For the next week, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Salwa Khoory of L’elite Bridal and Gisele Khoory of Musette Bridal Boutique, both in Boston. Here’s what they had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

Salwa: Monique Lhuillier knows how to make a bride feel beautiful. She had a nice balance of classic silhouettes, romantic and glamorous touches, and couture details. Reem Acra‘s collection was very well-rounded, too. The gowns moved effortlessly as they came down the runway.

Gisele: Romona Keveza has a beautiful collection of styles ranging from “princess” to glamorous. She doesn’t disappoint with her romantic and sexy styles.

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color (pink, blue, black, etc.), was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with?

Gisele: Rivini had a beautiful nude copper-tone gown (left), Romona Keveza had a crimson red dress.

Salwa: Oscar de la Renta‘s soft blues and bold reds, Monique Lhuillier‘s blush gowns (right).

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: What’s your favorite new trend or dress detail this season?

Salwa: I love the peekaboo and portrait backs, like this style by Monique Lhuillier (center). Peplums, like on style by Amsale (left),  are another feature we saw on the runways, they give brides a touch of couture.

Gisele: Color was all over the runways! Red is the new white – like on this gorgeous Romona Keveza gown (right).

Photos by Dan Lecca

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For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Carrie Casper of The White Dress in Corona del Mar, California. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”  

A: Reem Acra and Amanda Wakeley both wowed us with their new collections.  Reem Acra’s light an airy gowns were both fanciful and glamorous.  Amanda Wakeley’s talents amazed us — the gowns looked like liquid and we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of structure within.

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color, was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with? 

A: Bronze and copper metallics, as well as heavy tonal beading.  As for color, we saw gold with numerous designers and were pleased at how beautifully this color played into bridal.

Q: Of the new designers who showed, was there one who you think is going to be a breakout star? 

A: We are so excited to introduce Francesca Miranda – A Colombia-based designer with an incredible and inventive style.  Her aesthetic is a new one to the marketplace and we were raving over each and every gown.  We know our brides will fall in love with her styles.

Photos courtesy of Francesca Miranda

Q: What’s your favorite new trend or dress detail of the season? 

A: The “necklace” effect—whether interpreted traditionally, as at Victor Harper (below), or the dangling jewel back of Amanda Wakeley.

Photo courtesy of Victor Harper

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For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Melissa Russell and Natalie Bauer of Bella Bianca Bridal Couture in Oakbrook, IL. Here’s what they had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

Once again, we were in love with Lazaro‘s collection. There was such a range of styles from sweet lace ballgowns to fully beaded mermaids. He is so in tune with what brides are looking for, and we love his romantic-yet-sassy flair.

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: Of the new designers who showed, who is going to be a breakout star?

We were so impressed with the new collection, Victor Harper. The gowns are stunning with silk satin mermaids, trumpets, and ballgowns with intricate crystal beading. It is truly a return to the glamorous side of bridal. So many designers focused on lace this season, so it was refreshing to see a collection made up of fabulously beaded gowns!

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: What’s your favorite new trend or dress detail of the season?

One of the biggest trends this season was the peplum, and we are very excited about it. Whether it’s done in lace or a more structured fabric like silk Mikado, it is such a romantic detail. Not only is it beautiful, it can be a very flattering silhouette for brides who are looking for a slim gown but don’t want to feel self-conscious about their waist and hip area. Our favorite peplum dress this season was the Wave gown by Junko Yoshioka.

Photo by Dan Lecca

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By Anne Chertoff

For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Lindsay Nowak of Maddison Row in Charleston, South Carolina. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

I loved Amsale’s collection. It was very cohesive and had a huge range. Also, Reem Acra was completely glamorous and fabulous. Each dress had such interesting detail and was executed flawlessly.

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color, whether pink, blue, black or red,  was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with?

Oscar de la Renta’s blue gowns

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: Of the new designers who showed, who is going to be a breakout star?

Carol Hannah Whitfield

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: What’s your favorite new trend or dress detail of the season?

Peplums

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By Anne Chertoff

For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore in Clinton, Connecticut. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

Rivini. Designer Rita Vinieris captured all of the trends, from high necks to colored gowns to lace sleeves. And she showed really interesting skirt shapes.

