AisleDash

This is Part One of our series of interviews with Jay's Bridal and Special Occasion, a one-stop bridal salon located in Gainesville, Florida and online at jaysbridal.net. Throughout the series, we'll discuss everything wedding, ranging from bridal gowns to music to tuxedos.

Like the fashion industry, the bridal industry sees major changes from one season to the next, and few salons are as familiar with wedding trends as Jay's Bridal and Special Occasion, located in Gainesville, Florida. The store has been a staple for North Central Florida for over 70 years, and has specialized in bridal since the eighties.

Jay's associates Erica Lyn and Joann recently sat down with AisleDash share some tips on shopping for a wedding dress – it's not like shoe shopping, you know!

While plenty of brides opt for a natural, innocent make-up palette for their wedding day, we think that, for an evening wedding, more dramatic make-up isn't amiss. Think about the red carpet -- many celebrities find a way to wear a smoky eye while still looking fresh.

One of the trends that has popped up this year is the colored smoky eye -- instead of only using blacks and grays, incorporate some other colors. You can go as bright as teals and purples (perhaps to tie in with your wedding colors), or go glam with a metallic bronze.

Keep one thing in mind, though -- if you're playing up your eyes, you really need to go easy on the rest of the make-up. Go with a sheer, somewhat neutral lip, go light on the blush, and you'll be ready to walk down the aisle in style!

Many women dream of getting married during the summer. Perhaps it's because of the sunny weather, or maybe it's easier for everyone to travel during that time of year. Either way, summer brings with it some very particular beauty and make-up challenges, and if you're getting married in the summer, you need to be aware of what they are and how to prevent and/or fix them!

StyleList has a whole slideshow of Summer Bummers along with solutions. For example, do you know what to do if your skin gets so sunburned that it starts to peel? How about if you end up with tan lines? And what about the photographer's foe, shiny skin? They have solutions to all of these problems and more!

Got a summer specific beauty problem to share? What about a solution? Leave a comment and help out your fellow brides!

This is not technically a bridal gown, and it's certainly not for the faint of wallet, but we fell in love with the bow belt in this Michael Kors dress, as well as the fact that the skirt does indeed look like a tulip. It's a silhouette that's both incredibly pretty and forgiving - hooray for that!

Made in Italy of silk wool, this dress is so perfectly modern and quirky that you may be tempted to shelve tradition and buy it in black instead of white. It just may be the perfect little black dress.

$2,195 at michaelkors.com

Whether you're jetting to Las Vegas for an impromptu wedding or you have an elaborate ceremony and reception planned, Sin City offers so much to do and see, you and your guests are sure to have the time of your lives. One wedding-must in Las Vegas is a bridal luncheon for any of your girlfriends who have made the trip to be with you. As anyone who has been to Vegas can attest to, it is one of the best dining cities in the country. From the classiest restaurants to the funnest dive bars, this place has it all. And one well-known and rightfully popular spot is The Bellagio Buffet.

With a wide, sweeping dining area and a champagne brunch offered on weekend mornings (7am-4pm), The Bellagio Buffet is the perfect place for a bridal event to celebrate with your favorite women. The dining room is large enough that reservations aren't required yet the food is delicious enough to make you feel like you're eating in a five-star restaurant.

Show up early, with your friends and family in tow, grab a glass of champagne and a plate full of delectable food, and enjoy your Vegas nuptials to the fullest!

The world is made up of many types of people, and, as far as we can tell, 11 types of brides. We considered what type of wedding each bride might like to have, how she would go about planning it, how the event itself would go, and what she might wear to determine the different types of brides. We've even given you our tips for spotting them in their natural environment, and, when applicable, how to keep them under control.

Check out our tongue-in-cheek guide to spotting the different types of brides. Which category do you fall into? Or did we miss one? Please let us know in the comments!

You have six friends who you want in your wedding party, but your husband-to-be only has four. Do you scramble to find two suitable people to stand up for him, or do you choose only the people who are most important to you and let your sides be uneven? It's a tough choice and one that isn't universally thought of one way or the other. Meaning, it's entirely up to the bride and groom. Etiquette doesn't really require the bride and groom's sides to be even, but it does require you to make your bridal party feel comfortable throughout the ceremony and reception -- precessional, recessional, etc. If you have more ladies than men, don't make anyone feel left out or isolated. And vice versa. But, thankfully, there are very simple things you can do if you decide upon uneven sides so everyone feels important and you have only the people you truly want standing up for you.

With friends and family scattered across the map and circles of friends growing wider, it's certainly possible to fill more than one guest list for a bridal shower. With the growing trend of bridal shower themes -- stock-the-bar, kitchen, couples, etc -- it's understandable that you may want to cram as much fun as possible into your engagement period. But what does etiquette say about multiple showers and, more importantly, inviting the same people to more than one?

