We ADORE Clary Photo and could not get enough of this gorgeous day after session that was shot on her own farm. I’m such a fan of day after sessions–it’s an opportunity to capture missed moments, soak in your newly married status, and of course, wear your dress again. Who can pass that up?
Another favorite aspect of Bridal Market is discovering new designers! One of our recent faves is Kirstie Kelly. Her gowns are beyond romantic! We thought we’d share with you some of the 2013 collection with images shot by our dear Elizabeth Messina. To see even more spectacular images from her spring dresses, check out this post. I die.
Darlings! As you know, I had a chance to go to Bridal Market in New York this year. It was an absolute whirlwind of fashion, so I thought I’d ask Lanie, the owner of the incredible wedding dress boutique Lovely Bride (with stores in New York and a new one in L.A. that I’m headed to soon!) to pick out some of her favorite runway trends! Take it away, Lanie.
As October bridal market approaches each year, we get excited as two girls at Christmas to see the unveiling of the latest collections. Not only is October market bigger in size and number of vendors, but it’s usually when the designers bring their ‘A’ game, introducing lots of new fabrics and details that start the next trends. It doesn’t hurt that there are also MAH-JOR fun parties in October market only, like the annual Martha Stewart party and The Knot party at the New York public library. The whole market experience FEELS like one big wedding, and the best part is, four months later, a store like Lovely gets their wedding gifts…new dresses that were ordered at market!
As you know Lovely is a store that curates the best of the best instead of having every dress under the sun, so we go into market like dress detectives looking for the subtle details that will make a winner. We fell in love with so many new styles and designers (like Sarah Janks, whose line will be in Lovely NYC and LA this Spring!) Check out some of our top trends that are fun and new or are standing the test of time.
Blush is only getting brighter (thanks Jessica Biel and Anne Hathaway), and we love this hue because it is flattering on so many skin tones.
Lace is always a Lovely favorite, but we go into each market asking how to make an old favorite new again? This season it was about going even older into Victorian style lace patterns. The light weight of these two dresses make them look vintage without being heavy like real vintage fabric can be.
Another nod to lace was found in laser cut fabrics. We love that these dresses have the look of lace, but were designed to have more modern motifs like the over-sized chrysanthemum.
It’s the #1 request we have been getting in our store lately. And we love that designers have found a way to offer the support of straps without taking away from the flattering neckline a strapless dress gives.
We’ll leave you with one emerging trend for the ultra chic bride. Jewel collars are a great new detail being seen on sweaters and as necklaces this year, and we were thrilled to see the even fancier take on these two wedding dresses! Perfect for a young and playful bride.
Good news is that you don’t have to wait for all of these trends to hit the stores next March. As the trunk shows make their way through Lovely New York and Lovely Los Angeles, these hot –of-the-runway styles will be available for a limited time in our stores during the trunk show days only. Make sure you check out our website lovelybride.com to see a complete list of our upcoming trunk shows!
Photo Credits | Blush: Sarah Janks // Watters | Vintage Style Lace: Theia // Ivy & Aster | Laser Cut Lace: Watters // Theia | Straps: Nicole Miller // Sarah Seven | Jewel Collar: Ivy & Aster // Sarah Seven
To finish off our incredibly romantic overwhelmingly gorgeous day, we are ending with the ever so lovely Claire Pettibone Spring Collection with images shot by our dear Elizabeth Messina at The Villa at Sunstone Winery. We chatted with Elizabeth about how we as brides might go about making sure our wedding day portraits are just as gorgeous. She told us that “the single most important element in any photograph is light.” While it takes a great photographer to capture it, you can also contribute to making sure you find that great light by being willing to adjust your portrait schedule or location! For more tips and inspiration on natural light, you can check out Elizabeth’s portait book, The Luminous Portrait. You can can also see preview images from the book on Grey Likes Nesting, where we featured the book launch party!
How lucky are we??? Lady Grey is the first to share the cover of the latest issue of The Knot magazine shot by Elizabeth Messina at The Villa at Sunstone Winery. We’re also so honored to divulge a few exclusive images from the shoot, as well as quotes from Dolce Designs Studio and Editor in Chief, Carly Roney! We absolutely adore this team and are obsessed (obviously) with Elizabeth’s work! I scored a pre-release copy at The Knot party in New York and I poured over the entire issue on the flight home. There is so much great content in this new issue, so most definitely get your darling selves a copy.
Editor in Chief, Carley Roney, shared with us her thoughts on this issue’s cover:
We’re honored to once again have Elizabeth Messina’s creative vision come to life for our Winter cover and fashion story. Through her unique vision and beautiful shoots, she continues to create gorgeous work. Take a sneak peek at some of our favorites and check out the whole story on The Knot 2012 Winter issue—on newsstands now.
Anna Rice, one of the owners of Sunstone Villa, had this to say about the shoot:
Elizabeth Messina has photographed both our villa and vineyard estate like no other photographer ever has. She captures a rawness that is unnoticed by the regular eye and turns it into pure elegance and beauty. Her creative and out of the box filter truly captures the natural beauty and glow unique to our property. The cover of The Knot winter issue takes my breath away–a beautiful girl in fine fabric surrounded by romantic flowers laying on our raw stone floor00what a mix of beauty!
One of the things Elizabeth Messina told us about this shoot was that it was shot entirely with natural light, all on film! If you’ve ever shot a cover feature before, you’d know that editors want to see their images in digital format as they are shot to guarantee a perfect image. We really think the huge risk of using natural light and film paid off! I want to hang the cover on my wall!
One of our other favorite quotes about the Knot cover comes to us from the floral designer, Dolce Design Studio:
Working with Elizabeth Messina is a creative experience of telling a story through visuals. Her ability to capture the flowers freshness combined with the beauty of each venue is powerful. Elizabeth’s use of eclectic pieces of furniture and art also speak dramatically through each shot. A favorite for us with Elizabeth is how she takes the simplicity of our blooms – dalhias, garden rose, peonies and ranunculus – in singular form and creates an intensely romantic scene. The blooms sometimes look as though they’ll pop off the page any second!
location the VILLA at SUNSTONE VINEYARDS // hair & makeup ERIN SKIPLEY // fashion stylist CATHERINE SHEPPARD // photographer ELIZABETH MESSINA // magazine THE KNOT // gown on cover by SAMUELLE COUTURE // floral designer DOLCE DESIGNS