Photos by Dan Lecca

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color, whether pink, blue, black or red,  was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with?

The “Lisette” gown from Rivini (left): It’s a beautiful champagne color with an ivory lace overlay. For TRUE color, I adored the light blue gowns that Oscar de la Renta sent down the runway.  Particularly, the gown pictured at right.

Photos by Dan Lecca

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For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Kipp Harmon of Circle Park Bridal Boutique in Addison, Texas. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

In my opinion, Ines Di Santo always manages to take my breath away with her stunning styles and her attention to detail.

Photos by Dan Lecca

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For the next few weeks, we’re asking bridal salon owners from around the country to share their favorite hot-off-the-runway looks from the most recent Bridal Market. Today, we’re talking to Julia Lichtman Kepniss and Carin Rosenberg Levine of Hitched in Washington, DC. Here’s what they had to say:

Q: Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

There were so many amazing collections that we saw – it’s hard to choose! Lela Rose showed amazing details, Anna Maier/Ulla-Maija Couture brought back luxurious duchesse satin, Amsale and Christos debuted some fun fashion-forward peplums….we can’t pick just one!

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color (pink, blue, black, etc.) was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with?

Judd Waddell showed a beautiful fitted organza gown in a subtle blush color. We think brides will love the draping throughout the bodice and the easy shape.

Photo by Dan Lecca

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By Anne Chertoff

The WeddingWire team recently viewed over 1,000 brand-new wedding dresses at Chicago and New York bridal markets, dresses that will be available at a bridal salon near year in a few months. To get the real scoop on which dresses will be hot, we turned to the real experts – bridal salon owners – to find out their favorite collections, trends, and dresses. We’ll be featuring bridal salons from all over the country for the next few weeks.

Today, we’re talking to Cate Malone of the Denver salon Little White Dress Bridal Shop. Here’s what she had to say:

Was there one collection or gown that you thought was the “best of market?”

Claire Pettibone, Elizabeth Fillmore, Jenny Packham and Liancarlo were all fabulous!

Q: Of all the gowns that featured color, whether pink, blue, black or red,  was there one or two that you think brides will fall in love with?

A: Claire Pettibone’s “Hazel” gown with an overskirt in powder blue with platinum silk.

Photo by Dan Lecca

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Guest Post By: Paula Bisacre, publisher of RemarriageWorks.com and founder of RemarriageShowcase.com

Gown by Kevan Hall from Remarriage Showcase Fashion Show by Soliloquy Bridal;
photo by FairfaxWeddings.net

One of the questions I am most often asked as the publisher of RemarriageWorks.com is, “what should I wear to my second wedding?” I can totally relate. After I got engaged to remarry, one of the first things I did when it came to wedding planning was to buy a stack of wedding magazines.

I couldn’t wait to thumb through the pages, and I quickly discovered they offered very little for someone in my shoes; i.e., someone who is, let’s just say, over 30, divorced with two children, and marrying a guy with three, and no longer a size two. Well, honestly speaking, I can’t remember ever being a size two, and if you are a woman who is getting remarried, you probably get my point about the magazines. After all, my fiancé, a widower at the time, and I already had three sets of china between our two homes.

So, I went to bridal shops, and figured out that I didn’t want a long, white poofy dress again, mainly because I didn’t want anything that even closely resembled any part of my first wedding. It didn’t last.  The bridesmaids’ dresses made me look like I was trying to squeeze into a prom dress. And, the mother-of-the-brides’ dresses were too grandmotherly; I wasn’t ready for that stage yet.

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Many brides assume that cleaning a wedding dress only has to be done once – after the wedding. FALSE. If you’ve purchased a sample gown, think about the brides before you who have tried on that same dress. Even if the sample dress you fall in love with looks like it’s been through a war, don’t be discouraged. This shouldn’t keep you from buying it, because it can be cleaned before the wedding.

You might worry about having enough time for both cleaning and alterations. Cleaners usually like to have the gown for 4-6 weeks, but they can do it within a day or two if it’s an emergency.

Whatever you do, just make sure you have your gown cleaned before it’s altered. Some fabrics may shrink–even in dry cleaning–and then you would have to redo any alterations that had already been completed.

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