Ian Stuart: Stylish wedding gowns with color

Today, I want to showcase a designer that I love: Ian Stuart. This British designer describes his bridal line as "quirky and theatrical". I think his bridal line is luxurious and stylish! There is always something different, always gorgeous fabrics, his style is definitely unique and usually you can find beautiful colors, that other designers shy away from. That is probably why I like his line so much! I've blogged about him before (here and here), discussing his amazing red gown that started the trend. This gown came out about 8 or 9 years ago but you wouldn't know it - it set the trend for colored wedding gowns and pick-up skirts, which are still popular with today's bride.

You will find his gowns available in just a few, select stores in the US, which is a shame! It would be nice to see him gain a more popular following here! He has won numerous awards in the UK, including designer of the year an amazing 5 times! 

Mocha Maddness

I love tea length wedding gowns! This Justin Alexander gown inspired me to create this board...and I suppose my obsession love of coffee helped. I wore the traditional bridal gown for my ceremony but, switched into a tea length gown for my reception! I loved having two gowns - especially the freedom to have fun and dance around without a big, poofy, heavy dress. 

Dress by Justin Alexander - Shoe: Nine West - Coffee Cup Candles with Whipped Cream Topping - Stamps.com - Coffee Flavored Wedding Cake - Bella Umbrella 

Passionate Purple

I was inspired today by seeing this beautiful picture from Bobbette & Belle, a designer pastry shop located in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Their macaroon towers create a beautiful (and yummy) center piece! 

I remembered this past Spring I was gravitating towards this color palette and highlighted a wedding gown I was in love with - style 021 from the Bonny Classic Collection in my post called The Color Purple.

I absolutely love wedding gowns with color! I remembered the soft little, delicate flowers on the bodice of this wedding gown and I thought how easy this could tie into a dessert table with either cupcakes, petit fours or even small, mini cakes!

Source

Edible Flowers from SweetPetalBakery on Etsy

Purple and green also make a gorgeous bouquet combo! Here are 10 of my favorite wedding flowers in purple: Hydrangea, larkspur, delphinium, lisianthus, lilac, hyacinth, fresh lavender, anemone (these are my favorite flowers in black and white too!), veronica and campanula!

Black and White Affair - Part Deux

It should be no surprise my favorite color for weddings is pink but, running a close second is black and white. In fact, I did use all three of those colors in my own wedding! I have also blogged about a Black and White Affair before. In that post, I highlighted also one of my favorite flowers - anemones! Actually, these delicate little blooms have been making quite a splash in weddings and I am happy about that. I think they are quite stunning!

The dress is style 8910 from the Essence Couture Bridal Collection. The gorgeous black and white anemones are SUGAR ANEMONES! Oh yes, you read that right!! From Etsy seller, sweetpetalbakery, you can get 8 of these amazing anemones to use on your cake for $31.00. You must check out her store - it's amazing!!!


Anemones are hard to get - or worse - really expensive. They have been in demand for weddings because of their black and white color. I would probably never choose the option to have a fake flower bouquet but, I know some brides actually prefer this option. I would use a fake flower in my hair though - I was able to find some truly beautiful fake flower bouquets and a gorgeous anemone hair clip from Etsy seller, modagefloral. 

Wedding Gown Giveaway on Bonny's Blog!

Not sure how I missed posting about this in my Giveaways That Might Interest You post because what would interest someone more than a FREE WEDDING GOWN?! This is actually the 3rd wedding gown Bonny has given away! Pretty cool. This giveaway is for a modest, conservative gown from the Bliss line of dresses. My favorite dress has a pretty orange sash:

Bonny Bridal Gown Style 2019 from the Bliss Collection

And, while we are on the topic of Orange...one of my favorite wedding colors - especially for Fall....check out this post I did called Orange You Glad You Stopped By! 


So, here is a link to the giveaway on Bonny's Blog! Good luck to all my readers and make sure you let me know if you are the winner!!

Big Whoopie!

Maybe you are not a traditional bride....maybe you want a different dress....maybe you don't want traditional favors at your wedding....maybe you don't want a church wedding....maybe you want to be off the grid when saying your vows....I say big whoopie if people don't like what YOU and your significant other find meaningful!

Gorgeous red wedding gown from Essence Collection by Bonny Style 8611

Love the "ruched" skirt and train!

Red Velvet Whoopie Cookies with Cream Cheese

Bari Jay Bridesmaid Dresses with Bustle Skirts 

(style 501 on left, style 510 on right)

Uh oh. I am in love! Princess Lasertron's Felt Flower Bouquets

Ruby Red

I am seeing RED! Not, a mad red...a stunning bridal red! This dress is from Bonny Bridal from the Classic Collection. It is style number 905. 

What made me think about this dress was seeing the Red Ranunculus Flower Clips from Etsy seller HustlenBustle - Set of 3 flowers for $24.00

Tickled Pink!

It is my favorite color and I am sticking with it! Can I get a "whoop whoop"?  Pink....is THE best bridal color in my opinion! So many cute things can easily match it - it's a VERY easy color to work with because it goes either way! 

Ahhh...starting with one of my very favorite dresses from Bonny Bridal!! Love this pink wedding gown! It's classy and totally not over done. So Elegant! Style 749

Ok...time for some other fun Pinks! This one was actually found on clearance at Pottery Barn Teen - ON SALE. Act fast if you like it
 

Call me a little exotic on this cocktail...or seriously if you even have this in your house - call me anytime! haha, This is from X-Rated Fusion Liqueur. I want some NOW.

