AisleDash

Grooms, if you're feeling a bit stressed by the mounting bills and can't justify spending an absolute fortune on your suit, yet don't want to let your bride down by looking anything less than tip-top, then worry not.

The answer to your dilemma might just be the Great Universal website. They have a superb range of affordable tailored fashion that isn't terribly wedding-y and can be worn again after the big day.

We like this Ted Baker suit, pictured right, at £329, featuring flat front trousers with plain bottoms and hand stitch seam effect and a single breasted jacket with two button fastening, centre back vent, six internal pockets, internal security zipped pocket and luxury lining.

Visit Great Universal for the full range of tailored wear.

It may just be that one of your bridesmaids is going to be sporting a baby bump on your wedding day. Which is fine, of course, but what is she going to wear? Most makers of bridesmaids dresses will probably alter one of their existing designs to fit a pregnant tum, so it isn't really a huge problem.

However, if you've more or less given your bridesmaids carte blanche with their outfits, with perhaps a few guidelines, a pregnant bridesmaid might appreciate a few pointers beyond "It must be pink-ish and long".

Send them to Destination Maternity, where they can browse through a large range of maternity-wear in different online 'shops':

A Pea in the Pod has a good range of dressy maternity fashion and a lot of it is suitable for bridesmaids. They also have this great dress, which would be perfect for a bride, as well as this one here.

Mimi Maternity also has some great dresses, for brides and maids alike. Both sites are well worth visiting for the stylish designs, and the prices are really affordable too.

At AisleDash this week, we're featuring a warm color palette them that is hot right now (for obvious reasons): gold, navy and cream. It's a classy and timeless color mix and around our site this week you'll find everything from favors to hair accessories to match your navy/gold/cream picture-perfect wedding. And one fun touch to any wedding (or outfit!) is a stylish pair of shoes. We've covered fun, gold shoes before on AisleDash -- and head over to check out that gallery for any looks that may be still be available -- but you can never have too many shoes, right? So here are a few more gold shoes to complement your gold-accented wedding.

For a bit of a glamour, here's a Kate Spade pair adorned with a bow but you don't have to splurge to look fantastic on your wedding day and this reasonably priced style will convince you. Check out the rest of the styles in the adjoining gallery and enjoy the shimmery gold looks for a wedding that is sure to be beautiful.

Aisledash reader Erin sent us the following email:

I'm looking for a green wedding dress. No, not that one, the color. Got any leads?

How could we resist? As much as we love traditional gowns (and we do) we also have a soft spot in our heart for the unconventional bride - and whether you wish to marry in green (as Erin does) or magenta or pink-and-green polka dots we're here to help you too.

The key to buying a green wedding dress is to remember that a wedding dress is, first and foremost, a dress. That means that you should expand your search outside of the traditional wedding vendors. (Come to think of it, that's excellent advice even if you want to marry in white.) Try a website that allows you to search by color (like Nordstrom or Bluefly) and be open to the many possibilities out there.

Another option is to look at bridesmaids dresses - many times they're the same thing as the wedding dress, just in color. We like the ones by simple silhouettes and David's Bridal, but honestly, your choices are endless.

Of course, you could also search for prom dresses, but we find that the dresses tend to be of lower quality and a bit too revealing. (Are we showing our age here?)

So remember: It's only a dress! Be creative and keep an open mind.

We'd love to hear more about your "green" wedding, Erin - keep us posted!

Multi-award winning design duo, Marguerite Hannah and her husband, Alan, of Alan Hannah, have come up trumps with this fabulous, short, full-skirted dress. Perfect for a civil ceremony, be it on a beach, in a garden or even in a romantic country lodge, this dress is fun, feminine and flirty.

Layers of tulle and those gorgeous full-blown, fabric roses add a soft and romantic air of innocence, whilst the slight up-catching of the hem is a nod to cheekiness. It's a seriously cute dress and we love it.

Find it in Alan Hannah's Topaz collection and for a list of stockists in your region, click here.

Alejandra de Bourbon, a lesser member of the Spanish royal family, (daughter of Alfonso de Bourbon, the second cousin of King Juan Carlo) got married to Bosco Ussia on the 21st June. Alright, we admit it; we don't know all that much about the lesser European royals and so this is one wedding that almost slipped under our radar.

What brought it to our attention was the bride's fabulous wedding dress. Just look at it.


A gorgeous, 1920's-inspired Chanel concoction.

Every detail of her outfit is perfect. The loose unconstructed style, the floaty fabric, a dropped waist, that pretty, tasseled belt, and those luxurious, long ropes of pearls around her neck. Then there's that long, flowing veil with the close-fitted headpiece. All of it is utterly enchanting, absolutely Twenties.

We love it and hold it up as the perfect dress for any bride wanting to invoke the romance and nostalgia of the 1920's, yet with a modern and contemporary edge.

Do you love retro? So do we! A retro wedding is unique and lots of fun - let us help you pull it off!

For non-traditionalist brides who want to eschew a fairytale white wedding dress and wear something that truly reflects an independent, creative and free spirit, finding the right dress, at an acceptable cost, can be quite a task.

