, by your family and the company that you have kept. When you first enter a bridal salon that little girl with her fairy tale ideals will be there too. Whatever you choose it is vitally important that you are happy and confident with it. Take advise from your friends, your mum etc and of course from the staff at the salon, but bear in mind that they have an axe to grind, at the end of the day the choice is yours. Trust your instincts.

 

 

Tell Us About Your Dress.

When your choice is made and your wedding is over why don't you send us two of your wedding photographs, along with a brief description of your wedding (about 150 words) along with the names of your vendors, we will publish then on the Just Married page of our site.

If you can find the time you might like to tell us the full story of your wedding, your dress included if you visit this page you can find out more.

Your Body Shape.

Tall And Thin.

For this body shape you could choose a strapless ballgown style with a fitted bodice. If you have a bone structure which is slightly prominent you would be better to go for a dress with a high neckline. This style of dress looks exceptionally well when beaded or finely embroidered.

 

Short with a fuller figure.

For your figure try the empire line dress, with a seam under the bustline, A knee length dress may suit you however if you go for a full length one it will give you a taller silhouette.

 

Full wide hips.

You can wear most styles of dress, provided the don't fit too thigtly over the hips, the bustle is to be avoided, also dresses which are tiered . The ballgown look will draw the attention away from your hips, You could also try the princess syle fitted on top and with a slight flare to the hem this will go a long way to hideing larger hips.

 

Full Bust.

The best way to draw attention away from this is to have a long bodice which is quite plain, and avoid low necklines.

 

Wide Shoulders.

You could cover them up totally or use wider straps which will help to make your shoulders look narrower, with your body shape puffed sleeves are to be avoided.

 

Short heavy legs..

Go for a full length dress with a sheath style which is not too body hugging, this will make you look taller.

Short heavy arms.

Go for a dress which has three quarter length sleeves, which are quite loose.

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Different Dress Style's.

In the past the image of virginal brides in traditional fairy-tale white was the norm; fashionable brides this year are wearing lilacs, silvers, golds and pastels..
You are much better to go for a dress made in your favourite colour, or the one that shows your skin to it's best advantage.