Bridal Accessories

You want to look perfect on your wedding day.  (That goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway.)  The crowning glory of your wedding look has to be your headpiece or tiara.  (Pardon the pun.)  Take your time when you’re picking out this important accessory.  It’s going to be something that you’ll remember forever.

Before you go shopping, do your hair in the style that you will be using for the wedding.  It doesn’t make sense to try in headpieces and tiaras when your hair is down if you’ll be wearing it up on your big day.  This will also help you determine whether a tiara, headband, or other headpiece will be the way to go.  Arrange everything the way you want it to look on your wedding day.  If you want the veil over your face, figure out how that looks with the headband or tiara.  Take a look at how it falls, too.  You want to make sure you look right from every angle.

Have a friend take pictures of your hair, the veil, headband, tiara, etc. once you get it exactly the way you want it.  Take pictures from every angle possible— front, back, side, close up, and far away.  These will serve as a reference when you try to recreate the look on the big day.

At Dimitra Designs, we have a great selection of strapless wedding dresses.  Strapless dresses walk that fine line between being revealing and being elegant— and we think they do it beautifully.  We want to make sure you stay elegant on your wedding day.  Be confident in your strapless wedding dress!

-First of all, the proper fit is very important.  You don’t want your strapless wedding dress to be so loose that you keep pulling it up all night.  But you also don’t want it to be too tight, either.  That will just look tacky.  Like the strapless dress walks the line between revealing and elegant, you need to walk the line between loose and tight.  A properly fitted strapless wedding dress should firmly grip the top of your bust without revealing too much cleavage.

-All of the strapless wedding dresses at Dimitra Designs are masterfully crafted.  You’ll notice that they retain their hourglass shape even when they’re on the hanger.  This is important when you’re shopping for a strapless dress.  Your natural body shape should simply reinforce the hourglass shape of the dress.  It makes it more stable.

-Always wear a bra with a strapless dress.  You want to avoid any Janet Jackson-like wardrobe malfunctions.  In the rare event that your dress falls down, you’ll have the bra to keep you covered.  (Hey, we don’t know how crazy your wedding reception will be!)

Most importantly, make sure you feel beautiful!

DimitraDesigns.com has a great selection of short bridal dresses, but there are a few things you need to think about before you decide to go that route.  First of all, is a shorter dress appropriate for your wedding venue?  If you’re getting married in a more religious ceremony, then it might not be appropriate to show too much leg.  Secondly, what is the weather going to be?  If you’re getting married in the middle of winter, you might want to go with something longer— just to keep you warm!  The third (and arguably most important) thing is…

THE SHOES.

What color shoes do you wear with a short bridal dress?  Frankly, the jury’s still out on that one.  It all depends on how far you want to push the envelope, really.  Some people out there have the opinion that you should probably stick with white or silver shoes.  The argument for that, of course, is that you want people to look at your dress— not your shoes.  And if the shoes are too loud, the dress might get overshadowed.
But the flip side of the coin makes a pretty good argument for those colorful shoes.  Pick something that matches your bridal party.  Are you going with red?  Wear red shoes, have a red rose bouquet, and accent the dress with some ruby jewelry.  It’ll tie the whole thing together.

It’s all up to you.  How funky do you want to be?

If you choose to carry on the garter tossing tradition at your wedding reception, you need to remember a few things.  After all, you want this to be part of your reception that people remember— not something that you and your husband will be embarrassed about for years to come.

Why do it, anyway?
The tradition dates back to 14th Century France.  Brides of the day used to toss easily removable parts of their clothing to guests as a gesture of good luck.  The garter was usually one of the things she tossed.  It evolved into the groom tossing the garter at the unwed male guests.

Traditional or unusual
The bride usually sits in a chair in the middle of the dance floor.  And the groom removes the garter from her leg.  Now, brides, you have to keep a few things in mind.  Try to put the garter just above your knee so your husband isn’t showing your “goods” to the whole world.  And, we’ve touched on this in this blog before, you need to wear some reasonable undergarments.  You just never know what could happen with the garter toss.
-Choose a fun song.  How about the “Mission Impossible” theme?
-Try doing a “married” toss instead.  If you have more married male guests, you can invite all of them to catch the garter.  The winner here would then present the garter to his own wife (in private!).
-You can get silly and have the bride sit on the best man’s lap while the husband looks for the garter.

Every bride wants to feel as feminine as possible on her wedding day, and the shoes play a big part in that.  If you’re not the kind of girl that wears high heels on a regular basis, you need to work your way up to those fabulous wedding shoes! Here at DimitraDesigns.net, we want you to look and feel your best.  It’s not as difficult as it seems— it’ll just take a little bit of practice.

-Start small and work your way up.  You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to run, right?  Begin with a shoe that has a broad, low heel.  Something in the 2”-3” range is a good idea.
-Once you get good at that, upgrade to a low kitten heel.  These will get you used to walking on a heel that’s a little narrower.  They’re still very low, so you don’t have to worry too much about balance.
-Then you can go on to try some wedge heels.  The wedge adds a little bit of extra balance and comfort while you get used to the height of the heel.
-Finally, go ahead and try some stiletto heels.  You don’t really need to go any higher than 3”4”. That’s the perfect height.

When you walk down the aisle, you want to make sure you do it with ease!  Gradually working your way up to a higher heel should make that transition fairly simple for you.

We don’t think about our undergarments too much on a daily basis.  If you’re like anyone here, you just grab something out of the drawer and go about your day.  But your wedding day is a different story.  And we’re not talking about picking something that’s frilly, lacy, or sparkly.  On your wedding day, you need something that’s functional underneath that dress.  Think of it like a movie set— sometimes the lead actress (your dress) is only at her best when she has a great supporting cast (the undergarments).

