Vera Wang recently released a sneak peek at her 2012 Spring wedding dress collection. Wow! This collection may be the most fashion-forward to date. With a wide variety of silhouettes, from ball gowns to mermaid dresses, there is truly something for every bride’s taste. She also focuses on color, featuring celadon green, charcoal, nudes, and pink hues.

Vera’s choice of fabrics and design in the Spring 2012 wedding dress line include:

• Razor cut lace and organza
• Horsehair
• French tulle
• Satin
• Soft floral layering

Another trend that Vera Wang seems to love is the enormous bow headpieces. They look to be made from horsehair and are meant to the be the statement accessory piece. Ladies, if you go for this look, keep the rest of your accessories to a minimun. These headpieces are probably going to be controversial, but, like them or not, they are the wave of bridal future. Kudos, Vera for never disappointing, and never being afraid to shock us just a bit!

One our favorite trends of the past three years are wedding dresses with pockets! Seems like this has been a bit of a controversial topic–brides either love it or hate it… but have no doubt, pockets are here to stay.

Wedding dresses with pockets can be on just about any style gown, including short gowns and sheath. However, the ball gowns with pockets are just maginificent. Why pockets on a wedding dress? Pockets make the dress hip and chic. Different poses can be done for the wedding photos–a hand in one pocket, a bouquet in the other–how great?

When the pockets are not being used, they are not visible, so no worries about taking any of the elegance away from the dress. Pockets are also a great way to staff a tiny mirror for make-up checks, tissues for those tearful moments, or whatever tiny tidbit you feel is needed! No need for a bridal purse with these gowns!

Designers that tend to love the pocket look include Pricilla of Boston, Vera Wang, Amsale, Maggie Sottero and many more!

Free Designer Wedding Gown Giveaway

So, now you know about Powerbrides and all the great benefits it has to offer, but here is yet another reason to join! WIN A FREE DESIGNER WEDDING DRESS!!!!

How do you win?

Plan your wedding or help someone plan a wedding the fun and easy way on powerbrides.com and win a wedding gown! One Designer wedding gown with a Retail Value of up to $5000 selected from the bridepower website. Winner determined on April 30th, 2011.

Who can enter?
Any powerbrides member meeting the eligibility requirements below is eligible to participate. No purchase is necessary to enter.

To be eligible:
1. You must be a resident of the United States.
2. You must have an active account on powerbrides.com
3. You must be a member of this Group “Designer Wedding Gown Giveaway”.
4. You must have at least 500 “bling” points accumulated by April 30, 2011.
5. You must have “Invited” at least 5 friends to powerbrides.com and updated your Wedding Page.

Bling may be accumulated from your signup date to April 30, 2011. Bling is accumulated by doing various activities on powerbrides.com. Donated bling” will not be included as part of the required 500 points.

Points: Learn how easy it is to earn bling points on powerbrides.

So what are you waiting for! Join Now!

Such is the case with Justina McCaffrey, who is considered Canada’s top wedding dress designer. She’s actually been in the business for over 20 years, a favorite in Canada, but didn’t start making her real mark in the United States until 2004. Her dresses are definitely glamorous and lavish, wondrous compositions of silk satins, taffetas, and organza’s, Swarovski crystal beading and French laces. Women both look and feel like royalty in her wedding gowns.

As we’ve heard from other female wedding designers, McCaffrey’s own wedding was the catalyst for her career. People loved her dress to much that she started making wedding dresses in her attic, which seemed strange to her husband because she didn’t have any clients for those dresses. But she had a feeling they would be accepted, and she got a big boost when she and her husband had the opportunity to exhibit her wedding dresses at New York City’s Fashion Week. The rest, as they say, is history.

McCaffrey left home at age 18 and went to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, a member of its first graduating class. She won many awards, including both national and international DECA awards, and after graduation, went back to Canada to start creating her designs. She opened her first boutiques in 1996 in Ottawa and Toronto, where she started selling her designs under the name McCaffrey Haute Couture.

