She Likes It

As they gracefully glide down the aisle, brides these days more likely will make their fabled walk to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s My Way than to Richard Wagner’s Wedding March from the opera, Lohengrin.

Chucking tradition aside — white gown, "chicken or steak," bouquet toss and all — altar-bound couples have gotten pickier, choosing wedding customs a la carte while they round out the affair with individualized preferences, from risqué bridal portraits to wedding after-parties. A changing demographic is driving this cultural shift: the average age of a bride getting married today is 27 compared to 21 in 1970, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

"Brides are no longer afraid to think outside the box," says Tatiana Byron, president and founder of 4PM Events, a highend wedding and event-planning company in New York City, and the Wedding Salon, an upscale wedding showcase of vendors. "Girls are marrying at an older age and are more confident to say, ‘I don’t care’."

And, when it comes to the heady selection of their bridal gowns, these ladies-in-waiting are taking more chances and saying, "I do," to dual trends for the fall 2006 season: femininity in the form of soft, romantic looks with heaps of novelty details and the motif of sleek elegance in sheaths, sexy cuts and mix-and-match separates.

"Designers are getting much more creative," says Kim Sunshine, senior fashion editor of The Knot, a magazine and online wedding resource. "We’re seeing more adornments and embellishments to accent and differentiate the gowns."

Sunshine says three-dimensional flowers on gowns, hints of color, waist treatments, such as sashes, twisted fabrics and heaps of beading, are the directional touches of the season. Designer examples are Lazaro’s removable corsages on sashes and Carolina Herrera’s dresses painted with lily of the valley images.

"Everything feminine" is the current mantra at Maggie Sotero, offering gowns with hand-placed lace appliqués, fabric rosettes and beading accenting the waistline.

New fabrics, such as lighterweight taffeta and delicate satin, create an airy, fluid silhouette, "as if the bride is floating," says Suzanne Robbins, vice president of sales and marketing for Salt Lake City-based Maggie Sottero.

Refined details are a hallmark of Vera Wang’s collection. Delicate lace trims, ribbons, ruffles and floral corsages "all lend a mood of youth, charm, and beauty suitable for any celebration," says the designer in a statement.

the strongest guiding forces for bridal fashion is the Hollywood limelight, especially those designer and vintage fashion selections seen on the glamorous red carpet. Keira Knightley wore a Vera Wang bordeaux, trumpet dress during the 2006 Oscars that garnered attention and led to its bridal interpretation in the designer’s spring 2007 collection. Until images of gowns worn by the newest celebrity brides gain wide circulation the dress that’s still the go-to reference for brides is the one worn by Christine Baumgartner in her fall 2004 wedding to actor Kevin Costner. The Monique Lhuillier-designed confection featured pick-ups lavished on the skirt and has since infused designs.

The pick-up is the hottest seller at Memphis, Tenn.-based Allure Bridals, said owner Kelly Crum. Crafted from satin, organza, chiffon or taffeta, the skirts are gathered and tailored with drop-waist bodices that elongate the body.

"They can make a size 8 look like a size 6," Crum said.

Allure Bridals has updated the style with the addition of Swarovski crystals, primarily on the bodice, the skirt or the train. Indeed, along with looking radiant, brides are shimmering, glittering and sparkling thanks to flashes of crystals. Watters & Watters offers removable silver lace ribbons beaded with Swarovski crystals as a waist accessory to a dress. It also has encrusted the gems on gowns, such as a low-back charmeuse dress with Swarovski crystal straps.

While such finery hasn’t impacted prices at Watters & Watters, it can pad price tags elsewhere by 25 to 40 percent. Bob Schnurr, co-owner of Anjolique gowns in Waterloo, Canada, says brides aren’t balking at the sticker shock.

"Girls see the value in it and are willing to pay it," he says.

What’s falling out of favor with customers is the lack of color in gowns. Only about 15 percent of gowns sold by Allure are trademark white. Diamond white is the No. 1 color, a shade between white and ivory, Crum says. It’s a similar story at Maggie Sottero.

"White looks so stark and ivory looks yellow, but diamond white looks so soft and attractive on most skin tones," says Robbins, who notes that gowns in frosted mocha and cognac also are in demand.

Brides who are looking to tone down the volume in their dresses have more choices these days as more and more designers either focus on or narrow their silhouettes.

Gowns sans crinoline are the hallmark at Elizabeth Fillmore Bridal in New York. A feeling of 1930s glamour imbues her sleek designs, finished with tassel accents or floral embroidery on lace. Looks such as a bias-cut charmeuse halter gown with draped bands, a crochet slip gown with draped sequins or a Chantilly lace gown covered with chiffon roses celebrate quiet elegance.

"There are plenty of ball gowns out there. I want to create dresses that don’t look like Cinderella for that savvy bride," says designer Elizabeth Fillmore. "I don’t want the dresses to be wearing the brides."

As contemporary ready-to-wear clothing — known more for mix-andmatch separates than for matched sets — continues to inspire creations, other designers have begun touting two-piece dressing.

Dallas based Watters & Watters offers a silk shantung ruffled skirt and a strapless bodice beaded with Swarovski crystals and a ribbon sash as a gown alternative. Post-wedding, the bodice can pair up nicely with jeans or a more casual skirt.

"Customers love the fit and functionality," says Maria Prince, vice president of Watters & Watters. "Going forward, we plan to do more."

Cultural mores are also impacting those big day decisions as older brides eschew religious ceremonies and say aloha to destination weddings. About 20 percent of all weddings now fall into that category, Byron says, which means dresses are less flamboyant. Allure Bridals has introduced a strapless dress with a laser-cut, slim-fitting skirt for fall. Shorter dresses that fall at the knee or above in taffetas that are crushed, crinkled or gathered with floral patterns are key looks for fall at San Francisco-based Jessica McClintock, especially in colors of icy peach and soft champagne. The styles also work out with second-time brides.

"Half of my brides are in their second or third weddings," says designer Jessica McClintock. "They don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding if they’re worrying about the condo, the honeymoon, etc. My dresses fit that bill of thinking."