The Dessy Group has announced a partnership with designer Cynthia Rowley to produce Cynthia Rowley Bridesmaids, an exclusive collection of designer bridesmaid dresses. Cynthia Rowley Bridesmaids dresses are designed for both day and evening weddings. Design elements taken directly from Rowley's eponymous ready to wear collection include tulle skirts and drop-waist silhouettes. The line consists of floor and tea length dresses in fabrics including duchess satin, cotton sateen and tulle.
The Cynthia Rowley Bridesmaids collection will be available in May. Prices will range from $175 to $220.
A crazy fight took place inside the First Lady Bridal in Lathrup Village. It looked like a bar brawl inside the bridal store. Merchandise was all over the floor by the time the fight was broken up. This does not look like a pleasant shopping experience. There is no sound in the video clip. Take a look:
The Philadelphia Inquirerreports that Urban Outfitters plans to launch a wedding brand. The wedding brand will launch with an online store on Valentine's Day 2011. A physical store will follow the online store.
"We think this is going to be a meaningful business," Glen T. Senk, chief executive officer, told analysts today while reviewing the company's 2009 earnings, which included record sales of $1.9 billion and record profit of $220 million.
"Anybody we talk to about this goes, 'Wow, that's exciting,' " he said.
Urban Outfitters sees a large potential market in weddings. The Philadelphia Inquirer says Urban Outfitters' research indicates that the average wedding costs $45,000 with the bride spending $4,500 on clothes and accessories. WWDreports that Urban Outfitters' wedding brand will sell heirloom gowns that cost between $1,000 to $5,000.
Claudia Schiffer is the face of a new campaign for Dom Perignon. Fashion Week Daily reports that Dom Perignon is entering the bridal market with a special set called Dom Perignon Wedding. The set includes 12 bottles of Dom Perignon Vintage 2000, plus a 13th bottle that will be personalized with the bride and groom's name and wedding date. The campaign was shot by Karl Lagerfeld. You can watch a video of the campaign here.
Jake Pavelka proposed to Vienna Girardi on The Bachelor finale. The engagement ring was a hand-crafted Neil Lane princess-cut diamond and platinum ring. Encrusted and set with 70 diamonds for a total weight of 2.72 carats, the center diamond is a 2.02 carat princess-cut diamond. The ring was custom designed and signed by jewelry designer Neil Lane.
The editors of The Knot see 50s-inspired glamour as the biggest wedding trend of 2010. The Knot says couples are looking to mix this vintage glamour wedding trend with their own personality. The Knot also mentions some wedding trends inspired by the hit television shows Mad Men and Glee.
"Homespun Chic will be giving way to Retro Glamour," predicts Carley Roney, editor in chief of The Knot. "Many of the year's top wedding trends reflect an obsession with the sophistication of the 1950s and '60s."
Here are the top ten wedding trends for 2010 according to The Knot.
Black, White & Ball Gowns: From black-sashed dresses and ball gowns to tulle and high waists, the look of the season is all about Grace Kelly elegance, right down to the accessories: ladylike gloves and pearls. For the guys, traditional tuxes are back.
Mad Men-Inspired Beauty: Channeling the likes of Betty Draper and Audrey Hepburn, brides will be opting for statement-making hairstyles, like bouffants, French twists, and even beehives, with chic cage veils. As for makeup, matte base, black eyeliner, and red lipstick complete the look.
Rat Pack Cocktail Receptions: Couples are skipping the sit-down dinner and going for supper club-style cocktail parties instead. Think: big-band music, heavy appetizers, and old-fashioned cocktails, like Manhattans, sidecars, and dirty martinis.
Art Decor Colors: Black -- paired with emerald green or ruby red -- will give weddings a dramatic, sophisticated feel.
Statement Cakes: Cupcakes will always be cute, but the big news right now is stately cakes, from towering layers to splashes of metallic details.
Interactive Elements: Blame it on Avatar, but the 3-D craze is also hitting the wedding scene with 3-D save-the-dates, menus and more. And, the interactive phenomenon doesn’t stop there. Guests can look forward to crossword puzzle-style save-the-dates, video announcements, and special performances.
Glee-Inspired First Dances: Inspired by the hit show, Glee, couples are taking their first dance to a whole new level by opting for a "mash-up" (or medley) of songs instead of a single one.
Over-the-top Wedding Exits: Forget the sparklers, confetti canons and hot air balloon sendoffs will be all the rage.
Style Surprises: A pair of high-top sneakers peeking out from under his tux! A glimpse of a pink petticoat under the hemline of her dress! Pairing bright-green socks for the groom and bright-green shoes for the bride! Couples are really showing their individuality, underneath it all.
The Anti Bride: The '80s are back in a big way, and weddings are not immune. Fingerless gloves, neon graffiti, and '80s prom music will be huge at fashion-forward receptions and after-parties.
The Knot also pointed out some trends in wedding rings. The Knot syas "gold is the new metal" for engagement rings and wedding bands. You can find more details on the 2010 wedding trends in the spring 2010 copy of The Knot weddings magazin.