Recently, we discovered,Wai-Ching Clothing, by Chrissy Wai Ching, a marvellous Seattle-based designer who has a range of fabulous 'Indie' bridalwear (and a great range of fashion clothing as well).

The good news is that even if you live far away from Seattle, you can still order a dress from Wai-Ching and know that it will fit you perfectly. The studio communicates closely with you to get your measurements and they guarantee a perfect fit.

Their designs can be altered to suit you, and they will happily adapt existing designs, adding, for example, straps, corset backs and trains. Best of all, though, are the prices. Most designer wedding dresses fall above the $2000 mark but a Wai-Ching gown can cost as little as $198.

For a look at some of our favourite designs from the range, click through the image gallery below, and don't forget to visit the website for the full clothing range.

Salma Hayek announced her engagement to Francois-Henri Pinault last year, but rumors about the type of wedding the couple is planning haven't surfaced until now, and it sounds like this is going to be The Wedding to go to!

Francois-Henri says that it took him over a year to convince Salma to marry him, and now that she has agreed, he is sparing no expense. As the French boss of several main fashion houses (Gucci, Yves St. Laurent, and Balenciaga), he certainly has the money to give Salma whatever she wants, and apparently, what she wants is a five-day celebration in St. Tropez.

The latest collection by London designer Juliet Poyser was inspired by the 1950's and the classic, feminine elegance of that time is evident in this gorgeous wedding dress range.

There's something about the sleek and chic simplicity of these designs that inspire visions of a superbly glamorous, stylish wedding. We're thinking Grace Kelly meets Audrey Hepburn. Ballrooms and orchestras and sophisticated cocktails. Men in tuxedos. Perhaps a touch of James Bond too!

The collection features tight-fitting, slinky gowns, Dior-style coat dresses, elegant shrugs, smooth fabrics with interesting bow and buckle details and beautifully flared A-line skirts. These are modern, elegant dresses with a fabulous retro element. True classics.

An informal wedding in a registry office calls for a simpler, short-hemmed dress. Of course that doesn't mean compromising on style, nor does it necessarily mean spending almost nothing at all. (Although it's far, far easier to get a great dress for less when it's not a fully-fledged fairytale gown).

We've found five superb little numbers that go from low-budget to mid-budget and all of them would look fabulous with the right accessories. A gorgeous bouquet of sleek Calla lilies, a pair of stunning shoes, a sophisticated hairdo and you'll take his breath away.

Click on the images below to view these pretty dresses.

While many of us grew up loving the American Girl dolls and stories, we probably wouldn't normally look to that series for modern fashion advice. However, Abigail Breslin, who plays Kit in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, has been hitting the red carpet for the film's premieres with style.

In New York, Abigail wore a fun but formal silver ensemble that we think would be a great look for a junior bridesmaid or an older flower girl. Find out how to snag the style for your wedding in the gallery!

When Liz Hurley attended the wedding of Venezuelan heiress and socialite, Vanessa Neumann, media headlines shouted out that she had upstaged the bride. Being Liz Hurley that's not surprising. She's done it before and likely she'll do it again - Liz could wear a flour sack and look good!


While you may not have access to her wardrobe, it's easy to take tips from the style and fashion icon and interpret them in a way that suits your own style and budget.

We've put together two looks (one designer and one budget) based on that bright, yet classic, look that Liz wore.



Yellow dress by Monsoon £65 (approx. $130)
Gold jewelled sandal at Dorothy Perkins for £30 (approx. $60)
Clutch bag by Dorothy Perkins for £18.00 (approx. $36)

Both these looks are perfect for a late summer or early autumn wedding

Have you ever had one of those summers during which you're invited to several weddings and will see many of the same people at each? You can't rely on your favorite wedding-guest dress for all of them because you'll be seeing everyone again, but you don't want to spend another $100 (or $200, or $400, or whatever you spent for Old Trusty) on another dress (or two), but you want to look fashionable at the same time. What do you do?

There are plenty of stores that offer trendy, beautiful, wedding-guest-appropriate dresses for well under $100. They might not be of the highest quality -- when we buy something at Forever 21, we don't necessarily expect it to last more than one or two washes -- but they also cost a fraction of what something similar would cost in a boutique or high-end department store.



Check out the gallery to see how sweet some of these inexpensive dresses can be. And remember, jewelry and accessories go a long way, and can be worn with more than just that dress, so spend a little of the money you saved dress shopping on a fabulous necklace!

When British expat blogger and author, Petite Anglaise recently got married in Paris, she added more than soupcon of Parisian elegance to her outfit with her glamorous red shoes. (You can see more of her wedding photos here. Don't you just love that Moschino dress?)

We are mad about those red shoes. There are no rules that say a bride has to wear white (or cream) shoes and, in fact, a splash of bright colour peeping out from a hem makes a stylish statement.

Whether you're having a civil wedding, as Petite Anglaise did, or an elaborate church ceremony, red shoes rock. As a bonus, you get to have a sexy pair of shoes in your wardrobe that will be worn again and again and not wrapped up in tissue paper and packed away for good.

For a bit of an eye-fest, check out the gallery below for our latest red shoe finds.