How Fascinating!

Why are fascinators called fascinators?

1885 crochet fascinator

The noun fascinator had long had an association with headgear and in the 19th and early 20th centuries a fascinator referred to a lightweight knitted or crocheted headscarf as evidenced in various novels of that time. It seems the word comes from the latin "fascinatus" meaning "to bewitch, or cast a spell on". The English language verb "to fascinate" means "to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality; enthrall", "to arouse the interest or curiosity of; allure" or "to transfix or deprive of the power of resistance, as through terror".

What's a hatinator?

The term hatinator, which emerged in the early 2010s, is used to describe headgear the combines the features of a hat and a fascinator. This particular style of headgear favoured by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is sometimes described as a hatinator.

As this was chosen to be appropriate for the headpieces worn by ladies, clearly we cannot fail to impress when we do wear one - so what are you waiting for? Whether you have a wedding to attend as a bride, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, a wedding guest, bridesmaid, perhaps you have a day at the races to attend coming up, a hen weekend, a dinner dance, a ball, a party - whatever the occasion, a fascinator will complete your outfit and we have we have a vast selection for you choice here at Especially For You! One of our fascinators will "enthrall, allure and transix" those around you!

In the little video you will also see that we have unique hand made 'Congratulations' cards on our wall of fascinators.

Bridesmaid colours!

Choosing the colour of your bridesmaids can be a very challenging task, especially if your other half has a different idea than you do. There's also the consideration of whether your chosen colour will suit your maids and whether they even like it. Many brides pick their colour based on the time of year they are getting married, for example, in summer you'll find brights and in the autumn you'll find more subdued tones. However, this doesn't mean you have to follow these rules and be traditional. It's your wedding day! If you've dreamed of a bright hot pink wedding since you were a little girl, choose hot pink! Even if it means your groomsmen won't be the happiest wearing a pink tie, I'm sure they'll cope with it when they see how joyful you are on your big day. Ultimately, you need to pick the colour you want. 

This blog features a few of our past brides and the colours they chose, we personally think they look stunning. 

Cocoa - a very sophisticated colour. If you're looking for a very elegance, maybe vintage looking wedding then this is a perfect colour. It just strikes of class. a very flattering and feminine bridesmaid colour. 

Bright purple - A wedding color staple, purple is just as popular as ever, but we love this rich tone, helping to spice things up a little. A great color which would suit spring and summer.

Mint green - a fresh, spring like shade. It will definitely add vibrance to your big day!

Light beige - a lovely neutral colour, we've found many brides picking neutrals recently. It's very soft and elegant, like the cocoa above. The upside of picking a neutral shade is that you can have any colour in your flowers and they'll always complement each other. 

Blues - all different shades of blue are popular at the moment. Many brides have one colour blue for their bridesmaids and use many different shades of blue within their colour scheme. This can make things a little easier as you don't have to match everything to one specific shade.

Orderly tiaras

For a while now we've wanted to find a better way of displaying all our tiaras in a more presentable way. We have had them laid out on tables, but they just looked messy. Then we had tiara stands (they looked a bit like something that would have sunglasses on - but wooden) but they were impractical for side piece tiaras, as they wouldn't balance properly. We needed something a bit prettier, perhaps to tie in with our purple colour scheme, overall something a bit more presentable.

THEN, Carole had a brain wave. We needed a wall of tiaras. But how? It would have been ideal to be able to push the tiaras onto columns to just show the detail, and so they didn't stick off the wall too far. So work started on creating our new Tiara stand.

We acquired pipes which were roughly the
right size and then padded them out.

A long and painful process... 

Testing was carried out to decide how many
columns we could fit in.

We then hand sewed on the purple fabric,
 to match our colour scheme.

The finished stand in situ which is working well and pleased we made it.

 

A close up view. This has now got our tiaras in easy view and separated into
Reduced/Central/Asymmetrical for easy selection.

TOP TIPS FOR PICKING OUT A VEIL

1. So how do you decide which one is right for you? Firstly, we’d recommend that you choose your style of bridal gown before you set your heart on a particular headpiece, as the veil is an accessory that should enhance your gown, rather than detract from it. For example, if you have a lace or beaded dress, look for a veil that compliments those elements.                                              
2. Take your venue into account. If your ceremony is taking place in a large, elaborate church, you may want to consider a dramatic, long veil. Alternatively, if you’re getting married outdoors during a windy season, it’s best to opt for a veil that’s shorter in length. This will prevent the veil from blowing too much or even flying away and getting damaged.                              
3. Keep your hairstyle in mind. Most veils work well with down hairstyles. But if you’re planning on a more intricate hairstyle, choose a thin or sheer veil that won’t completely conceal your hair. Whether you’re doing your own hair or getting it done by a professional, it’s a good idea to practice placing and fastening your veil before the big day. It’s a good idea to come to one of your fittings with your hair done like it would be on the day, then you can pick the best veil to go with your hair style and you’ll get an idea of the full look.

