Now that the dust has settled on New York fashion week, we have been taking stock of what’s hot for Spring Summer 2013.

Lace once again graced every runway but if you fancy something a little more daring then it really is a case of bringing sexy back with the stunning collection of backless gowns that were showcased; from barely-there lacy details and sheer panels to head-turning backless collections, these dresses are all about getting the wow factor as you walk up the aisle!

Continuing on from the 2012 fashion trend, Peplum was also big news on the catwalks for Spring Summer 2013 Bridal collections featuring in Amsale, Lusia Becaria and the queen of bridal, Monique Lhuillier’s, line up.   Our favourite of the peplums was by Carolina Herrera – simple, stunning and timeless.

My absolute favourite trend for 2013 has to be the long sleeve gown – beautiful and so so graceful!  Chances are your mother wore a long sleeve wedding gown but this trend has taken a back seat for quite a while now. For 2013 it’s back with a bang thanks to Kate Middleton, with long sleeve gowns featuring in all bridal collections – Monique Lhuillier and Reem Arca worked the long sleeve trend beautifully in keeping with the focus on lace and delicate sheer panelling to create a collection of gowns which can only be described as AMAZING!

If you are more Kate Moss than K. Mid there is an equally beautiful collection of the long sleeve variety with a boho twist on offer from Temperly London, Pronovias and Claire Pettibone.

Choosing one favourite has proved impossible so I chose my many favourites instead!

Image Credits: 1-3: Style Me Pretty, 4. Colin Cowie Weddings, 5-6: Style Me Pretty, 7-8: Style Me Pretty, 9: Lost in Lanvin Blogspot, 10: OMG I’m getting married, 11. Style Me Pretty, 12. Little White Dress

We are delighted to announce the launch of The Bridal Beauty Event which will take place this coming Autumn. The event will bring together some of the Bridal Industry’s best Hair and Makeup Artists who will be on hand to demonstrate the key hair and makeup looks for completing the perfect bridal look.

Choose your style from best day productions on Vimeo.

We are inviting all 2013 brides to join us at the beautiful Village at Lyons to learn about creating the look to suit your chosen style and everything else you need to know about makeup trials, choosing the right artist for you and planning for the morning of your wedding. It is the perfect opportunity to meet the artists face to face and to ask all the questions you need to know!

When: Sunday 14th October 2012. To help us accommodate numbers we are holding two sessions there will be a morning event from 11am to 2pm and an afternoon event from 3pm-6pm.

Where: The Village at Lyons, Newcastle Demense, Celbridge, Co. Kildare

How: Tickets for the event are €20 and are available to purchase from our website The Bridal Lounge

We look forward to seeing you there!

Credits: A huge thank you to Rodolphe of Best Day Productions for producing this brilliant Video for us!

We are having an event and we’d love for you to join us! To view the full collection of the stunning twobirds dresses bring your bridesmaids along to our studio from Thursday 12th April – Sunday 15th April ’12.

The event is by appointment only so to avoid disappointment send us a little email to hello@thebridallounge.ie

Today we have the beautiful wedding of Karinda & Donnchadh which took place last September in the tranquil and tropical settings of Byron Bay, Australia. Irish boy meets Australian Girl, they fall in love and he proposes six years later in Central Park New York which results in a gorgeous and personal wedding day back in Australia.  Karinda wore a stunning gown by Collette Dinnigan and her look was completely with beautiful makeup by our good friend Shima Mistry who was on hand on the day to create the perfect bridal makeup look for Karinda. For more information on Shima’s services and to view her full profile visit her makeup website.

Thank you to Karinda and Donnchadh for sharing your beautiful wedding photos with us and well done to Shima on another stunning makeup!

Enjoy Xx

Happy Friday! Well we came across this wedding by Troy Grover during the week and there were so many things we loved about it we had to share it as a Friday inspiration!! The couple Julie and Ed,  had initially planned on having the ceremony in Central Park (them being New Yorkers!) but the weather put a dampner on that and they resorted to their back-up plan of a gorgeous photo studio instead…. fantastic white walled open space (first LOVE)…. Then, they walked the streets of the Big Apple (second LOVE) before bringing all their guests to one of their favourite places – A Brookly bowling alley!!!! (third LOVE). The details were all so thoughtful and personal (bowling socks anyone?) and it really goes to show how thinking outside the box can create such an individual day for your celebration! Fourth LOVE??…. has to be the beautiful, beautiful colour combination of the Bridal party style – we’re head over heels for the girls in their Anthropologie and Jcrew dresses and the boys waistcoats and caps! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, Aoife & Deirdre xx

