Not all brides wear white!

Something that we haven't previously covered on our #weddingwednesday is unique wedding dresses. Many brides want something a little bit different on their wedding day, whether that's a ballerina length 60's style or simply a dress that's not either white or ivory. The topic of unique wedding dresses got us thinking about celebrities and some of the bizarre and wonderful dresses they've graced the world with.

The first celebrity we came across was Sarah Jessica Parka, who in 1977, said her vows to husband Matthew Broderick in a black wedding dress! Yes, we said black! SJP went to the extreme with her wedding dress, choosing the complete opposite of the conventional white. She clearly loves weddings as much as we do as she's recently started her own brand of bridal shoes, they're simple yet elegant.

However, Sarah Jessica Parker was not the only successful woman to pull off a black wedding dress on her big. In 2013, Shenae Grimes wedded her British model boyfriend Josh Beech, and pulled off a very flattering a stylish black dress! We particularly love the halter neck on Shenae's dress. Teaming her red bouquet of flower with her black dress really makes a statement, which won't be forgotten by her guests or the rest of the world for a long while! 

Clearly some brides like the idea of being completely unconventional by getting married in black but we have also also discovered some celebrity brides that just wanted to add a splash of colour in to their dress to brighten their special day. 

Gwen Stefani is a prime example of one of these celebrity brides, she chose to have a dip dye effect on the bottom of her dress. We hugely admire her courage and determination to stand out on her wedding day! The two chosen colours, Ivory and Pink complement each other well and look beautiful together. Unfortunately, we're not huge fans of the style of dress but we're sure she felt amazing nonetheless. 

Marilyn Monroe was married three times, once as a sixteen-year-old brunette in the 1940s, and twice more at the height of her stardom. You don’t hear much about her wedding outfits, and I think that’s because she never chose to wear a classic wedding dress. Actually she did wear a traditional white wedding gown for her first wedding, but at that point she was still Norma Jean Baker and had a long way to go to become the star she evolved into. Marilyn's most iconic wedding dress was worn on her second special day. She wore a tailored black dress with a fitted coat (complete with white fur collar) and, of course, white silk gloves.

It's not only celebrities that like to be unique, we've seen brave and courageous brides in our little shop too! This is Alex who wanted her own look, the dress started out a red beaded dress and although you can't see it on this picture, we made the back look completely 'Alex' by adding a huge bow from the same fabric and Black lace which trailed all the way down the train of the dress. Also lifting the front and adding Black Tulle underneath. Her head wear was also coutured to suit her look!

We try to provide a wide range of different dress for our brides to try, from the traditional to the extravagant! We do this because every bride is different and many want their personality to be portrayed through their dress, whether that's simplicity or out of the ordinary. We've included a small collection of our dresses below, that we believe to be unique!

We'd love to hear your views here at Especially For You, so please post your comments below!

Something a little bit special

At Especially For You we are always trying to find ways of making the day a little bit more special for you (and you wonder how we came up with our business name!). We already ensure that everything we do for you as a bride is perfect, priding ourselves on our customer service and the time and effort we put into making sure your dream day goes that little bit smoother.

The one thing we could never figure out was how to add a final finishing touch to your dress in order to personalise it a step further (without anyone else having to know). We’ve always sewn little blue ribbon bows onto the inside of the dress if people have asked, some brides have wanted a little pouch in the skirts to hold a string of pearls from their grandmother.  Then, a breakthrough.

Why don’t we add a ribbon label into the dresses with your name, ours and the wedding date? We knew it had to be done carefully, and look professional (not tacky!) because this is a dress that is going to stay with you for a long time, maybe forever, and the last thing we wanted to do was ruin it. We sketched the design out on paper first, trying to work out the dimensions needed for the ribbon not to be noticeable on the outside, because if too big it would be bulky and show through. For that matter, we needed to know where we were going to sew it in the dress. Luckily, Carole had that covered; suggesting the best place would be at the back of the dress just to the side of the fastening up the back. On the sketching front, it took a few attempts to get the scale right, you can easily tell if you look at this attempt and then the real one just below.

