Spring 2011 Wedding Dress Trends

Alright, after giving a sneak peak "behind the scenes" at the bridal market, I thought we'd fill you in on major trends we saw for spring 2011 wedding dresses. We visited about eight different brands (and peaked in on several more) and I came away with this:

BALL GOWNS

No, really. Everyone was featuring ball gown wedding dresses in the following categories:

1. Schmaltzy: This is my term for ball gown wedding dresses with pickups, flowers, beading, ruching and lace. Or a combination of several of these features. They are gorgeous and really give you the "wow factor".

2. Tulle: Super full tulle skirts. Don't shudder–these gowns can be great plus size wedding dresses when the bodice is flattering. We've picked up a few versions of these for the store.

3. Natural waist: These natural waist ball gowns are often more simple, with a beaded belt or flower detail on the high waist. These wedding gowns are also beautiful for curvy and plus size brides.

The other trends we saw are:

• Vintage/tea length: Yes, we're bringing in even more vintage-look wedding gowns as well as a number of tea length options for spring.
• Flowers/ruffles: These are here to stay, at least for a couple more seasons.

What we wished we had found were black and white dresses. We know our brides love this trend, but we saw very few at market. Instead, we're working on some custom options to bring black sashes and belts into the mix for our black and white wedding theme brides.

The other style we didn't see was a full skirt of pickups. Instead, wedding dresses seem to be favoring asymmetrical pickups or just a few on the skirt.

Finally, I have to tell you what we did NOT buy, and why: LACE TRUMPETS

Here's a photo of some of them:

I know a lot of you really love them, so here's why we don't buy many:

1. It's harder to get definition at your waist. If you don't have an hour glass figure already, you absolutely have to have one to wear these wedding gowns. Check out the model on the bottom left. She's probably a size 4 and has been photoshopped to show the curve of her waist.  

2. They hide nothing. No, really. The lace is usually lightweight and will not cover a tummy bump. This isn't usually something plus size brides can fix with Spanx, ladies. You need to be virtually flat-tummied to wear these.

3. It's the back. What you can't see on some of these wedding dresses, especially the keyhole back or ones with shoulders covered, is that they have very low or totally open backs. These don't work as plus size wedding dresses for two reasons: back fat and bras. Yep, with open backs, even tiny lumps will be totally exposed for your guests to see. Also, the low and open back means you can wear minimal support (good luck finding a good, supportive, low back bustier to wear under lace) for your chest.

Look for these dresses to arrive in the store in January!