This article by the San Francisco Chronicle was refreshing to see:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/18/CMG06IV4391.DTL

It is interesting that this point of view is expressed here as an emerging trend for bridal fashion! Only last year, if I remember correctly, David's Bridal has introduced "sleeve options" which allows brides to add sheer cap, short, mid, or long sleeves to their sleeveless dress styles.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StyleGuideSleeveOptionsView?subCategory=StyleFashionGuide%7CSleeveOptions&contentName=styleguide_sleeve_options

For other designers, however, straps and sleeves still seem to be the exception. Short sleeves are readily available from designers creating dresses with LDS weddings in mind. Long sleeves often appear on dresses stylized as medieval, elven, or Celtic.

I would agree with the Chronicle's article, that strapless dresses are not for all figures. Having a dress which covers the shoulders often makes the bride appear taller and slimmer since it draws the eye upward. It would be exciting to see wedding dresses available in options other than strapless from the larger bridal companies in coming seasons. In the mean time, brides have the opportunity to be creative in adapting the strapless dress to suit their silhouette and personal preference.

Cinderella Inspiration Board

I love Disney. I was so excited when Kirstie Kelly came out with her new line of gowns "inspired by" Disney princesses. And I love that you can take something so fun and make it elegant and classy. So here is my attempt at a more-elegant-less-cutesy Cinderella wedding.
The "traditional" Disney Cinderella colors, are of course, pale blue and pink, but the gold seems to make it more grown-up. The white pumpkin candles I saw at Pottery Barn really inspired this: imagine them as table centerpieces on a gold or ivory tablecloth. The Waterford Ballet fine china has been a favorite of mine for a while now, too.

Top Row:
Cinderella cake topper from www.lenox.com
Gown by Kirstie Kelly from www.disneybridal.com
Gold shoe by Claudia Ciuti ("Ivy") from www.nordstrom.com
Orchid bouquet from www.marthastewart.com

Second Row:
Bridesmaid dress by Alfred Angelo (Style 6581 in Harvest Gold) from www.alfredangelo.com
White pumpkin candles by Pottery Barn from www.potterybarn.com
Cinderella invitations ("Fairy Tale Love") from invitationconsultants.com

Bottom Row:
Fine China by Waterford (Ballet Ribbon Gold) from www.waterford.com
Cake and lumineres from www.marthastewart.com

Hello friends,

Yes, this all started in college when we should have been doing legitimate work. Personally, I never really thought about weddings until Daisy started sending me links to her favorite bridal gown websites. If I remember correctly, it all started with an interest in the new line of Alfred Angelo's "Dream in Color" dresses. Life hasn't changed all that much since then: we both still procrastinate by dreaming up new designs and wedding plans. Now you can follow our random musings on all things satin and lace!

Lily

Lourdes

Lily and Daisy's New Blog

Lily and I like weddings. For me, it probably all started when I was the flower girl in my Aunt Karen's extra-poofy 1990 wedding. I remember getting my hair done at the salon in what they told me was a Princess Anne braid. When Lily became my college roommate, all control went out the window and I spent far too many hours avoiding solid mechanics homework by clicking through the Maggie Sottero website and emailing Lily what I thought. Lily encouraged this misbehavior by replying when she should have been writing theology papers.
Since college, Lily and I have not gotten any better. We started creating "inspiration boards," doodling wedding dress designs, emailing each other any bit of wedding planning news we heard, whether it was from internet news or from our newly-engaged friends. Some of our ideas, we think, are pretty good, and so we created this blog. Here we will share our "inspiration boards" for all styles of weddings and comment our thoughts on anything wedding related. Enjoy!