After deciding that the ribbon should be about 4" by 1.5", we needed to work out which kind of ribbon to use. As a sewing amateur at the best of times, I had just presumed we would sew straight onto the shiny stuff, and all would be well. Apparently not. A local business has a special sewing machine which can stitch our design onto the first kind of ribbon, and looked at the result. It had all pulled, the ribbon no longer just a rectangular shape. Obviously, with the needles pushing through the ribbon and pulling the threads tight, the ribbon had become misshapen, not really the chic look we were going for.

Obviously the ribbon we used would have to be a bit stiffer, less shiny so that the sewing machine would find it easy to sew our pattern on. Carole came up with an ivory grosgrain ribbon, quite a ridged one which would keep its shape. And it worked, see the results for yourself, I have to say we’re quite proud of ourselves (not that I contributed really – blaming the amateur sewing skill again!).

Do you like what we’ve done with the labels, or is there something we could change about them? We are always open to suggestions, and would love to hear what you think. Comment down below, or tweet us @especiallybride . Thanks for reading, until the next #weddingwednesday.

Emma at Especially For You x 

Wedding Dresses That Changed History

  We've been out of action for a few months now on our blog; January sees the start of our busy months, usually right through to October. To make up for it, this week's Wedding Wednesday is going to be something a bit different. We work in a wedding shop, and talk about our dresses ALL THE TIME, yet we never really talk about what influences the styles of dresses we sell. At the moment, brides are buying a lot of lace dresses, many with straps, sleeves or high necklines. Three guesses at what brought on this mini-obsession with all things lacy! If you really don't want to hear, in any way shape or form, about The Royal Wedding, maybe now would be the time to stop reading. However, we're not going to start with 2011, we are going to go a bit further back in time...

1937 - Wallis Simpson marries the Duke of Windsor  

  The first in this gallery of wedding dresses is the dress of Wallis Simpson, designed by the house of Mainbocher (founded by Main Rousseau Bosher in 1929). A very simple column dress, with an internally structured jacket helped show off Simpson's beautiful figure. Her hair piece was a chic straw hat, decorated with tulle and feather detailing, and for jewellery there was a charm bracelet of crosses (each of the nine crosses had a significant event from the couple's lives together) and a brooch worn at the neck. Although impossible to see from this photograph, the dress was actually a very pale blue colour, which was quite unusual for weddings of this era. Do you know of any brides who had a dress which wasn't white or ivory? We'd love to see a picture if you have one, just put it down in the comments section below.

1947 - Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten

In postwar Britain, the pomp and ceremony of a royal wedding were exactly what was needed to lift the spirits of the people. This dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, didn't fail to deliver. With some inspiration coming from the goddess Flora's dress in La Primavera, Hartnell used his expertise in costume design to create a silk satin dress that would 'wow'. There is a floral theme throughout this dress, with intricate patterns running along the neckline and cuffs of the sleeves, and then through the skirt. Unusually, the train is actually attached at the shoulders, and flows down the length of the dress, and four metres along the floor (fit for the venue of the wedding). To complete this dress, over 10,000 seed pearls which were used in the embroidery were imported from America. The ensemble was finished perfectly with the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara, Elizabeth's 'something borrowed' from her mother. On the day of the wedding, the tiara actually snapped; luckily the court jeweller was on hand in case of any difficulties, and the tiara was mended.

1955 - Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainer of Monaco

  Grace Kelly's wedding dress was designed by Helen Rose, also a costume designer, this time for screen at MGM. Although the dress looks quite simple, the structure underneath, in order to get the dress so fitted to Grace Kelly's figure, was extremely complex. The skirt was pleated at the waist and ended with a small train, all made from silk taffeta (underneath which were two petticoats of tulle). At the back of the dress there was a lace insert in a triangular shape, decorated with pretty bows. Then there was the lace bodice, with each piece of lace individually pieced together onto a tulle framework, so the effect was almost of lace appliqué.
  All this detail didn't come cheap, estimates at the cost of the dress put it at $7,200, which doesn't really seem that much, until you convert in into today's money. The total stands at a dizzying $60,000, although MGM decided to give Grace Kelly the dress free, in order to benefit from the additional publicity.

