Creative wedding gown dresses and wedding bridal gowns

Destination Weddings Can Be A Breeze With The Right Dress

A destination wedding can add extra romance to a wedding. But if a knock-out bridal gown is also on your wish list, plan accordingly.

“There are a lot of types of destinations — from a beach in Mexico to a cathedral in Italy,” says Houston-based stylist Wendy Norwood Patterson, “and they don’t call for the same types of dresses.”

If you’re carrying it yourself on a plane, a gown with a slender silhouette will be easier to pack. You can always embellish your look with antique diamond-and-pearl jewelry, jeweled hairpins, brooches or even a belt — all easy to tuck into a suitcase.

Most importantly, say experts, is finding a dress in a travel-friendly fabric. “Don’t think you have to sacrifice your dream dress,” Patterson says, “but a full ball gown of simple silk probably won’t travel well.”

Anja Winikka, editor at TheKnot.com, concurs. “Stay away from big ball gowns in heavy silks and satins,” she says. “You can still have that big skirt, but choose the right fabric.”

Look for breathable, flowy fabrics like chiffon, any silk blend and charmeuses, she suggests.

If you’ll be standing on a beach or a lawn, have the dress hemmed properly — “so it’s just above the ground, rather than skimming it,” Winikka adds. She recommends a wedge-style shoe rather than heels for outdoor spaces. Sandals can be fine, too. Even flip-flop makers have created bridal lines.

“Think about your theme,” Winikka says. “You’ve chosen a destination, so let your dress celebrate that spot.”

Creative couples put modern spin on weddings

Gone are the days of endless phone calls and research, visiting myriad venues before picking “the one” or poring over book after book of photographer’s samples. Our modern world offers opportunities for tech-savvy couples to save time and money — and eliminate waste — while planning their wedding day. Technology allows today’s weddings to be more creative then ever, with less effort expelled. And couples are able to reduce their event’s budget and carbon footprint, making this technological wedding trend chic and here to stay.

Planning made easy

A spiral-bound notebook filled with inspiration has been replaced with online organizers and smartphone applications.

The Knot, a popular wedding-planning website, offers everything from weekly live shows online to iPhone and Facebook applications.

“Part of our flagship brand is providing couples with community, planning tools, wedding websites and access to registry,” says Rebecca Crumley, weddings photo director at The Knot.

Toronto-based iBride offers a full-scale wedding planner online and in the form of a downloadable application.

“Technology is progressing every day in every field and in our lives more than ever,” says iBride owner Dejan Lukac. “It’s in our daily activities and in wedding planning.”

The iBride application is available for iPhones and will soon be downloadable for other smartphones.

After answering a few questions, iBride’s system requests quotes from all selected vendors on your behalf, a definite time-saver for couples pricing various wedding services.

See you online

Many free wedding websites are available to help couples provide their guests wedding details and updates.

These personalized sites create the “feel” of the special day long before it happens, sharing a couple’s love story in addition to the day’s details. And as technology advances, websites are becoming more interactive.

“Instead of just posting general wedding website information, engaged couples are actually polling guests on wedding-day activities (from what to wear to what to play music-wise),” Crumley says.

According to The Knot and WeddingChannel.com 2009 Real Weddings Study, 11 percent of couples choose to incorporate eco-friendly elements into their wedding. So in addition to saving time and money, websites reduce a wedding’s carbon footprint as well.

“Wedding websites eliminate the need for inserts of paper and endless printouts,” Crumley says.

Some couples are even sending out video save-the-dates in lieu of mailed notices, she added.

Share the day

The popularity of social networking and wedding blogs means images are shared more than ever before. Some couples even release photos during their wedding day.

“Couples are increasingly using photography in real-time when it comes to their weddings,” Crumley says. “One of the growing trends TheKnot.com is noticing is actually having a photographer immediately post a slideshow of ceremony images, literally minutes after the ceremony is over, for guests to view during the cocktail hour and reception.”

In the past, couples often hired both a photographer and a videographer, but with new cameras shooting both still and video, skilled photographers can offer their clients a brilliant fusion of photography and video, Crumley says.

There also are options to involve guests who may not be able to attend the wedding.

“Now, people are able to do almost exactly the same thing (as a videographer), using their phone’s camera and Skype,” Lukac says. “If you have a phone capable of doing it, it is completely free.”