Reuters reports that Debenhams, a British department store chain, has established a divorce registry where people going through a divorce can list items they need.
"A divorce means that one partner will be leaving the marital home and therefore be left without any essentials in their new house," Debenhams head of retail services Peter Moore said in a statement.
"Divorcing can be an expensive time and registering for a divorce gift list means that family and friends can help the newly separated begin their new life."
London law firm Lloyd Platt & Company said before Christmas that it had been swamped with enquiries after it started offering gift vouchers for divorce advice.
Reuters says items on the items on the Debenhams divorce gift list include cookware, cutlery, linens, towels, appliances, clothes and electronics. People divorcing may need things after splitting up home products with their partner but having an official divorce registry seems odd.
Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain has posed for a NOH8 campaign poster, indicating that she supports gay marriage. The NOH8 campaign is against Proposition 8, a law banning same-sex marriage that passed in California in 2008.
John McCain's office said in a statement that he respected the views of his family but remained opposed to gay marriage. "Senator McCain believes the sanctity of marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman," it said. In 2008 McCain backed a measure in his home state of Arizona to ban same-sex marriage.
Cindy McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, posed for the campaign last year. She said on her Twitter, @McCainBlogette, "I was there when she did it and I almost started crying during the photo shoot :-)."
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings designer, Kirstie Kelly, talks about the Princess Tiana wedding gown that was inspired by the one featured in The Princess and the Frog film. The gown debuted at Bridal Week in New York last month. Take a look:
Disney recently added rings to its bridal line. You can view the Disney wedding dresses at DisneyBridal.com. The Princess Tiana dress has not yet been added to the site.
A Maryland groom updated his relationship status on Facebook and sent out a tweet from the altar after he was married. The message was apparently for friends and family members who could not attend the wedding. Take a look:
MyFoxPhilly.com is reporting that two Michigan shoppers got married in a Best Buy Black Friday line early this morning. Edward Burbo and Jennifer Dykstra were married hours before the Best Buy opened. The couple met at a Black Friday campout six years ago. Take a look:
Ivanka Trump looked looked lovely in a lace Vera Wang gown at her wedding on Sunday. She married Jared Kushner at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The morning of the wedding Ivanka tweeted, "Just finished a gorgeous hike. The leaves are spectacular and the sun is shining. Everything is simply perfect! I'm getting married today!"
Kirstie Kelly designed Disney's recently launched line of bridal gowns. National Jewelerreports that Kristie Kelly's deal with Disney has expanded to include a line of diamond engagement rings and wedding bands called "Kirstie Kelly for Disney by Mouawad." Each ring was designed to go with a different Disney princess just like the wedding gowns are. For example, the ring pictured on the right is for Belle, the heroine of Beauty and the Beast. The dress below is the wedding gown for Belle.
Displayed against a backdrop of Kelly's Disney character-inspired wedding gowns, bridesmaids' and flower girl dresses called "Kirstie Kelly for Disney Fairytale Weddings," the line consists of six rings with matching wedding bands.
Each ring and its matching band, like the wedding dresses, were designed in the spirit of a one of six Disney princesses, including the classic princesses Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and modern-day heroines, including Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, Ariel from The Little Mermaid; and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
"It's different, in the sense that there's a story behind each princess," Kelly said.
You can see Kirstie Kelly's entire bridal collection for Disney at DisneyBridal.com. The ring collection retails in price from $1,200 to $6,000 and can be seen here on Pascal Mousad's website.
A new trend in the UK is for brides to take a "trash the wedding dress" photo around a year after their wedding. The dresses aren't really trashed, they just might get a little wet or dirty during a photoshoot of the bride wearing her dress in an unusual location -- like at the beach, in a field or getting wet in a field. Reuters says this has been a trend in the U.S. for about ten years and it is now making its way across the pond. Take a look:
Photographer Kate Hampton, who is seen in the video, says that brides want to do a photoshoot in their wedding dress one more time before they put it away for good. A high fashion shoot is just the thing, she says. You can read more about Kate and her work at her website.
Platinum Guild International USA announced the "Platinum Wedding Gown." The gown is a collaboration between David Tutera - wedding planner and host of WEtv's My Fair Wedding - and jewelry designer, Erica Courtney. The unique platinum wedding gown was revealed as the grand finale at David Tutera's runway fashion show at Gotham Hall in New York City. The gown has a platinum-colored tulle veil and bouquet to match. The dress is ornamented with 10 feet of platinum chain, 33 carats of diamonds, 145.84 carats of aquamarine, white keshi pearls and topped with a white south sea pearl pendant suspended from platinum. The wedding dress is valued at $501,640.
David Tutera said, "I wanted the final dress to be truly awe-inspiring to capture the inspiration and excitement every bride should feel. To do this, I chose to add platinum jewelry to one of my favorite gowns in my collection."
The Philadelphia Inquirer 
Kirstie Kelly designed Disney's recently launched line of bridal gowns. National Jeweler 
