Alfred Angelo Wedding Gown

Tall brides, while envied for their heights, often have a tough time finding a dress to fit their unique body shape. How can you find the right wedding gown without looking (or feeling) like a giant? What about balancing long legs and torso? How can you find the fit that’s right for you?

Don’t worry – if you’ve got extra inches on your side, DimitraDesigns.com is here to help. Here are some of our tips for dressing your tall body shape for your big day:

Keep it Simple
First off, if you’re tall, stick to gowns with a simple silhouette so that your natural body shape is emphasized. Too many ruffles or embellishments can actually make you look awkward. Instead, stick to a flowing fabric that compliments your body shape. Or, if you want to hide some flaws, go with a stiffer, more tailored look. Just keep the fabric simple and beautiful, like this lovely Alfred Angelo creation.

Be Conscious of Fit
You want to make sure that your gown looks like it fits properly. If you’re wearing long sleeves, be sure they go past the wrist. If you have a long torso, be sure that it’s accommodated by a lower waist line, or choose a looser dress that can be customized with a belt at your waistline. If you want drama, be sure that the gown is long enough to sweep the floor gracefully.

Go Classic
The A-line wedding gown is flattering on all body types, but that’s not the only one you can go with. Depending on your curves, you can feel free to try ball gowns, sweetheart necklines, scoops, bateau necks, tea-lengths, and elegant sheath dresses. Experiment with fit but keep the look classic. Over the top doesn’t always work well with tall brides. Don’t want to look any taller? Then avoid Empire line dresses and busts.

Are you a tall bride? What dresses have you found to be the most flattering?

Mori Lee Petite Wedding Gown

Petite brides often have such a hard time finding the right dress, especially in a size that works for them!

So what exactly looks good on a petite shape?  Well, for starters, think sleek, simple, and slim.

If you’re more of a modern bride, feel free to play with the straight sheath dress. This style of petite wedding gown is oh-so-chic right now, plus, it’s super flattering for a petite figure. It elongates the body, plays up your best features, and has quite a bit of flexibility. For an informal or summer wedding, go with a sheath dress that hits a bit below the knee. For a more formal occasion, go with a longer length that will make you look taller and leaner.

If you love traditional bridal gowns, then your shape will look best in an A-line or princess silhouette. Avoid full ballgowns that can make you get lost in all of the layers of tulle, Instead, look for something a bit more streamlined with a natural waist. Drop waists or empire waistlines can actually make a petite shape look unbalanced.

In terms of necklines, celebrate! You can try just about any neckline you like. Two of our favorites for petite frames are the bateau neck and the sleeveless scoop. These necklines show off your pretty neck and beautiful arms. Just be careful not to overdo it on the details. Petite wedding dresses with too many embellishments can make you look bulky. Keep it simple and chic.

Your wedding day is supposed to be perfect, but sometimes, well, things happen. Here are three quick and easy solutions from DimitraDesigns.com to solve some common wedding day woes.

The Problem: Lipstick on Your Collar, er, Wedding Dress
OK, so we all smudge our lipstick and maybe you managed to get some on your wedding dress. Don’t worry! Lipstick stains may be tough, but they’re not invincible. Start out by sprinkling a little baking soda on a stain and letting it soak up any moisture or grease that’s in the lipstick. Then, brush off the excess powder. Gently disguise any discoloration with chalk. Then, seek a dry cleaner after the ceremony. The baking soda (or talcum powder) trick works on greasy food stains too!

Want to avoid this problem from happening? Make sure you put the wedding dress on then apply make up. Always wear a covering over the gown (e.g. towel) while you get your makeup put on so there’s no chance of getting anything on the dress.

The Problem: Your Special Time Came Unexpectedly
Oh, no. No, no no. This is one of the bride’s biggest fears ever. Make sure you come prepared by wearing the right underwear. We know it might not seem sexy to swap out your thong for a pair of briefs, but it’s better to be safe than sorry if you know your period is coming up soon. Put on a pair that’s comfortable and can easily accommodate you wearing a pad or pantyliner. You can still choose a pair that’s sexy! Don’t ever use a tampon unless you have started your period already! Then, equip a bridesmaid, friend, or family member with a bridal emergency kit that includes enough tampons and pads to take care of a problem should it happen.

