Attention everyone searching for a the perfect vintage wedding dress! The Vintage Bride is about to become your best friend…

The Vintage Bride is an amazing resource for authentic vintage wedding items — dresses from pre-WWII to the 1960s, they have vintage veils, heck, they even have vintage cake toppers!

Since all of the dresses from The Vintage Bride are actually vintage (no reproductions here) they are all one of a kind, many were even hand sewn, AND they're an eco-friendly choice, as you are re-using these gowns.

Each dress you see on The Vintage Bride has been selectively chosen for its unique details and flattering style. And there are tons of variety on the site — big and pouffy, to sexy and slinky.

Hi, have you met my favorite dress? Yeah, seriously, I'd rock this in a freaking heartbeat and I'd never take it off. And it's under $1000. In fact, most of the dresses are under $1000 and a lot of them are as low as $325.

And don't let small sizes discourage you — Rose, the owner of The Vintage Bride tells us that most of the dresses have trains that could provide enough fabric for a seamstress to add some panels if necessary.

The Vintage Bride even has perfect dresses for your rehearsal dinner, send-off outfits or civil ceremonies, like cocktail style dresses with matching jackets, like this beauty…

Continue reading "One of a kind vintage wedding dresses, veils & cake toppers from The Vintage Bride" →

Unless you are one of those lucky ladies who never, ever has trouble finding items that fit you perfectly straight off the rack, there’s a good chance your bridal attire will require alterations. If you are having something custom-made, you will probably need to have at least two fittings. (In my experience, three fittings for a mass-produced wedding dress is common.)

If at all possible, start with a dress (or outfit) that is your size — or very, very close to it. While it is often possible to size a dress up or down, don’t count on being able to take in or let out a dress by more than one or two sizes. Many dresses do not contain enough seam allowance to let out that much -– and with fabrics like velvet and satin, the original seam lines will show. (With satin, original seam lines can resemble track marks, hardly an appropriate look for a special occasion.)

If you have not yet purchased your attire, PLEASE resist the urge to buy something that is on sale but several sizes too big. Garments that are much too large for the intended wearer often need to basically be taken apart and re-cut in order to hang properly on the body. This is such a labor-intensive process it can quickly eat whatever money you saved –- and then some.

Continue reading "Bridal Fittings 101: advice from a former tailor shop employee" →

Nationally award winning designer, Joi of Dress Forms Design Studio, LLC creates one-of-a-kind unique wedding gowns and apparel for any kind of special event.

Though most of you have already fallen head-over-funky-heals in love with Joi and Dress Forms Design Studio without even realizing it when you saw Megan, aka. Princess Lasertron, in her original polka dotted wedding gown.

All of her dresses are custom made to not only to perfectly fit your body (based on custom measurements), but she also designs them to fit your unique personality as well (because Joi is a freaking genius like that).

And in "exciting news!" news: Joi is designing the Princess Lasertron collection that will debut next summer. And we have the adorable picture to prove it:

Lasertron + Dress Form Design = fashion magic!

Joi's goal is to open up options that her clients did not know existed when looking for the perfect wedding dress design. And she literally makes each design a work of art. And along with a fabulous work of art, Joi also has a special deal to offer her Offbeat Brides, so keep reading to check it out.

Continue reading "Incredible custom wedding dresses from Dress Forms Design Studio" →

Looking for a wedding dress in any other colors besides "white" or "ivory?" Maybe say… something like that black beauty for your Halloween wedding?

Yeah, well … good luck with that. Shopping for a colorful gown can range anywhere from frustrating to completely frustrating, forcing brides to either relive prom dress shopping or scouring the bowels of the internets for creative alternatives. That is until Wedding Dress Fantasy showed up on the bridal scene!

Based in New Jersey, they have an online store full of colorful wedding gowns! You can now easily find the perfect red dress for your gothic castle wedding, or blue dress for your urban loft wedding, or pink dresses for, oh I don't know, your lesbian gamer geek wedding? Or even the ever rare and elusive gold wedding dress for your elegant lodge wedding. They also gots tons o' love for the plus size brides as well.

Oh, and maybe you're a budget bride, but you feel weird about ordering a custom dress from overseas. Wedding Dress Fantasy's custom dress prices are uber-affordable, ranging from $299 to $599.

So, when you're ready to easily track down your perfect colorful wedding dress, head over to Wedding Dress Fantasy.

After doing a ton of wedding profiles, I started to notice a recent offbeat wedding trend. Apparently, Jessica McClintock has captured the hearts of offbeat brides this past season with her black and white wedding dresses.

Photos courtesy of Jessica McClintock. The floor length dress is called Jacqueline, style no. 54222 and the short dress is called Katie, style no. 54207.

With it's dramatic contrast between black and white  and vintage-style lace, it's like a classic wedding dress with a punk-rock edge. And it's easy to see why brides are having a love affair with these dresses. Of course, in true OBB style, each bride who wore this fabulous dress made completely her own…

Continue reading "Did Jessica McClintock create the perfect offbeat wedding dresses?" →