A Dress with a Statement Back

A breath-taking ornate or sheer illusion lace back is a popular trend. We recommend a one tier veil, with possibly simple detail on the edging. There’s no point in spending a lot of money on a dress with a stunning back if you’re just going to cover it up with a thick veil. Think sheer and chic. Many of our brides come into our shop not wanting a veil but after showing them an elegant one tier, they change their mind. A veil can simply finish off the bridal look for many brides.

The Vintage Look

Birdcage Veil

Birdcage veils are great if you’re going for the vintage look, especially paired with a short tea-length dress. Birdcage veils are short veils that are typically made out of netting. They only cover a portion of a bride’s face and fall above the chin. Fly-away veils also give you that vintage look but they make more of a statement and offer more volume than birdcage veils, a fly-away veil falls at or below the shoulders.

Traditional Look

Chapel veils fall at the ground or a couple of inches beyond a bridal gown. Even though I've called this the 'traditional look' I don't mean a traditional church wedding, these veils give you the traditional bridal look but can look stunning in any venue.They're definitely statement pieces and instantly create a dreamy, romantic feel. Veils at or beyond chapel-length are often removed after the wedding ceremony (and before the reception) so that a bride can walk and dance with ease. So take this in mind when choosing the length of your veil, do you want your night guests to see your whole look? Chapel length veils are perfect for brides that want to have a beautiful silhouette as they walk down the aisle. They can be an affordable way to dress up a simple, inexpensive gown, as a long wedding veil is always stunning and eye-catching, even if it isn't encrusted with crystals.

One of our brides showing off a stunning long veil!

If we haven't mentioned the look you're going for here, simply pop into the shop and we'll advise you on what we recommend. If you're not one of our brides, it's a good idea to bring a few photos of your dress and the details on it. This will help us get a perfect match for your dress and veil. I've included a few pictures below of some of the veils we have in stock.

 

Flower Girls

The flower girl has always been a representation of beauty and the joy of youth. The petals she scatters are viewed as a symbol of fertility, giving the couple good luck. In the past herbs were scattered as a way to ward off evil but the main idea is the transformation of the bride from childhood. A flower girl's dress usually resembles a smaller version of the bride's wedding dress. During the ceremony, the flower girl proceeds down the aisle, immediately after the maid of honour with her partner,
who is usually the ring bearer or page boy.
In most cases, she carries a basket full of flower petals and scatters them down the aisle.

Almost all little girls love to dress up as a princess, with a big puffy skirt which they can twirl and show off in for everyone to see. And if they look like the pretty bride on her big day, even better. Our most popular style is the SV5, little ones love it because there's the option to add an underskirt, making them look even more like a princess. It can compliment the brides dress really well as well, especially if the bride is wearing lace. The sash around the waist can be swapped for a ribbon, free of charge, to match your chosen colour scheme. This ties the little flower girl in with the adult bridesmaids. 

 Here are a few more flower girl dresses from our collection ...

Along with the flower girls dresses we also have a selection of junior bridesmaid dresses. Brides often choose these styles if the have younger bridesmaids but they're too old to be in flower girl dress. The junior bridesmaid styles match the adult bridesmaid, so if you're wanting all of your bridesmaids to look the same, having your little ones in a junior style to the way to go.

If you order your Bridesmaids dresses (same style & colour) with us we will give you a discount:-

2 Dresses - 10% off

3 Dresses - 12.5 % off

4 Dresses - 15% off

5 Dresses - 20% off 

(20% is maximum discount)

If you order a Bridal Gown of £800 or more we will give you 20% off your Bridesmaids dresses, however many you're having + 20% off your Flower Girl Dresses.

The flower girl range prices are competitive with high street stores, once you've placed an order with us they take around a month to arrive. (Although, we do carry some in stock) The junior bridesmaids take between 12-14 weeks to arrive once the order has been placed with us, however, the more time you can give us, the better. 

Tips to saying YES to the sale dress!

Bridal shop sales can be a saviour, especially if your budget is tight but you still want that gorgeous designer dress! Where else can you find THE dress with upto 70% off?! There can be many negative stigmas around buying a sale dress but we're hear to put your mind at rest, making the search that little bit easier.

We advise that you do a little bit of research before you attend the sale, as being able to tell us what you have in mind will help us find the right dress for you. That could be as simple as just one dress off our website that grabs your eye, or a certain style you're looking for. But even if you have no idea what so ever, we're here to help and would love to be part of the search for your dream dress.