Photo Credits – Troy Grover Photographers via www.greenweddingshoes.com

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

Ok, so we’re not Mexican, but we can certainly ‘borrow’ a tradition or two especially when they are as beautifully glitzy as this one – and we do love a good ‘sparkle’ here in the Bridal Lounge! These uber-luxe pinatas are the brilliant creations of CONFETTISYSTEM aka artists, stylists and design duo Nicholas Andersen and Julie Ho. As if they aren’t busy enough creating installations for fashion brands, decorating private celebrations for high flying clients, and custom designing artwork for institutions like the American Ballet and Gagosian Gallery (phew) they also design an amazing range of sparkly, beautiful products which include these spectacular Pinatas. Traditionally they are made of papier-maché and filled with sweets and treats, then suspended and children (or adults) take turns being blind-folded and hitting the Pinata with sticks to try to break it open! Of course these Pinatas are filled with very ritzy contents, and the blindfolds aren’t any old fabric ties – oh no, they’re made of the softest leather and silk! How fabulous would these be as a ‘game’ at your wedding, or even better… as a game at a very stylish Hen! WE WANT ONE – get yours here (CONFETTISYSTEMSHOP) Enjoy, Aoife & Deirdre xx

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

Ah the beauty of couture… The genius that is Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy brings us this angelic grouping of confections fresh from the Paris Autumn/Winter shows. Now, if you’re not a movie-star, a Royal, a Russian billionaire or the latest Euromillions winner you probably won’t be considering one of these beauties for your big day, but it never hurts to have a look for inspiration! We think any of these stunning gowns would be very lovely for a modern, slightly more daring Bride, but we’re wondering what you all think of the ‘sheerness’ of some of the styles? To bare or not to bare… that’s the question we’re posing today! What do you think?? Let us know! Aoife & Deirdre xx

Images – www.givenchy.com

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

 Every so often a wedding comes along that makes us very giddy and excited and today’s wedding does just that – not only because it is a wedding filled to the brim with complete gorgeousness but also because the beautiful bride Claire wore a stunning Delphine Manivet gown and veil as worn last weekend by Lilly Allen! It’s not too often a bride can say they wore it first!! The dress was the perfect choice for the style of wedding that Claire and Jon planned and from the sounds of things Lilly Allen’s day wasn’t too different either (english cricket and afternoon tea in the cotswolds countryside). We just love the simple style of the dress complimented by the most stunning veil and flower corsage! This is a wedding that oozes style, personality, quirkiness and all round prettiness – captured perfectly by the brilliant Rosie Parsons. We would love to have been guests at this wedding – or even to have had weddings like this ourselves!! Enjoy. Aoife & Deirdre Xx

Image Credits: Rosie Parsons

Happy Monday! We know Summer’s supposed to be here, so we feel a little cheated to be bringing you one of our favourite Bridal trends for this year on such a wet and windy day, but be prepared ladies… the legs are in!! Short and sweet dresses are not just for casual, fun weddings – we’ve brought you some of our new style crushes which include some very sophisticated options for brides who want something different and elegant, but don’t want to go for the full length gown.

1. Ivy&Aster – we’re crazy about this new label from the States – these images are fun and flirty, but add some fabulous shoes (not many barefoot Brides in Ireland ;0) sleek hair and make-up, sparkly accessories and these dresses go from boho-chic to super-glam!

2. We are absolutely besotted with these stunning images taken by Olivia Graham for Instyle Weddings featuring sultry actress Marika Domincyzk. However, we have a little confession to make… we have searched and searched and try as hard as we did, we couldn’t find out details about her gorgeous clothes, so you’ll just have to be inspired by the styling and use of glamorous detailing in her Jackie Onassis-esque outfits….

3. J.Crew – it’s been a while since we’ve indulged in the wonder that is J.Crew weddings, so today’s post was just a good excuse to trawl their site really… while we were there we found these lovelies in their new collection – we’re loving the ruffles!

4. Romona Keveza – finally, two super glam confections from the Spring 2011 Collection by Romona Keveza. While these particular pieces aren’t currently in stock there, the lovely ladies in Myrtle Ivory have a beautiful selection from this label – definitely worth a visit!

Image Credits – (from Top) 1-4. Ivy&Aster, 5-10. Olivia Graham for Instyle Weddings, 11-12. JCrew, 13-14. Romona Keveza

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

When planning our blog posts for you we are naturally drawn to sharing beautiful pictures of the bride&groom, the venue, the stationery and  everything from the alternative to the quirky but we haven’t yet focused on the Guests! Alot of wedding plans are all about the guests and making sure they are well fed, they are comfortable and they have a great day at your wedding. So today we are paying homage to the Guests!!

From the colourful…

to the boho guest….

to the ultimately stylish AND beautiful….

Let us not forget the mini guests who are known to grab alot of attention at weddings….especially when they are as cute as these two little girls!!

too cool for school….

and last but not least we wanted the great style of our four legged friends…..who sometimes make guest appearances at weddings!!

Image Credits: 1 & 2: Caught The Light Photography , 3: Erin Hearts Court , 4: Glen Allsop , 5 & 6: Caught The Light , 7 & 8: Caught The Light & Once Wed , 9: Braedons Blog , 10. Style Me Pretty , 11. Dottie Photography