All My Love Things

I swear anything KT Merry points her camera at turns to instant wedding gold. My latest snippet of proof? This wine country dreamfest made gorgeous by A Savvy Event, Nancy Liu Chin, Julie Morgan, Artistry By Danika and so many more. Think the softest pink-on-pink color palette with a hint of ivory and mint mixed in for good measure. And from tasty libations to a dinner al fresco, Marmalade Sky Films proved that this is one celebration that spoiled guests from beginning to end.

Today I have another extraordinary vintage mash up for you to swoon over. Italian-based photographer, Alessia Cerqua a has shot these magnificent images, some against the backdrop of Rome with its incredible fountains and architecture. Today's post is a great example of retro mash, mixing up accessories from different decades (including now) creating an overall look totally on trend and surprisingly chic.  As you can see, the 50s Marilyn meets contemporary cosmo mash-up makes for some really stunning results. Kudos to the team of fashion pros who put this inspiring and unforgettable editorial together.  

Wedding season has officially started and the race to find the perfect dress is on. Brides can rest easy this year thanks to the recent launch of Revolve's bridal collection. Below are our top finds for LA brides. 

Revolve launched their new bridal and occasion section, appropriately-named “The Wedding Shop,” last week. A one-stop boutique for some of the best on-trend contemporary brands, Revolve has mastered the Cali-cool look for over a decade. So, it’s no surprise that its wedding selection is equally LA-centric. Read on for our top sartorial picks from the retailer's wedding collection, which are guaranteed to make you happily ever after.

Amara Sheer Inset Maxi Dress, Rachel Zoe ($295). 

Having dressed some of the most fashionable women in the entertainment industry, Rachel Zoe knows a thing or two about looking fabulous when you need to. Leave it to her to create a timeless albeit sexy modern wedding dress with a wallet-friendly price to match. Sheer inserts and a wide shoulder silhouette lend to its sporty look, while a thigh-high front slit and gathered back detail play up the bride’s curves.

X Revolve Gillian Wedding Dress, For Love & Lemons ($1,100).

For Malibu ranch weddings complete with picnic tables, succulent floral arrangements, and Mason jar cocktails, Revolve partnered with contemporary brand For Love & Lemons. Intricate lace details, fluttering sleeves, and a flattering silhouette make this dress a subtle showstopper.

Crystal Petal Maxi Dress, Needle & Thread ($352). 

Part Disney Princess, part prima ballerina, the Crystal Petal Maxi Dress is for the bride who wants a feminine, fairytale look. Hailing from England, designer Needle & Thread is known for its intricate detailing, contemporary cuts, and vintage-inspired slip dresses. Plus, the gown comes with an economical extra—the adjustable straps mean little to no alterations needed.

Black Ryland Sequin Dress, Parker Black ($594). 

Known for its uptown-meets-downtown vibe, NYC-based brand Parker specializes in feminine separates with a touch of whimsy. Unsurprisingly, its evening-wear label, Parker Black, is a perfect extension of the brand, offering classic silhouettes, luxe details, and red carpet-worthy designs. Its Ryland sequin wedding dress complete with pinstriped sequins, a thick feather hem, and sexy side slits is the perfect gown for an Art Deco-inspired wedding.

Cross Back Matching Lace Set, Alice + Olivia ($950).

For brides who have been gluten-, alcohol-, and dairy-free since their engagement party, Alice + Olivia’s sexy Cross Back Matching Lace Set is the ideal way to show off months of willpower and FlyWheel classes. The simple silhouette hugs the body in all the right places, thanks to its high-waisted skirt and exposed, cross-back details, but the silk underlay keeps the look church-friendly.

Fictional characters Cinderella and Princess Elsa will be hitting screens on Friday, and in celebration of their return,HELLO! Online has taken a look at Alfred Angelo's 2015 Disney-inspired collection.

The design team have been releasing a Princess range for the past five years, but this year saw the addition of the hotly anticipated Elsa gown – an immediate hit with brides wanting to channel their inner royalty.

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR FULL GALLERY

The Elsa gown features beads to make it glisten like sunlight reflecting on snow

"As Frozen Fever has swept the nation, our Elsa-inspired gown certainly lives up to our brides' expectations," said Kirsty Voce, director of UK operations and customer service. The Elsa is a softly flared sheath gown that has been dramatically beaded to glisten like sunlight reflecting on freshly fallen snow.

The dress, which also features a sweetheart neckline and a dramatic Watteau train, is for the "artistic bride with playful charm."