Traditionally brides were only thrown one bridal shower by their bridal party, but that is changing as the landscape of traditional weddings changes. Regardless if your wedding isn't adhering to tradition, it is important to keep in mind that the underlining theme of a shower is to receive well wishes and gifts from your friends and family, so too many showers can risk making you look greedy. Regardless of how many showers you have, etiquette does dictate that you don't over-invite your guests, but you can certainly have more than one shower while avoiding a lot of eye rolling and whispering from those closest to you. Here's how:

I'm pretty sure that a dress with a full tulle skirt and a a sweetheart neckline is not considered the height of fashion. It's a delicate thing, in charming shades of ivory and cream, and it will make the wearer feel like a girl rather than a fashionista.

But I don't care.

The Mariah by Lara Helene is a frilly, twirly, playful thing and it has charmed me. Perhaps you're charmed by it as well?

By all accounts, Eva Longoria Parker's new restaurant, Beso, is a seriously stylish place to grab a tasty bite to eat. And, it's no surprise at all that Eva herself looked pretty sweet at the restaurant's opening. Here's what we loved:

• Ladylike and lacy -- Part of what makes this dress so darn pretty is the frilly lace -- it's completely girly and gorgeous! And then, of course, there's the fact that it's short, so it just looks like she's ready to have fun.
  
  
• Played up accents -- The satin in the bow at her waist (another girly touch) is played up by her shiny silver clutch and the silver in her jewelry. This way, she incorporated some stylish metallics without taking anything away from the pristine nature of the dress.
  
  
• Innocently sexy -- From the lacy dress to her hair and make-up, Eva looks part ingenue and part sex-kitten. It's all about contrast -- the dress is lacy and sweet, but a little short and sexy. Her make-up isn't bold and full of color, but her eyes pop and her lips shine, like she's ready to give you a big ol' beso.

Want to incorporate this study of opposites into your wedding day look? Here's how:

We know that this plum Marchesa dress isn't everyone's favorite look, but we just love how Renee Zellweger pulls it off at the European premiere of her new movie, Leatherheads. Except we wish she would stop standing so weird. And we'd like to get our hands on her hair.

But the dress is fabulous.

• Classy couture -- This dress is a high fashion piece, and not for the faint of heart. Between the various fabrics and the complicated design, the dress has a lot going on. That's why it's important that Renee wears the dress -- she doesn't let it wear her. Her straight posture and posing skills (although, seriously, why such weird poses? Why?) show that she's comfortable wearing high fashion.
  
  
• Perfect plum -- This deep shade is so gorgeous against Renee's fair skin and light hair. It brings out the rosiness in her cheeks and lends some drama to her look overall.
  
  
• Glitz it up -- We love Renee's right hand ring and sparkly clutch, but we really wish she had grabbed a pair of earrings, too. Oh, well. She's smart to avoid a necklace, as it would detract from the interesting neckline of her gown and would look busy next to the flower. Her shoes were a perfect choice -- gold, strappy, and sexy, so they compliment the look without competing with the dress.

Wondering how this look can translate into your personal bridal style? Here's how to do it:

It's easy enough to look through a magazine and find makeup looks that you like. However, it's not always easy to look at those images, go to the drugstore or department store makeup counter, and select the right products and shades to recreate that look.

MAC Cosmetics has a bridal section where six looks are debuted to inspire brides to look their most beautiful on their big day. Brides can peruse through the different bridal looks, and when she finds one, she can easily see the products used to create it and even get instructions on exactly how to use the products.

Check out the gallery and see if any of these looks are your style, and check out the behind the scenes video to see how all these looks came to be!

• Feminine and flattering cut -- The style of this dress is amazing -- the wide, deep v-neck, the twisting detail at the waist, and the full skirt all come together to let you know that you have set your eyes upon a woman who knows how to dress.
  
  
• Pretty print -- The floral print is unexpected and adds a gorgeous touch. While other women wore heavy beads and sequins, Wei kept it light and airy. However, the black keeps the flowers from looking too springy, so it's just perfect.
  
  
• All the right accessories -- We adore the red clutch she's carrying for a pop of color, and we're equally in love with the Bulgari jewelry, which is heavy enough to make an impact, but not so much that it takes away from her magnificent gown.

This is a look we would love to see on a bride. Here's how you can achieve this mix of classic and modern:

Picking your wedding colors and theme are some tough choices, but once you have those decisions made and filed away, the real fun begins -- scouring the Internet and/or bridal magazines to find the perfect ring pillow, signature cocktail, invitation, etc, to match the colors and theme that are oh-so you. The pink-and-brown theme is a really eye-catching and popular one, and if you have chosen this combo to be your wedding-theme colors, your big day is sure to be a gorgeous one.

Thankfully, the fun doesn't have to begin and end on your wedding day -- your bridal shower theme can also be centered around your decided-upon wedding colors. There are online stores galore that offer the most adorable bridal shower invitations in pink and brown hues to kick off your pre-wedding party.


With this many invitation choices, deciding upon the color palette will seem -- in hindsight -- like an easy check to make on the to-do list.