TrinidadWeddings.com's Top Wedding Trends for 2013

The wedding industry is always influenced by what’s current in the art, fashion, culinary and interior design worlds. Every new year brings a slightly different approach to wedding planning coupled with interesting trends.

Here are a few predictions for 2013:

Emerald Green – This year, the Pantone Colour Institute has chosen “Emerald Green” as the “it” colour for 2013. The shade is described as “lively, radiant and lush,” and will certainly be seen this year on bridesmaid gowns, bouquets, invitation accents and décor. 

Another colour that is going to be very popular this year is mint green. This delicate, pastel colour fits very well with retro and vintage wedding themes.

Victorian-inspired – Accessories are taking a cue from the Victorian era. This year, we are seeing motifs that were once popular on Victorian jewelry such as: flora, fauna and bows. The incorporation of ribbon, lace and tulle on bridal jewelry pieces, is another Victorian influence. The Victorian influence will also be seen on décor and favour choices; so we will see a return to more romantic, vintage accessories. Other eras that will inspire brides’ style this year are the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s.

Cakes – the lace obsession has not stopped! In fact, it has been going strong since the Royal Wedding in 2011. Lace accents and reproductions will be appearing all over cakes this year, as will fondant flowers and accents that appear to be appliquéd onto the cake.  The use of metallics on cakes, will continue to be trendy this year as well.

Dramatic back views on gowns – Open backed gowns are trending - from plunging deep V-neck backs, sheer back views, lace trimmed key-holes or backs hidden with a smattering of crystals, sequins or embroidery. These gowns will not be for the faint of heart!

Just as it was last year, for 2013, brides will still be embracing dresses with long sleeves, high necklines, cap sleeves and illusion necklines. There will also be a resurgence of the longer bridesmaid dresses versus the shorter ones that prevailed in years past.

Invitations - Also popular will be designs that are foil stamped onto invitations, as well as those that are foil edged (when a metallic effect is applied to the edge of the invitations). Personalisation will also reign – with more couples choosing to do their own monograms, caricatures, crests or logos.

Bouquets: expect more brides to incorporate jewels and brooches into their bouquets. Another trend is the use of succulents (cacti) in the bouquets.

Patterns and Motifs: On invitations and in décor, the “bird” motif is going to be widely seen this year, so will leopard print, zebra print and chevron (a zig zag repetitive pattern).

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Custom-made wedding gowns!

Lily Allen's ceremony gown by Delphine Manivet

Disagree or agree with me, but I love Lily Allen’s style and her music.

Who’s Lily Allen?

If you’ve never heard of her, she’s a British singer with 2 successful music albums under her belt. She was just as famously known for being the face of Chanel, when Karl Lagerfeld hand-picked her and photographed her to promote the Coco Cocoon luxury handbags in the fall of 2009.

She is also largely known as a style icon in the UK and why she’s relevant to my blog (other than I love her!), is that she got married last month.

Naturally, it was rumoured that Chanel would be doing her wedding dress. In fact, she had two gowns, Chanel did a vintage-inspired one for her reception (see photo at left) and Parisian Designer, Delphine Manivet, designed the gown for her ceremony.

The lace bodice is reminiscent of the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown but Lily’s veil clearly harkens back to the 1920’s. Unlike Kate's 1950's- inspired gown, Manivet remarked that the Lily’s dress was inspired by 1970’s and 1990’s fashion.

If, like Lily, you decide to go the route of having your attire custom-made; it is important to distinguish between a seamstress and a designer.

Designers, of course, design and fabricate a gown especially for you. Seamstresses will usually sew exactly what you ask them to do, although some do designing as well.  Be aware that seamstresses that work exclusively by store-bought patterns may not know how to alter gowns to give you the style elements that you may want – e.g. a bustle skirt or unusual back. 

Generally, these are the steps to getting your gown designed:

1.    Meet with your designer but do have in mind the direction you want for the style of your gown for example, do you want your gown to be  dramatic? Full? fitted and body conscious? Feature a skirt with lot of movement? Or should it be feminine or on the other end of the spectrum - more structured?

2.    After having discussions with you about your preferences and examining your body type; the designer will usually present attire concepts in the form of sketches and inspirational photos. He/She should also have fabric samples for you to choose from.

3.   After this, you can choose the silhouette, embellishments and decide on the type(s) of fabric that you like incorporated. Then, via collaboration, you and the designer will determine a final choice.

4.  Measurements of the bride-to-be are then taken by the designer, over the actual undergarments that will be worn on the day.

5.   Most designers will do a “muslin fitting,” to ensure proper fit. Muslin is a cotton woven fabric from which the designer makes a shell that moulds to the body of the bride. This shell enables the designer to easily drape onto it or create  desired elements from the final garment.

6.    The designer then takes the muslin pattern and crafts it into the bride's chosen fabric usually, adjustments are done at this point since the muslin does not have the same characteristics as the final fabric (for example, silk, organza, satin etc.).  

7.   Additional fittings to ensure a perfect fit may also be required, depending on the complexity of the gown.