Guest Blogger: Anne Barge Final Day

After all this talk about bridal trends this season you are probably thinking…"how do I get my hands on those?” This is where I stress the importance of trunk shows. Trunk shows will have the most recent gowns and therefore the most recent trends. The dresses that travel on shows are the best sellers and designers favorites.This guarantees that you will see the best that line has to offer.

Trunk shows are also a great place to get the best deal on the new dress. Usually stores will offer an incentive to purchase the weekend of their show. They will offer you a percent off and even sometimes throw in other perks. You can get more dress for your money this way.

Trunk shows are also super fun. Stores will go all out for trunk shows to really pamper the bride and make the day more special. Champagne and treats are involved people!

The final reason to go to a trunk show near you is the help that is offered. Lines will send representatives with the dresses and sometimes a designer or two will show up. They have insane knowledge of the dresses and can help you decide which trend is best for your body and wedding.

I cannot stress how much of an opportunity trunk shows are. To find the nearest trunk show near you visit a stores website. If you have one designer you absolutely love, check out their website for trunk show dates. (I recommend www.AnneBarge.com)!

images via bippty boppity boo

We want to take a minute here at the end and thanks Ginny Brogan from Anne Barge again for giving up her time to provide all of us with these amazing tips and insiders information! It has been such a pleasure having you. I hope everyone has enjoyed this guest blog as much as we have! Be sure to check out more from Ginny on the Anne Barge Blog!

Day 4 with Anne Barge

Today were are heading into day 4 with Ginny Brogan from Anne Barge. Today, Ginny is going over shopping for a dress! Some of the most important information you can get as a bride. So read on! If you are just finding us, be sure to look over day 1 day 2 and day 3!

With all these great trends and gorgeous gowns you are probably wondering how you can get your hands on them. Easy as pie…call your local bridal store and make your appointment. If you have a designer you love, visit their website for their authorized vendors. Then, let the fun begin!

One of the most overwhelming experiences you can have is your first bridal appointment. After all, it is something you have never done before. So, here is a basic rundown of what you can expect. (I have also included little tips to make it easier for you, I have italicized them!) When you arrive you will meet your consultant and have a quick chat. Use her as a resource. She will know the dresses like the back of her hand and have some great recommendations for you. After your brief chat you will get to pick out some gowns. Be sure to choose a wide variety on your first appointment. You want to be sure you see a little of everything on your body. I recommend trying on a ball gown, trumpet, a-line, fit and flare and sheath to cover all the bases. Also, pull some lace and beading for kicks! Stores will vary on how many they let you pick, but once you have your choices it is time to try on. Wear simple clothes that are easy to change out of and your own strapless bra. This will save you changing time, but also save you from wearing a store's bra. This is where things get tiring…you will try on dress after dress, and more than likely love more than one. Just start narrowing down choices and ruling out dress categories. After you have tried on everything you picked the consultant may pull in some ideas she has, or you may get to go back out and do a second pull. At the end of your first appointment, if you didn’t find the dress this time, the consultant will write down your favorites and off you will go. See, nothing scary…just exhausting for you as these dresses are heavy!

Above all, buying your dress should be fun. If you had bad and un-fun experiences at a store go somewhere else! There are other fish in the sea. Keep an open mind…even if you are not looking for your perfect dress it is looking for you! Enough with the corny relationship metaphors, Have fun and happy shopping.

Guest Blogger: Anne Barge Day 3

Today is day 3 with guest blogger Ginny Brogan from Anne Barge. If you are just joining us, be sure to catch up on day 1 and day 2.

One of the best things about the new trends in bridal is that they are so easy for everyone to wear. You just have to pick the right dress in the right trend. How do you do this? The key is knowing your body. From years of getting dressed you have learned what you love about yourself and what you would like to hide. Getting dressed in a bridal gown is no different. A great rule I always go by is always emphasize your smallest point, your waist. By emphasizing your waist you draw the onlooker’s eye to that point thus making yourself look smaller. This is a great example of doing that successfully…

Perhaps your waist is not the part of your body you are most comfortable with. Then go to the next line to emphasize...the vertical line. By creating a seamless vertical line you can literally stretch your body to be longer and leaner. The eye has nowhere to stop and thus will keep travelling up to your beautiful face and wedding day do! Here is an example of this line…

Finally, if you are just lost go to the “go to dress” .This is the full skirt with cinched waist. This will pull you in the right spot and hide everything else. This is a go to dress for EVERYONE. It creates curves if you have none, emphasizes the good curves if you do have them, and fits like a charm. Trust me, this is the bridal equivalent of the little black dress…

The bottom line is this…there is a dress out there for everyone. Even those with the craziest of bodies to fit can find one that makes them feel like a million dollars. Don’t give up or get discouraged…you just have to find the one that shows you off best!

Guest Blogger: Day 2 Anne Barge

Day Two with Ginny Brogan from Anne Barge. Here is Day One if you missed it.

We saw so many new trends at market this year. Here are the big ones!