If you have a leak or an accidental run-in with your time of the month, you can get any stains out with cold water or hydrogen peroxide. Just make sure to dilute the hydrogen peroxide (one part to nine parts water) so that it doesn’t bleach the fabric. Use chalk to disguise anything that won’t come out.

The Problem: Oh My God, I Hate My Hair!
It’s your perfect day…and your hair looks like a train wreck. You can avoid this wedding day disaster by scheduling trial hair runs before your wedding day with your stylist. This way, you know EXACTLY what you’ll be getting on your day. Just take pictures, work with your stylist on a routine, and make sure that you both are on the same page when it comes to your hairdo.

If for some reason something happens, have a friend or a family member on hand who can improvise a hairstyle if needed. Also, give yourself plenty of time before the wedding in case a hair mishap happens.

Did you know that you can serve up a signature cocktail on your special day instead of doing the traditional champagne toast? Wedding drinks don’t have to be dull and stale. You can actually have fun with what you serve while still keeping with tradition. Here’s one idea from DimitraDesigns.net on how to make the most of your wedding toast while fulfilling a lucky bridal tradition.

Remember the Victorian bridal saying of “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”? Don’t think that you have to be wearing all of these things in order to get the same lucky effect! What if your something blue was actually something quite…delicious? This cocktail recipe for The Something Blue will be sure to delight guests on your special day while ensuring that you won’t be overwhelmed between the borrowed, new, and old wardrobe items.

The Something Blue

To make this drink, combine the following in a chilled champagne flute:

• 2 oz Hpnotiq
• 2 oz white wine
• 1 oz ginger ale

Serve and toast to a beautiful day  – and a long and happy marriage!

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.

1) Think about whether or not you really need something.  As you look through books, magazines, stores, and websites to plan your wedding, ask yourself a few questions.  The biggest question should be, “When I look back on my wedding day, will I remember this item?  Will it make the day any better if I have it or worse if I don’t?”  If the answer is “No,” you should just skip it. That way you’ll avoid things that can end up taking away from both your time and your budget.
2) Delegate and let other people help you!  If you can let yourself give up control of some of the little details, you’ll save yourself a bunch of headaches.
3) Have fun with the decisions you make.  Make sure the wedding reflects your style and personality.  If you two like movies, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a movie theater themed wedding.  It will be fun for you and your fiance to sit down together and think of some of the ideas.  It can be a great bonding experience for the two of you.

-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!

-Just go out to dinner!  It can be a great opportunity to share some memories about the bride-to-be.  Pick her favorite restaurant, and have a pleasant evening.

-Play a mellow game.  One of our favorites is one that tests the bachelorette’s knowledge of her future hubby.  So have one of the girls ask the groom 20 questions beforehand.  General stuff like his favorite color, movie, and most embarrassing moment.  See how many the bride can get right!

-Have a spa day.  Planning a wedding is stressful, so we’re sure everyone could use a little time to relax.  Massages, manicures, and pedicures are a great way to do that!  Plus, many spas offer group rates.

-You can even go to a concert or a play.  There’s bound to be a local community or college theater out there with something you girls want to see.  It’s a perfectly classy bachelorette party idea.

-Tradition held it that you really shouldn’t wear white if it’s your second wedding.  But that’s sort of fallen by the wayside.  You can go ahead and wear white if you want to!  We’ve got a great selection of white second wedding dresses to choose from.
-If you don’t feel comfortable in white, though, you can go ahead and choose something in your favorite color.  You might find something in our collection of mother of the bride dresses or bridesmaid dresses.
-If the dress from your first wedding is still in good shape, you might be able to trade it in as credit on a new one.  (Because you don’t want to wear the same dress twice— no matter how nice it looks!)
-There’s also nothing saying that you can’t have a fairytale wedding the second time around.  Go ahead and glam it up in a couture wedding gown!

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?