1981 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles

Possibly the most memorable wedding dress in living memory was Princess Diana's by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. At only twenty years old, Diana could have easily been swamped by her dress and 40 ft veil (which had sequins all hand embroidered onto the bobbin net), but somehow the designers managed to create a design which flattered and suited her perfectly. The fabric was a paper taffeta, tulle and lace, made into a stunningly romantic dress. The rich cream ivory and the double frill around the neckline only add to this dress's charm and couture feel.

On the front of the bodice, there was a lace panel, edged with a row of pearls which also surround the waist. The sleeves and at the elbow, with large frills to tie in with the neckline of the dress, and lace similar to that of the bodice. It's the tiny details, though, that show the love and care that went into making this dress. On the label at the back of the dress was sewn a tiny gold horseshoe, and a little blue bow was sewn to the waist band.

2011 - Catherine Middleton marries Prince William

  This stunning lace dress was designed by Alexander McQueen's Creative Director Sarah Burton. The dress shows Kate's figure off beautifully; there aren't many people who can pull off box pleats at the waist like this. A classic sweetheart neckline is set off beautifully by the tulle cover and sleeves, covered in dazzling lace appliqué.  Something special about this lace, apart from the fact the needles to make it were replaced every 3 hours, is that it includes the four emblems from the United Kingdom. Somewhere on the dress, there is a daffodil, a shamrock, a rose and a thistle. It's this attention to detail which Sarah Burton is famous for. The train on this dress, although long, is a lot more manageable the Diana's, but still looked stunning as Kate walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey.
  The bridal collections the season after the royal wedding had obviously drawn some inspiration from this dress. We have seen a vast increase in the number of brides-to-be asking for lace, and the dresses available for us to order have a lot more choice. An element of the luxurious is becoming more affordable, as lace covers and lace appliqué dresses have become more widely available. We love lace here at Especially For You, and hope that this trend continues.

2011 - Kate Moss marries Jamie Hince

The final dress of our blog post today is the dress designed by John Galliano for Kate Moss. It has quite a festival feel to it, with floating fabrics and a ruffle at the hem. The skirt is sequinned with silver and gold, and runs in feather like patterns down through the train. It's the vintage and ethereal qualities which make this dress so unlike any before it, with not so much structure in the bodice as a classic wedding dress. We have seen some of this vintage theme with our brides, with colours such as rose and pale greens becoming quite popular, but we can't decide whether it was just changing times, or the influence of the wedding of the Queen of British Fashion.

  When you think of the most influential wedding dresses, do you think of one that we haven't mentioned? Or did something else influence your choices, like looking through your mother's wedding photos? Are there any dresses you'd like us to see of 'dresses before their time'? Why don't you post a picture into the comments section, or tweet it to us @EspeciallyBride on twitter. We'd also love to hear your comments about our post. Thanks for reading, and come back next #WeddingWednesday !

It's March And We Have Never Been So Busy

This week's Wedding Wednesday will be a bit different from the usual, we want to give you an update on how our little shop in Lancashire is doing. This year, we have a lot of brides with weddings booked for May, and even more in August, which means this time of year is our busiest. In August, we have five weddings on one weekend! FIVE! It's not just now, when everyone in August is buying, that is busy, it'll also be the month before the weddings, when Carole has ten wedding dresses to alter all for two weeks in summer.

It's not just bridal dresses that we're selling a lot of, brides just visiting for bridesmaids dresses has increased dramatically. Some have tried buying on the high street and haven't found the dresses they want, others have heard about our bridesmaid discount on any order for more than two dresses (click here to see our bridesmaid post). Sometimes, brides come in expecting to just (and we say 'just') to buy a bridal dress, and then end up describing their ideal bridesmaid dresses, and the colour they want for them, and we just happen to have something they're looking for. That way, if bridesmaids have come with the bride to help, they can try on a dress, stand next to the bride, and it gives a great overall picture of what the scene would be like on the day.