-If you’re wearing a strapless dress, you’ve got a lot of options.  Ladies with smaller busts can get away without a bra if they ask their seamstress to just sew in some bust cups for definition.  If you want a little support, a strapless bra works perfectly.
-Some dresses, however, need to be worn with a bustier instead.  If your dress has a dip in the back of the bodice, you’re probably in the club.  Just pick a smooth microfiber one with no visible boning.  If you go with something too fancy looking, it’ll be visible through your gown.
-Dress too revealing for a bustier?  Then get yourself a high-quality stick-on bra.  It sounds silly, but they absolutely do the trick.
-Lots of brides choose a brief or boy-short panty instead of a thong.  This is probably a good idea.  There’s nothing worse than the feeling of a petticoat on a bare behind!
-If your wedding gown is sleeker on the bottom, you’ll need some special undergarments.  It might be in your best interest to go with a smoothing foundation-garment that stops mid-thigh. Not the sexiest thing on the planet, but you won’t have any visible panty lines!

The last thing you want on your wedding day is to be stuck looking for your lipstick or some other essential item. That’s why you need a bridal emergency kit. You can either put it together yourself, or have your maid of honor do it. Either way, these are the things that you don’t want to be without on your big day.

1. A little sewing kit. (You never know what might happen!)
2. Clear nail polish, nail polish in the bride’s color, and a nail file.
3. Makeup. (Though that probably goes without saying.)
4. Brush, comb, bobby pins, hair-ties.
5. Tissues, handkerchiefs, lint brush.
6. Baby powder. (It can help with chaffing from too much dancing. But it’s also great for getting out last minute stains on your white dress.)
7. Antacid, breath mints.
8. Tampons and pads, headache medicine, adhesive bandages.
9. Mirror, a little bottle of water, moist towelettes. (You never know how long you’ll be away from a washroom.)
10. Cellphone, a list of phone numbers. (In case you have to call one of your vendors for some reason.)

It might be your day to be a princess, but it’s also a good day to live by that old Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.

Once you choose your dress, your veil ends up being one of the most important fashion decisions you make on your wedding day. Some brides love the full look of a classic wedding veil, while others prefer to go without and instead wear a flower in their hair.

If you’re shopping for a veil, make sure it matches your dress color. It sounds obvious, but an ivory veil will stand out against a pure white dress. Also choose a veil that compliments your dress. An ornate dress looks best with a simple veil while a plain dress can be the perfect backdrop for a dramatic beaded veil.

One of the most popular ways to choose a veil is by size. Here are some of the most common sizes that we carry here at Dimitra Designs:

Birdcage veils – These short veils cover just your face, and are made either out of traditional tulle or a delicate netting.  Birdcage veils look great with short hair, vintage dresses, or for any bride that wants a fun and flirty look on her wedding day.

Shoulder length – A shorter veil is often worn with a small blusher veil that is worn over the brides face. This style is more casual and can be worn with any dress.

Fingertip Length – The name is self explanatory. This veil usually rests at the brides fingertips, and can be worn with just about any wedding dress. It is a somewhat formal veil

Cathedral  Length –the most formal of all wedding veils, these are worn with those wedding dresses that have a long train. The length of the veil generally exceeds the length of the dress train by at least 6 inches.

Whatever the size or style, choosing a veil can be a fun experience. Try them on with your dress and you’ll start to envision your wedding day coming together!

As you get closer to your wedding day and all the pieces start to come together, you’ll need to start planning out the finer details of your bridal look, which includes your makeup. Whether you want a professional salon to do your makeup or even if you’re doing it at home on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you look like your very best self on your big day.

• Do A Makeup Trial – or several, depending on what you can manage. It’s important to have a game plan before the wedding day so that you don’t end up with makeup you hate and no time to change it. Take photos after each makeup trial and see how the makeup looks on camera, both in natural and artificial light.
• Don’t Tan – if you end over over-tanning right before the wedding, there’s not much that can be done to fix it and you’ll look unnatural in your wedding photos.
• Stay Hydrated – double up on your water intake about a month before the wedding to keep your skin clearer and glowing. If you’re well hydrated you’ll have a much better canvas for applying makeup.
• Be Yourself – If you’re not comfortable with your look, speak up! You want to look like a more glamorous version of yourself, but still be yourself. If you’re uncomfortable with dark liner, or you never wear blush, let your makeup artist know so they can find something that suits your needs

With a little preparation, your wedding day makeup will be the perfect compliment to all of your planning!

We’ve talked about how to choose your dress, picking out a hairstyle and a bridal hairpiece to go with it, and even coordinating your bridesmaids and the mother of the bride and groom. Now that your bridal party’s style is almost complete, it’s time to add the finishing touches to your look. It’s time to choose the accessories you’ll wear on your big day!

Bridal accessories include all kinds of things, and you might only choose one or two for your wedding day look. In general, if you have an ornate dress, it’s best to keep other accessories light and simple, so the beauty of the gown shows through. If you’re wearing a very simple dress, you can have fun with bold and bright accessories!

Shoes – traditionally, brides wear white to match their dress. But you can add some extra pop to your day with a pair of shoes in your wedding colors!

Jewelry – Choose one piece of dramatic jewelry, like chandelier earrings or  a large necklace, and keep the rest simple.

Purse- Brides can carry purses! A cute clutch or drawstring bag is a wonderful wedding day purse. Carry some extra tissues, lipstick and any other essential so you’re always prepared.

What kind of accessories are you planning on wearing on your wedding day?