Gown to suit your venue choice

Twenty-five years ago, most weddings were traditionally held in a church. However, times have changed and nowadays most weddings are planned outdoors, either in a garden, beach or at a winery. With this in mind, it does not mean the dress code is now casual. Your gown can still be as elaborate as you want it to be.

The groom and his groomsmen should also complement the bride and her attendants. By this, I mean that even though the wedding may be on the beach, board-shorts and a T-shirt are unacceptable. If he prefers not to wear a formal suit and tie, full length dress pants and tailored shirt would still be appropriate.

The groom’s attire should complement the bride, not the groomsmen. For a unique idea, have the groom in a black suit and his accessories (i.e. shirt, vest and tie) complement the bride’s colour tones. Then, for example, have the groomsmen in a charcoal suit complementing the bridesmaids. You will find to do this, suit hire costs are the same as hiring suits all one colour.

You never see the bride dressed the same as the bridesmaids, so why should the groom dress the same as the groomsmen.

Bridemaids gowns

Remember, tradition no longer exists in weddings. It has come down to dollars & sense, suitability to body shapes and practicality.

Choose a gown for your bridesmaids that will flatter all of their shapes and sizes. A-line is the most popular style because of this reason. It is quite acceptable to choose one colour and one length, but each bridesmaid to choose their own neckline. What suits an A-cup will generally not suit a D-cup. If the style flatters individual bridesmaids, it will create a ‘point of difference’ in the wedding party and a greater chance of your bridesmaids wearing their gown again.

The two main lengths for bridesmaids are either full length or just below the knee. (As knees are generally unsightly and should not be shown.) Also hem-length should never finish mid calf as this is the thickest part of the leg.

Deeper colours like black and charcoal grey are now the most popular for bridesmaids. It will suit any skin type, eye or hair colour and is not only flattering, formal and slimming but is practical and doesn’t take any eye focus away from the bride.

The brighter the bridesmaids colour, the more the bridesmaids are visible and the less you see of the bride. Bright colours generally takes all the eye focus away from the bride. Eyes are always attracted to bright colours and the bridesmaids should not be the main focal point in the wedding. It should be the bride.