This is also the time of year for wedding fayres, which are usually on a Sunday, this was the subject of our previous Wedding Wednesday post, if you read it you would have realised how much work we put into wedding fayres and their preparation. It takes up a lot of our time, as Sunday is usually our catch up day, where all the paper work is processed from the week and where Carole spends most of the day completing alterations on the bridal dresses.

As you can see, we are going to be pretty run off our feet for the next couple of months at least, be it wedding fayres, brides alterations, dressing brides on their special day, or a million and one bridesmaid appointments. If you ever want to make an appointment with us, try to ring to book in advance. As we are quite a small shop, we like to have only one bride in at once, and it would be a shame to come all the way here to find we can't squeeze you in. We do have a fully refundable £20 booking fee for appointments, which we can take over the phone. This is refunded at the end of your appointment, or if you cancel the appointment with at least 24 hours notice.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment below if you have any questions, we'll try our best to answer them.

Wedding Fayre Season

   We have come to the time of year when the Wedding Fayres are in full swing, and we have to say, we've been looking forward to it for months now. It's a hectic business - running around finding dresses to put on stands, and shoes for models to wear on the catwalk - but it's a lot of fun. From now until the end of March, nearly every other Sunday is spent travelling and setting up at another wedding fayre.

A reception room at Barton Grange ©

   Last week we went to the Barton Grange Hotel in Lancashire (Click Here to go to their website). We didn't participate in the catwalk this time, but we did have a stand with a few of our dresses, a beautiful little flower girl dress and and lots of tiaras and jewellery. Wedding fayres are such great places to get inspiration and ideas from, for example, at Barton Grange we were between two stands, on our left they were advertising dove releases, and on our right there were two stilt walkers and a fire breathing magician (we made sure he didn't get anywhere near our dresses!).

   When we are doing a catwalk show at a wedding fayre, the preparation is often the hardest part. First we need to find all the models for the show; a lot of them are previous brides who liked trying on dresses so much they carried on after they got married! We then find the dresses for each model, about six and a mix of bridal and bridesmaid dresses. They need to try their dresses on, to make sure each dress fits the models well. After a few times working with the same models, we already know the dresses that fit them, so we know who to ask when we want to bring certain dresses.
   It's then a case of being as organised as possible. We write a list of the models, the thirty-or-so dresses are written next to them. The night before the wedding fayre, we gather all the dresses together, and after checking them over, we number them according to who is wearing them, and at which point in the catwalk (this is so that the brides watching can write down the dress numbers and ask us about them later, as you can see here on the left).

We then find jewellry and tiaras that compliment the dresses each model is wearing. This is often difficult as we can only take one tiara and necklace for each model, and some of their dresses are very different. We need to strike a balance between jewellery looking amazing with one dress and not suiting the others, and looking good for them all. The models can pick their own shoes out of our collection, because they need to be comfortable walking around a lot on the day.
   We bag the dresses up, box the jewellery, tiaras and shoes, collapse some dress rails to use at the fayre and take enough brochures for everyone - who visits our stand after the catwalk - to take. On the morning of the wedding fayre, we attempt to fit it all in the car.
   Upon arrival, we hang all the dresses on the rails in their running order and the models go to get their hair and makeup ready, taking the tiaras with them to the style their hair around them.



   15 minutes before the show is due to start, we get all the models into their first dresses, and go through the running order with them a few more times. once all the watching brides are seated, we start the music and get the show on the road. Some bridal stores like to narrate over their catwalk shows, but we feel it can distract the spectators, and the music gives a better atmosphere. Often, if a bride-to-be likes a dress she sees, she'll come up to our stand later on and ask us all about it.
   During the show, we have only seconds to get a model in and out of her dresses, as three models are usually out on the catwalk at once. Once we reach the end, all the models come out onto the walkway for the 'bride-to-be's to see the dresses one last time. After this, we get all the models backstage and back into their normal clothes (it's all a bit underwhelming after wearing wedding dresses for an hour!) and get back to our stand.