And, finally for a little fun with pink....

 

Reminder: Bridal Gown Giveaway

Before signing off for the night, I wanted to remind my readers about the Bridal Gown Giveaway over on Bonny Bridal Blog! I totally meant to mention this over the weekend but the time slipped away from me! You only have 2 more days to enter! I would love to have one of my blog readers win a free wedding gown! I blogged about this in the beginning of the month and I picked out some of my favorites from the Bonny Collection:

My Dress of the Day

Found a new dress I love! There is something about a halter neckline that I love, but that wasn't what caught my eye about this dress. The color combination is what I really, really love! The cafe colored band is so warm! It would blend well with a Mocha color...the price isn't bad either! Price at under $400 - this dress, style 045 from the Bonny Collection, is my dress of the day!!!

Bridal Gown Rebate!

I just saw this on Bonny's Facebook page and was thrilled to be able to share it with you all! If you are not familiar with Bonny, grab some coffee and sit down awhile! Bonny has been in business for over 25 years! They are sold in bridal salons nationwide (and international too!) Their gowns are very well made: embellishments are sewn on (not glued!), the embroidery work is awesome (clean and tight...no loose threads). They have several different lines of dresses but the bridal lines are Essence (a little couture and edgy), Bonny (the line that started it all) Bliss (a line for the modest/conservative bride) and Unforgettable (their stylish plus size line).

I have had occasions in the past where I have worked with the girls in the office (when I had my own bridal salon I carried their line of dresses) and more recently when they helped get me into the Fall Bridal Market in Las Vegas (as their guest).

I have always had a place in my heart for this company (maybe because their logo has one in it? hmmm) just kidding! Brides today are probably overwhelmed at the choices out there....who can blame you? But, the most important thing is having a budget for your dress and sticking to it (because you have to add in: accessories, alterations and undergarments!). Finding a gorgeous, well made dress on a budget is not that hard when you see the collection of Bonny gowns! And now...with this promotion which is giving the BRIDE back $50.00 off any purchase....well the value of these gowns just went up pretty big in my book (hehehe not the wallet!). Here's the deal:

Click on this link to download the official rebate form - get to work on finding a dress you love and a store that has it. Oooh! Wait here is another cool thing: Bonny has a program called Borrow A Bonny - so you can SEE the dress before you BUY it! Pretty awesome deal since not every store can have every dress (trust me I know! My store would have needed to be the length of 2 football fields to carry them all!).

And since no post is complete without a few pictures I was also able to nab a few off their Facebook page! :)

Wait, wait...one more thing! I know, I know you just want to see the dresses but this is IMPORTANT!! I have heard (don't hold me to anything if it isn't true) but I have heard some giveaways from Bonny are coming soon! That is AWESOME! I love giveaways! Gowns. Free. Wow.

Finally...pictures! Ok, so I know this is the cover gown on their new catalog coming out. I also know that it's style 040 (that makes it from the Bonny Collection) and I think it's priced at about  $945.00 (but with the rebate $895.00!)*

This gown is part of the Essence collection - at first I could tell by the style and fabric. The style number is 8009 and the price should be about $1325.00 (but with the rebate $1275.00)* Love the cold shoulder and lace! Very pretty dress!

This next dress is one of my TOP FAVES. One, it's just simple and gorgeous and two the price! Holy macaral are you ready for this? The price I think will be about $425.00 (with the rebate $375.00!!!!)* The style number is 045, so that should make it from the Bonny Collection

This next dress will be my Dress of the Day - and soon! I think it's beautiful. The style number is 1014 and it's Plus Size so that would make it from the Unforgettable Collection. The price is about $665.00 (with the rebate $615.00!)*

And finally, I have one picture from the Bliss Collection! This line was made for the modest or conservative bride. One thing I recently found out while helping a modest bride was that Bonny will alter ANY sleeve length in any of the Bliss dresses! Pretty good information to know!! (they do some custom changes on some dresses but every Bliss one can be changed!) So this is style 2012 from the Bliss Collection and it should sell for about $725.00 (with the rebate $675.00)*

Disclaimer time: So, you may have noticed my little * marks at the end of my suggested prices. I did that because the price could be different at your store (cheaper or more expensive?) I am just giving what I think the MSRP is so it would be best to check with a local store (or two...never know one could be cheaper!)

The Color Purple

I love all shades of purple! I have been so excited about having Spring arrive and I keep gravitating to purple things! There are so many shades of purple - and it's a color that can work for Spring/Summer weddings as well as Fall/Winter. Another thing I simply love about purple is the abundance of flowers that are available in purple - you get such a variety and when you pair it with white and green, it's a very striking bouquet!

It's not easy to find a purple wedding gown - although some of the more expensive couture designers have some gorgeous silk gowns. In my blog I like to feature gowns that more affordable...like this one from Bonny. It's style 021 from their Spring Collection. What a beautiful gown with would be in a garden wedding! With a suggested retail price under $750 it won't break the bridal budget either (other colors are available)!

This wedding from Alfred Angelo has been around for awhile - it's a very popular dress - perhaps because you can customize the color - which I chose in a pretty Lilac. The price is around $799

Bouquets are not just about flowers anymore! A new trend popping up has been button bouquets. They are quirky and fun (although I am partial to REAL flowers). I found this gorgeous purple button bouquet called The Secret Garden Button Bouquet Green and Purple

Me and Matilda, my favorite Etsy shop for custom ties can have your little ring bearer all decked out!

Finally, I have found the most adorable hand painted Love Bird Cake Topper. I absolutely adore these!