However if you're in love with a dress in the latest bridal magazine, you're probably not going to find it in a sale. The dresses we put in our sale are usually from a previous collection. Often designers discontinue dresses but we still have the sample dress in our shop. So, we hold these sales to give you the last chance of finding your dress, at a discounted price. It also gives us the chance to make room for this seasons beautiful new dresses.

Many brides expect a sample sale to be full of unwanted, dirty gowns which no one else has wanted.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE!

All of our gowns are cleaned and looked after on a regular basis, even just for sale day. And they're not just unwanted dresses! When we choose our collection, we aim to have a wide range of different sizes and styles. So that every girl has the opportunity to try what they want. Once a bride has chosen her dress, we'll take measurements and order the appropriate size for her. The dress she tried on in our shop, will stay in our collection. Therefore, all of our sale dresses aren't unwanted they've just simply helped another girl towards her dream.

All of our sale gown need to be taken home with you on the day but if you wish to use our seamstress services, we'll keep hold of your details and contact you a few months before your wedding to arrange a fitting.

Be prepared to buy, if you're not in a place to purchase your dress right now attending our sale might not be the best option for you. There would be nothing worse than you coming to us on the day, finding THE dress and not being able to buy it. It will only lead to heartbreak as we won't be able to reorder the dress for you and someone else may come along and decide it's their dream dress too.

Finally, don't feel pressured to buy a dress. We want you to have the perfect dress on your big day, not one that you regret buying in all the excitement on a sale day. We wish you all the best in finding your dress and we'll see you on Sunday 7th February 2016!

WAS £1150                                                   WAS £650                                                     WAS £1150 

NOW £550                                                   NOW £250                                                      NOW £499

Top 10 Things Brides Forget on their Big Day!

In all the hustle and bustle of excitement on your wedding it's easy to forget a few important things. To save our brides the stress on their big day we've decided to list the top 10 things that brides tend to forget. We hope this helps to calm your nerves!

1. Wedding Rings - It may seem a very stupid thing to forget your wedding rings on the day but it has been done! To make sure this doesn't happen we suggest that you give one person the job of looking after the rings. This saves the awkward "I thought you had them?!" conversation at the end of the aisle. Another tip we give is that if you're having a young pageboy, don't give him the real rings to carry down the aisle because you're just asking for them to be lost. You could always give him fake rings instead and make sure your best man has the real ones. 

2. Make sure you have the number of the hotel you're staying at. It's always a good idea to give them a ring and let them know what time you'll be checking in, you wouldn't want to turn up in the early hours of the morning and not be able to get in! Give them a quick reminder that it's your wedding night as well, there might be a nice bottle of champagne and some chocolates waiting for you. 

3. Comfortable shoes! - Dancing in heels all night is inevitably going to become painful, so just take something more comfortable to get changed into. Whether that's a customised diamanté pair of converse or simply a pair of flip flops, anything will do.

4. Drink water - even if you're not drinking alcohol on the day it's still a good idea to keep drinking water. As everyone knows a lack of water can cause you headaches and you want to be feeling as good as ever, not having to take painkillers on your day.

4. Know what photographs you want - many brides have specific ideas of what pictures they want as keep sakes but in all the excitement they tend to forget! If you want a specific picture of your dress or a specific pose with your husband, make sure you tell your photographer before the day. This way there's no chance of you missing out on the snaps you wanted. 

5. Put your engagement ring back on - you'll need to take it off to allow you husband to put your wedding band on but after the ceremony you'll want to show them both off together.

6. Check out your ceremony space - you've spent so long planning your flowers and how beautiful you want the church to look that it's not worth not being able to remember what it looked like. So, just take a few moment to admire the beautiful space which you're getting married in. Maybe it's the flowers as you walk down the aisle or how wonderful all your guests look for your big day.

7. Collect sentimental items - don't leave anything you'll wish you'd kept at the ceremony. Keep a few programs and special items for yourself, give them to a family member or friend who could keep hold of them for you until after you get back from your honeymoon. Some brides even wish they'd kept their flowers, maybe you could dry a few out and frame them or put them in a special place.

8. Emergency Kit - We hate to say it, but emergencies happen - spills, paper cuts, ripped hems, and more. Create an emergency (or ask one of your bridesmaids to help you out), that includes a few essentials - stain kit, sewing kit, double-sided tape, plasters, tissues, and dental floss are all important to include.





9. Rain Gear - Mother Nature is unpredictable, so bring a cute umbrella and maybe a pair of rain boots just in case.

10. Gifts for Maids, Mums and Best Man - Your party of friends have been with you through the wedding-planning process thick and thin. Express your thanks by preparing gifts for them! These gifts don't have to be extravagant or anything, but it does mean a lot to the people in your wedding party when you show them that you took the time to put some effort and meaning into making gifts that they will appreciate. Popular gifts for ladies usually consist of beauty products or jewellery, and for the guy? Cuff links, fancy cigars or razors.