It may sound really stressful, and it can be at sometimes, but we really enjoy going to wedding fayres and meeting future brides for the first time. It's brilliant to think that we have the opportunity to help and guide you on the way to your big day! We hope you have enjoyed this week's Wedding Wednesday; next week we're blogging about summer weddings. Feel free to comment below if you have any questions, or would like us to blog about a particular aspect of wedding planning or the big day.

Designer Weekends

Designer weekends are a great way to see the latest collections from a designer. They bring in all of their latest collection for you to see, even ones that we don't currently hold in stock in our store (as we only have a limited amount of space). When we are ordering in the first dresses of each collection, it is really difficult to choose which ones to buy and which ones we can't. That's one of the reasons we enjoy Designer Weekends so much, as we also get to see anything we missed out on. If we find that one dress gets a lot of orders from a designer weekend, we might decide to order it in the future.

This Saturday and Sunday at Especially For You, we have arranged for you to see the latest collection from the Opulence Bridal and the latest accessories collection from Liza Designs . This is a fabulous opportunity to see what each designer has to offer, especially if you've had a look at the Opulence Bridal website, and know that these are the kinds of dresses for you.

As this is our first designer weekend of 2014, we have decided to give a 14% discount on any orders placed for Opulence dresses on this weekend. It is an 'appointment only' event held on the 15th and 16th of February. Both collections will only be here for the two days, so if you are ready to choose your gown, make an appointment to come and see the dresses by calling on 01772 785334 soon, or leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. To give you an idea of the kind styles that the Opulence Collection has, here are some pictures, all with the names of the dresses underneath. Hope you enjoyed this week's Wedding Wednesday, and we hope to see you this on the 15th and 16th of February.

Albercete

Biscay

Castelion

Girona

Madrid

Back of Salvador

January Carole's Corner

January 2014

Every year I promise myself that in the quieter months of November & December I will catch up with all those jobs that are labelled ‘one day.’ Have I got them done? No is the answer to that, again! I have done some of them and one day they may all get done, but by then there will be lots more have joined the never ending pile. Simple rule is, if it’s not for a customer, it goes onto the ‘one day’ pile.

Here is one of my ‘one day’ shelves, not a pretty sight!

So now here we are well into the first month of a new year and I have met lots of lovely new Brides-to-be who have moved into wedding planning mode and many of our Brides returning to carry on with their plans. So the start of 2014 has been a very busy one so far with a long list of weddings for this year I think I am going to be kept out of mischief!

I love sewing and perfecting the fit of a dress, this is something that I have loved doing since my school days, shhhh that’s a long time ago. What many of you don’t know is that I also love creating your invitations to give your guests an insight into your day from the time their invitation drops through their door. The creation of the invitation is the start of the creating and for the day I will create seating plan, post box & place cards all to co-ordinate with the invitation and your day.

Invitations were the start of my business. About 14 years ago, with a business partner, I started making invitations, favours and other customised accessories, making them at home and selling through wedding  and craft fayres. Time moved on and life made many changes and I bought the shop in 2001 with the intention of selling those items from within the shop. There was more space than required for the items sold in the shop area so dresses were introduced and back to my first skill, sewing. As any of you that have visited my shop will know, it is now very full, wedding dresses take a lot of space! Many new customers walk through the door each week and are amazed at the choices on offer. Friendly service is at the top of the list for me, with privacy and discretion on an equal level, it is a privilege to be helping you with your plans, you may walk in as a stranger but you will be a friend very soon.

There is always lots to do when you are helping an long list of Brides-to-be plan the best day of their lives, I am always here to help with many aspects of the build up and your day and love hearing your plans and helping you pull everything together to co-ordinate and flow.

Looking forward to seeing you soon. Carole x