In Canada, McCaffrey is a star. She’s regularly featured in magazines across the country, and is often on television and radio. She has been asked to speak at many functions about her design concepts and her wedding dresses in general, and has also designed styles of all sorts for some of Canada’s top celebrities and politicians. She’s begun to make a significant impact in the American and international markets also, as her dresses become more and more popular.

McCaffrey is more than a one trick pony, though. She also directs short movies with a mixture of classical music and dance, anything that helps highlight beauty as she sees it. One of her better known efforts used the music of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and dancers from the National Ballet of Canada.

Because of their hand stitching, McCaffrey’s wedding gowns hold their value well. They will cost you upwards of $4,000 brand new, around $2,900 used. Either way, because of their glamour, they’re worth it.

weddingwindow.com

1. Ask to see pictures of wedding dresses made. A reality is that dress makers often make more than just wedding dresses, but if they’ve made some, they’ll have pictures of their previous work.

2. Ask for references you can call. You’re probably going to spend a lot of money having your dress made, and any wedding dress maker that’s qualified will have at least a small list of satisfied clients. Of course, it goes without saying to tell you that you then need to check on those references.

3. Ask questions that show you know something about wedding dresses. Whether you do or not, take some time to learn a few things before meeting a wedding dress maker. Questions like which designers styles they like to make, what kinds of materials they like to use, and where they buy their materials from are good questions to start out with.

4. Ask what the dress maker’s process usually is for putting the dress together. This is different than asking how long it takes to make a wedding dress; as a matter of fact, that’s a bad question to ask because time always depends on how intricate the dress is you’re asking for. But asking about the process, and when the wedding dress maker would want you to come in for fittings, lets you know whether this is someone who’s used to working with people or someone who usually makes a full dress then tries to sell it later on.

5. Ask the wedding dress maker what they believe you would look good in. You do this for two reasons. One, you want to see if your wedding dress maker has any real concept of style, or is just someone who works from a pattern and that’s that. Two, because a good wedding dress maker will tell you the truth, and you might need to hear it if you were hoping to wear a mermaid style dress that totally goes against your body type.

Rahmanian Haute Couture

The lead designer now is Mohammed Rahmanian, and his styles are a mixture of traditional Middle Eastern style and traditional wedding styles. For instance, one of their designs looks like a traditional strapless wedding gown in white, while another design they have is an off-white wedding gown with a veiled headpiece that goes all the way down to the floor in the back and contains finely embellished embroidery. It’s a design company that’s not afraid to take chances with some of their wedding gown styles.

As a matter of fact, for the most part it’s the embroidery and beading that reminds us that they are a Middle Eastern company. It’s hard to describe in words, but all one needs to do is look at some traditional Arabic styles and patterns to know how Rahmanian was influenced with his designs. Most of the dresses are hand embroidered, which means these wedding dresses are not inexpensive, and retain their resale value very well.

These also aren’t what one might think are today’s Iranian styles of dress. They’re not afraid to go sexy, with strapless and low cut designs, lots of lace and even mermaid styles. Bunched, flaring jackets with short of half sleeves and high collars aren’t out of the norm, and neither are layered petticoats or cathedral length trains.

When needed, they can also pull back and create some very simple designs without all the embroidery and lace, affordable gowns for most consumers, but also something for those whose tastes are a bit more conservative. The Rahmanian Group really is one of the premiere wedding design companies in the world, and you’re encouraged to check them out.

from Alfred Angelo 2011 Collection

Everyone knows that Alfred Angelo makes some stunning wedding dresses. Well now, the company wants even more women to wear their dresses, and thus they’re sponsoring a contest.

They’re calling it the 2010 Wedding Dress Diva video contest, as they debuted it in 2009 to many eager brides. The idea is for potential brides to record themselves saying why they deserve to be the top diva bride for the year, put it up on YouTube, and wait for the votes to come in. The top vote getter will be the winner.

