Trunk shows can be a bride’s best friend, especially when held in a salon already packed with glorious gowns from several designers. During your appointment, you get to see & try on a designer’s latest looks and collection, which you may see in the press but not normally on our Charlotte showroom floors.

Nitsa’s is one of Charlotte’s premiere bridal and formal gown salons – an elegant new space on Fairview Road in the Allen Tate building (so, right next to Phillips Place). They are hosting shows from some very popular upscale designers this month and next.  If you just got engaged, congrats! and call now for your appointment to one or more of these events. 704.940.1999.

You do need an appointment to go, and you should prepare a bit for your visit to any salon to try on gowns. Here’s a short post on our tips on bridal gown appointment prep, just fyi.
Also – a heads up, Nitsa’s is relatively high end bridal. Some gowns around $2,000; most start at $3,000 and go up from there. But Oh Em Gee, what gorgeous gowns they are, if you are lucky enough to have this in your budget.  Here’s what’s coming our way for the next several weeks.  (Pics from each designer below). (more…)

I’m going to admit something that might end up embarrassing me a little bit. There’s a style of dress that is so not me, but I totally love it. It involves pick-ups, to a degree. Now, don’t get all feisty with me. Pick-ups have come a long way! I’m not talking about those horrid, horrid gowns that make you look like the top of a lemon meringue pie. No, no. Not those. I’m talking about the gowns that have a little sumpin’ sumpin’ under the hood, almost like you’ve got on two (TWO!) dresses at once. More precisely, like you’ve got on an underskirt or petticoat or something cool like that. It very much reminds me of the Marie Antoinette styled shoot that Annie Leibovitz did for Vogue when that Kirsten Dunst movie came out. Layers and layers of brocade…sigh. It makes me all swoony inside when I think of the fashion from that era.

Anyway, I was sifting through the Spring 2012 gowns and saw a few in this trend and thought I’d share.

St.Pucchi

Ulla Maija

Matthew Cristopher

Oscar delaRenta

Sarah Jassir

The Jassir and the Matthew Christopher make me all happy and gooey and fluffy feeling inside. You? Do tell.

Via Diva by Design

Ever since I started focusing on vintage materials for TruLu Couture, I’ve come across some interesting facts. This, coupled with the recent addition of Mad Men to Netflix streaming, has kept me in a mind-flurry of vintage everything.

Something I didn’t realize is that hair dryers weren’t invented for personal home use until the early 1960’s! Could you image? What would we do without our flat irons, ceramic heat blow dryers and a limitless supply of “product?” I shudder to think of such things. It makes sense now when you think of the date-refusal cliché of “I have to wash my hair tonight.” Seriously, without a blow dryer, that could take all night long to accomplish. GAH.

So if you’re planning a vintage-style wedding or if you’re wanting a retro-inspired updo, here are some historical pics and modern versions to compare them to… (more…)

We’ve all heard the wedding day phrase, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in your shoe,” right? As a traditional English or American bride, these have been the go-to necessities for all things regarding good luck on your wedding day. Americans dropped the sixpence option at some point, simply because most of us don’t even know what a sixpence is! For the record: The sixpence, or half-shilling, was a British pre-decimal coin worth 1/40th of a pound sterling. (Thank you, Wikipedia)

For the better part of this and the last century, our list of “somethings” has been more than adequate to keep all the bad juju at bay. However, in today’s modern culture, we see the coming together of not just a couple, but more often of cultures, countries and religions.

When I married my husband, I was working with vendors in several different Asian countries. One Korean vendor sent us a wedding gift of two carved wooden ducks, one with a cord wrapped around his bill. I thought they were cute Love Ducks. After inquiring a little further, I found out they were actually good luck symbols from the Korean tradition; a version of wearing a blue garter perhaps?

At any rate, it made me curious so I did a little digging and found some other traditions that might be fun to incorporate into your wedding based on your (or your groom’s) heritage.

The following represent traditions from other countries

Bulgaria: Step into the church right foot first and your marriage will be blessed.

Cambodia: Bring a sword to the ceremony. The blade represents harmony and strength – and helps make your wishes come true!

China: Light firecrackers after the ceremony to chase away evil spirits. Carry an open red umbrella to protect the bride from evil spirits (will make for sweet photo ops too!). 

Egypt: Let the women at your celebration give you a pinch. What’s a little pain for good karma?

England: Carry a horseshoe tied with ribbon during your ceremony, and then hang it above the doorway of your home. (Make sure the ends are pointing up!)

Germany: Smash dishes the night before you get hitched and nothing will be broken in your haus.

Holland: Plant Lilies of the Valley around your new home together and your love with renew every spring.

India: Have an artist paint your hands and feet with intricate henna designs. The darker the ink, the more luck you will have. Sometimes the artist will hide the groom’s name within the complicated designs. Tradition states that the groom must then find his name and if he cannot, the bride is said to have the command in the marriage!

Ireland: Add some lavender, a herald of happiness, to your bouquet.

Nigeria: Wash your feet with cold water before crossing over your new threshold. According to Yoruba custom, your marriage will start with a clean slate.

Poland: Feel free to cry during the ceremony. A few tears now mean none in the years to come.

Romania: Share braided bread baked by the bride’s godmother. Eat a piece and fortune will smile on you all year long.

Thailand: Ask guests to tie a white string, or sal sin, around each of your wrists. Want maximum luck?  Wear them for at least three days.

Korea: Display wooden ducks at the vows. Not only do they represent you and your guy, they also promise a union marked by togetherness. At the wedding display two wooden ducks bill-to-bill – it means you have an open and honest relationship. 

Interesting and fun, right? What, if any, good luck customs did you or will you incorporate into your wedding and marriage?

Sources: Brides Magazine, Squidoo

We loved.  Kate Middleton set a new standard for modern elegance today in her McQueen gown by Sarah Burton.  The veil, the earrings, her simple, clean and natural look.  The fashion press had so much to say, we just posted the links as they published.

VOGUE.UK: here. Lots good here.

The Cut/NY Mag: here.  Great detail on everything.

Racked.com: here.

HuffingtonPost: here.

US Magazine.com:  here.  Hey, we can’t help it if they’ve got good stuff.  Same with People Mag, here.  (deets on sister Pippa’s dress by McQ too).

Everybody, everybody has a piece of the wedding biz these days.  The newest entry is BHLDN brought to you by Urban Outfitters / Anthropologie.  Launched on February 14 (cheeky), it has quite a bit more pizazz,  fun and flair than JCrew bridal.  The style is an elegant Anthropologie, not at all UO or Free People (also owned by UO).    Gowns, dresses (for the bride, the maids, the reception), shoes (pretty great selection), lingerie, jewelry, cover-ups (shrugs and such), and accessories.  Gowns are mostly $1,400- $3,600 although there are two for $600 and one for $4,000.

And also this week, the Vera Wang exclusive line for David’s Bridal is arriving in stores.   Called WHITE by VERA WANG, this collection is available by special order at all David’s and will be in 150 of the stores, with more to be added in summer ’11.  This is Ms.Wang’s effort to bring her gorgeous, highend designs to regular folk – priced from $600 – $1,400, these gowns are sized 0-14 and sizes up to 26 for brides and bridesmaids will be added by summer.