Say What? Say Yes To The Dress!
Katie Ebert is one very lucky bride. Katie and her fiance Mike Ivey are the winners of Trend Wedding 2009, which will take place on Friday June 5, 2009 at the Chambers Hotel Minneapolis.
We were very excited to work with our friends Lois and Caroline Fritz at The Wedding Shoppe on Grand Avenue in St. Paul www.weddingshoppeinc.com for the wedding party to select their bridesmaid dresses and “The” wedding gown! Yes, Katie not only said Yes to Mike when he asked her to marry him but when they won Trend Wedding 2009 she would also “Say Yes To The Dress” as her gown would be from the Kleinfeld Kollection exclusively at The Wedding Shoppe and our friends Mara and Ronnie at Kleinfeld’s Bridal Salon in New York the location of the hit TLC show “Say Yes To The Dress”.
So in preparation of hosting all four bridesmaids, the mother of the bride and the bride we discussed with Lois and Carolyn and decided to schedule a private fitting on the second level of The Wedding Shoppe after closing time so the girls would have the run of the space. I arrived early to get things set up and to work with Caroline on pre-selecting the bridesmaid dresses. Matthew was on his way from a meeting and was bringing the champagne because you know how warm it gets trying on all those gowns. Well, so we have been told! We selected a variety of bridesmaid dresses in different styles and lengths to see what would be the ‘it’ look for this group of Trend Wedding bridesmaids.
The Wedding Shoppe on Grand Avenue has a large selection of bridesmaid dresses as you can see from the pictures. Of course they all come in a variety of silhouettes, fabrics and colors so all we needed to do was narrow down the selection based on color palette for the wedding and then a few different styles to see what the bridesmaids would like. Of course we were also looking forward to feature something that is trendy; after all this is the Trend Wedding!
As Caroline went to pull some of the fashions, I greeted Amy and Matt Coppersmith with Coppersmith Photography who will be photographing the wedding. They are also spending time documenting the planning process as well so the couple will have a truly documented wedding experience from start to finish. They captured these shots for us at the fitting. You can see some more of their wonderful work by going to www.coppersmithphotography.com
Lucky the photographer and I arrived early as the wedding party determined the trip from Apple Valley to Grand Avenue in St. Paul would take longer than it did. Due to light rush hour traffic, they arrived early. The only glitch was one of the drivers locked her car keys in the car when she arrived at The Wedding Shoppe. Yes, we will chock that up to the excitement of the day. So we were just getting ready to introduce all the bridesmaids, Danielle, Katie, Rachael and the Maid of Honor Tracy along with Sue, the Mother of the Bride. And right behind them was Matthew with Champagne in hand. So let’s pop the cork and get started!
With the trend for colors to become more muted, we started with a pale palette of blue, green, yellow and lavender with an overall illusion hue to the silhouette. While short dresses are the fad right now, long dresses are on their way back into trend. Instead of the “standard” satin gown we gravitated toward what we think is a much more trendy softer image with a chiffon gown. A very “Grecian” look in ivory which we think will be the popular look next year or so. The accent color of a very muted light blue with a hint of gray. So if you are wondering what are muted tones, take a look at softer colors ie. Instead of bold colors use the following comparisons: green/sage green, pink/blush, silver/gray, brown/taupe, purple/violet, yellow/buttercup, orange/peach, and blue/steel blue. So if you are planning your wedding for 2010 or 2011, think away from jewel tones unless it’s an accent color.
The much-anticipated moment of the evening was finally upon us as it was now time for Katie to start trying on bridal fashions from the Kleinfeld Kollection. We started by discussing styles and silhouettes she was interested in reviewing and started to select gowns from the special Kelinfeld Kollection area. We discussed fabric, draping and structure and then the many options.
There were a number of different silhouettes we selected from: Empire Waist, A-Line, Ball Gown and Fit and Flare. We wanted to have Katie experience the many different styles and how they will fit on different body types. We started with a strapless rouched bodice taffeta ball gown to see if volume was the direction we would go, but it was too much and we needed something more elongated. Even though the ball gown had a trendy pocket it just seemed to engulf Katie. Our next choice was an empire gown with vertical draping with beautiful embroidery and crystal beading. It was very much in the style of the gown Audrey Hepburn wore to the Embassy Ball in My Fair Lady. Okay, not so much glitter but the overall silhouette was stunning! Katie had a stature about herself. She carried herself with more assurance and confidence and that is what a bride should feel when she has chosen The Dress! The next option was a Fit and Flare gown, which can and proved to be a bit tricky. The fit and flare needs to be for a woman with a long torso but when you have a person who is equally proportioned in height from neck to waist and waist to feet you are missing the extra length in the torso needed to complete that drop flared skirt. So we were on to the next gown. A “Grecian” three tiered gown with a sheer organza tank style bodice. Although the gown was similar in style to the bridesmaids which would be a cool retro 50’s /60’s look, it simply made her appear shorter, obviously a dress for a taller bride. The next gown was a traditional long sleeve gown in lace. Not quite the overall look we were hoping to achieve nor did Katie picture herself in lace so although we had her try the gown on, it was dismissed just as quickly. The next gown was a strapless A-line gown in a handkerchief style skirt, with a brooch crystal medallion. Although the gown was beautiful and trendy, it just did not echo the simple clean lines with subtle details and edging we were trying to achieve and part of Katie’s vision.
We tried on two more gowns and the vote was unanimous the second dress was “The Dress” to “Say Yes To The Dress”. Stay tuned for future updates as The Wedding Guys and Coppersmith Photography keep you informed on the planning for Trend Wedding 2009! Cheers!
NOTE TO BRIDES: When you are trying on wedding gowns for the first time, usually you will end up selecting the first or second gown you tried on. A little statistics or trivia!
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