One of the biggest trends we saw this season was texture. Texture was everywhere! Skirts made of thousands of tiny flowers, ribbon swirled into patterns, tulle piled high, and chiffon wrapped in itself. Buyers and press were literally reaching out and touching the gowns to feel the opulence.

Texturized gowns are a great alternative for someone who does not want beading or lace. It used to be that gowns fit into one of three categories – beaded, lace or plain. Well, not anymore. You can have a gown with one fabric, but oodles of interest.

Check out these textured gowns:

For the past few seasons the economy made extinct the beaded dress. Well, beading is back baby! Buyers and press could not get enough of the gorgeous beaded bodices that returned this season. What once people thought of as an added expense they now see as sparkly frosting. The girl who loves to sparkle can now breathe easy and return to bridal shopping. Phew…that was a close one!

Check out these beaded pieces:

A huge trend in the bridal world the last couple of years has been destination weddings, and the designers have finally heard the call. More and more brides are getting married in exotic and fun locals, and now they have tons of options to choose from. Stores used to carry a handful of flowey and short gowns for their traveling brides, but as the demand for such dresses grew so did their clout in the market place. This season instead of one or two destination gowns in their line, designers were showing four or five! I guess the law of supply and demand holds true…demand grew and supply multiplied.

Check out these travelling glories:

Lace has always been a bridal staple. Dresses typically had either Chantilly lace or Aloncon lace. This market the most beautiful thing happened…lace was placed onto of lace! Yes, two or more layers of lace on one dress. The result was absolutely beautiful depth. Aloncon placed on top of delicate Chantilly was my favorite use. The chunky corded Aloncon caught your eye and then you gasped as you noticed the beautiful Chantilly underneath. It was like taking a bite of Chocolate cake then noticing the icing had raspberry in it! You know what I am talking about!!!!

Check out this glorious lace:

All dresses are by Anne Barge and Bagley Ischia Bride. For information contact info@AnneBarge.com

Guest Blogger: Anne Barge

We could not be more thrilled with our Guest Blogger this week. Ginny Brogan, from Anne Barge is joining us all week. After just returning from bridal week, Ginny had the inside scoop for everything up and coming this year. Check back everyday for a new post!

On Ginny:

The Anne Barge blog concept was born six months ago as a way to connect brides directly to the designer. It offers tips on how to wear wedding dress, buy wedding dresses and more importantly how to have fun along the way! While the blog does highlight Anne Barge it offers general tips and ideas for all wedding gowns. I have been writing the blog since its conception just months ago, and have been in the high end bridal industry for seven years. It is my hope that our blog helps brides understand the bridal gown process better and relieve some of the stress of bridal gown shopping. On the personal side, I reside in Atlanta with my husband, baby girl Zoey and our dog Luda. I am very fortunate to live in the greatest city, work for one of the best designers, and spend my days with the spunkiest girl in the world. To all our brides out there..."Happy Reading and Happy Shopping!"

On Anne:

For as long as she can remember, Anne Barge has wanted to be a bridal gown designer. Throughout her school years, Anne was always designing gowns for her paper dolls and school friends, always knowing one day it would be for real.

After a history in the bridal industry, in March of 1999, Anne launched the Anne Barge Bridal Collection which combined classic designs in the finest of silks with museum quality beading and embroidery... not before seen in the worldwide bridal market.

Today the line is represented in Neiman March and the finest stores throughout the country, UK, Spain and Japan. With an atelier above Atlanta's Four Seasons Hotel, her own private label and an international presence, she as made her life long dream a reality. The gowns have been features in magazines and newspapers internationally as well as having been selected as the winner for the 2003 Today Show Throws a Wedding.

This past weekend we debuted our two new collections at New York bridal market. We spent five days in the big apple setting up, having a runway show and meeting with buyers. It is always a whirlwind weekend, but this market was officially a success.

What is bridal market? Bridal market is when we debut our newest collection of gowns. Both press and buyers come to see the new collection. Press will decide what to feature in their magazines, websites and blogs, and buyers will order new stock for their store. This keeps both publications and stores stocked with fresh ideas and fresh inventory for brides.

A lot of work goes into bridal market. We create a brand new collection; produce a runway show complete with lighting and music, schedule one-on-one appointments with our stores, and schedule press seating for the show.

Obviously the biggest part of bridal market is the new collection. It is the bulk of the work, and literally takes months to produce. We begin by brainstorming design ideas, and send them off to be made into muslins, the dress made in cheap cotton fabric. Once the muslins come in we fit them on a model to make sure they fit well on the female body. Then, the muslins are sent back to the factory for corrections. While they are there we are researching new beading, lace, fabric and notions. Once everything is put together the dresses come back to us in their completed form. We go over them once more on a model with a fine tooth comb. Nothing leaves our door for the show without being 100% perfect.

At the end of the day, all this work is done for the bride, and we love it. After all, without the brides who would be our muse?

For more information visit Anne Barge online.