And what does the winner get? Obviously a fabulous wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses. Other things include: a limousine for the entire day; make-up for the day; professionally taken wedding photographs; dinner for two; and a crystal tiara.

Brides can post their videos between June 1st and June 30th, and then voting will take place between July 1st and July 31st. Last year’s bride won going away, so you might want to figure out how to market yourself, or how to get your friends to help you get the word out once the voting begins.

We would say this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but since they did the same thing last year we’ll just call it a wonderful chance to make your wedding day a more spectacular event.

Radziwill graduated in Fashion and Design from University Technology MARA in 1989, then got a Masters degree from Bunka University in Tokyo. He is an award winning designer who gained fame by designing the wedding ensemble for the Deputy Prime Minister’s sons wedding. There were many VIP guests in attendance, and that pretty much helped propel him to the top of the design world.

Islam is the main religion in Malaysia, so many of Radziwill’s designs have a flare of religious touches, especially when it comes to wedding gowns. Ensembles can be colorful and flowing while also being modest. Some of his designs might seem lavish by American standards, but that’s something that helps to set him apart from the crowd. You will see a lot of very colorful long wedding jackets with a lot of embroidery and a lot of ruffles. You will also see head coverings that match either the dress or the wedding jacket, which is a traditional look in that area of the world.

But it’s his use of color that helps Radziwill’s design stand out for American consumers. He’s not afraid to mix colors and get away from the traditional white that many American brides sometimes cling to. He doesn’t design on that much with Saddam, preferring to use silks and cottons that flow with the body and help to accentuate the body. He will also mix up a wedding gown with touches of lace and see-through materials which he might decide to embroider in some fashion or not. Sometimes the colors he mixes together are different variations on the same color. And of course he will use crystals and other things to help bring a shimmer and shine to a wedding ensemble.

It’s worth taking the time to look at some of Radziwill’s wedding designs to see if there’s something you might like. Based on currency conversion factors, you might find some of his most luxurious wedding gowns at a fairly nice price. Of course the top of the line designs might cost a little bit more, but for the work and passion that he’s put into his wedding designs, you might find that any of his wedding designs at any cost is worth it.

See Also:

2009 & 2010 wedding dress styles

Ade Bakare is one such wedding dress designer. Although he doesn’t only concentrate on wedding designs, they are a big part of his collection, and he is known as a wedding dress designer that very few can match.

Ade Bakare comes from Nigeria, not known as a hot spot for training wedding dress designers. He became interested in fashion around the age of eight, and he was lucky enough to have a mother who was accommodating and supportive of his hobby. After graduating from college with a degree in history, Bakare was able to relocate to Manchester England to study fashion and design at the University of Salford.

He won numerous design awards, but never even thought about getting into wedding gown design until a friend of his asked him to design her dress for her wedding. Her request was for a dress that would not only be glamorous on her wedding day, but a dress that she could wear to other functions as well. He ended up designing a sort of ball gown dress for her, which included a detachable part so that it would work well for other functions. Creating this multi-function dress got Bakare interested in wedding gown designs and he had his first showing in 1993.

Bakare opened his first boutique in 1997 catering to only exclusive clientele. It wasn’t until 2006 that he opened his second boutique, this time in Lagos Nigeria. Although it took them a while, he realized that there were a lot of people in his home country who wanted the exclusive wedding gown designs that only he could create.

In Nigeria, he not only caters to the wealthy but to the general public as well. In August 2009, he was the leading designer for both the bride and groom of billionaire families. The wedding ensembles he creates use traditional African fabric and colors, along with lots of embroidery.

Bakare is one of the most sought out designers in the world for both regular and wedding fashions. His designs price from very expensive to affordable. Every bride should make sure they check out his designs to see if there is something for them. Bakare’s wedding dresses start from around $1,500.