The Cinderella is inspired by the new Disney film, set for release this month

"All of our Princesses are popular and unique in their own way, each telling their own story," added Kirsty. "They offer each bride the opportunity to truly feel like a princess on their magical day."

The collection includes gowns inspired by Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White to name a few – and suit different brides' personalities.

Other characters included in Alfred Angelo's range include Princess Jasmine (pictured), Sleeping Beauty and Snow White

This year is particularly exciting for Alfred Angelo, who have introduced colour into the collection. Now each style comes in the colour associated with that particular Princess as well as the traditional ivory and white.

"We're bringing the majesty of colour to create yet another dimension to the magic of Disney's storytelling," said Kirsty. "Now brides can imagine their very own 'happily ever after....' in colour!"

Now brides can imagine their very own happily ever after in colour

The gowns, which are just as popular as Mr Angelo's other main collections, were on display at The National Wedding Show earlier this year.

Other trends to hit the runway included the more flirty and sassy tea-length wedding dresses, reminiscent of Fearne Cotton's gown, and the traditional lace designs as fronted by the Duchess of Cambridge. Bridesmaids dresses by Ghost and Jenny Packham at Debenhams also showcased exquisite old Hollywood glamour styles.

While some wedding traditions are lovely and make for lasting memories, others feel forced, dated and altogether irrelevant.

Interestingly enough, many of the expectations and traditions that we consider integral to getting married are actually the invention of savvy advertisers. Here are five you may not have known about:

1. Diamond engagement rings prove your love.

 

The engagement ring wasn't always mandatory -- and it wasn't always a diamond. Then, in 1938, the De Beers diamond company launched an aggressive marketing campaign to make the engagement ring a "psychological necessity" for any couple who wanted to get married. The De Beers campaign swayed popular opinion through events like organized lectures at high schools across the country promoting the importance of the diamond ring. And it worked: diamond sales rose 55 percent in the United States from 1938 to 1941. In 1947, they launched the slogan "Diamonds are forever," and by the '50s, De Beers advertisers were pleased to note that young people were delaying their marriages until they could afford a ring.

2. So you'd better spend two months salary on it.

 

De Beers was also responsible for the conventional wisdom that a man ought to spend two-months' worth of salary on an engagement ring. Their successful ads in the late '40s used catchphrases like, "You can't look at Jane without telling me she's worth two months' salary. Just look at her". De Beers even set various standards around the world; in Japan, three months' salary was advertised. They also promoted the "surprise engagement" after their marketing research determined that men chose more expensive engagement rings when they went shopping without their wives. 

3. A guest must buy the couple a nice gift, selected from a wedding registry

 

You may think that giving the new couple a place setting or knife set is the height of politeness, but for most of human history, wedding guests weren't socially expected to bring gifts unless they were family or intimate friends. Gifts were typically humble house necessities, like linens. Then, in 1924, Marshall Field's, now Macy's, created the first wedding registry and many retailers followed suit to encourage guests to purchase luxury goods, like fine china and silver for the new couple. Today, about 96 percent of couples register for gifts.  

4. Your dress should be ornate, enormous, white, and you must only wear it once in your life.

 

Queen Victoria first made the enormous white wedding dress a thing in 1830, but for a long time, only the very wealthy wore the style. Up until the 1930s, women would often get married in dresses they already owned or buy new, reusable dresses in darker colors that wouldn't stain. The white, full-skirted "once-in-a-lifetime" wedding dress likely originated with department store bridal salons in the late '20s, who saw the money-making potential of marketing expensive dresses that women would never wear again.

Before then, wedding dresses had typically followed fashion hemlines of the moment, but the bridal industry attempted to "maximize profits by promoting more expensive floor-length gowns." That ideal wedding dress was promoted throughout wedding magazines and advertisements. In the '60s, the Bridal Apparel Association even commissioned studies that attempted to prove that a white wedding dress made for a more stable marriage.  

5. If you spend enough, you can buy your "perfect wedding."

 

If having the perfect wedding seems impossible to achieve, that's because it's an imaginary standard. As Cele Otnes and Elizabeth Pleck wrote in "Cinderella Dreams,""The idea of the perfect wedding is not age-old, but instead was created by the bridal industry and eventually accepted by the public," and likely was first popularized in the 1920s. In the years that followed, they note, "the word appears in the founding statement of every bridal magazine or bridal association..." and was used to advertise everything from wedding menus to bachelorette parties. While weddings had previously been homemade, often humble affairs for most Americans, the quest for "perfection" necessitated tons of spending.