In addition to my own wedding, I was lucky enough to attend two other weddings this year. As a woman, what I looked forward to most as the wedding dates approached was seeing what the brides’ wedding dresses would look like. For the most part, each dress was starkly different this season but they did have a few, somewhat shocking, similarities.

The first similarity, which is not entirely odd given that it is the most popular style of wedding dress right now, is that all three wedding dresses were strapless. (my dress had a little detachable jacket that I removed for the reception). They also had the same sweetheart neckline, on a scale from subtle to exaggerated. In addition, all of the dresses happened to be true wedding white. This was a bit unexpected as there are so many different options for accepted wedding dress colours today, such as, ivory, champagne and blush – just to name a few. This last similarity really took me by surprise; all of the brides choose to have untraditional veils or headpieces. I was the only bride who wore a veil and mine was a blusher style veil attached to a fascinator. One bride had only an elaborate fabric flower clip in her hair while the other had simple gerbera daisies styled into her hair.

 

 

Two dresses were similar in that they both had beading while the other one did not. Due to a combination of current trends and the fact that all three of these weddings took place outdoors, only one of the dresses had a train. Two of the wedding dresses were the traditional full length while the other was the once-traditional tea length.

The real intrigue lies is the differences, all of the dresses were quite different from one another, each one suited to the bride’s individual style and body type. I am a slim ectomorph, my cousin’s new wife, Tiffany, is a curvy endomorph, my cousin, Stefanie, is an athletic mesomorph-maternity and we all have strikingly different styles.

 

 

The first thing about a bride’s wedding dress that I am excited to look for when everyone gets that first anticipated glimpse of her walking down the isle is the silhouette of the dress. Mine was the style-book rewriting tea length, Tiffany wore a ball gown with pick-ups on the skirt and Stefanie wore a Grecian sheath style dress.

 

 

Each dress displayed the waistline classically associated with their silhouette. My wedding dress, like most of the dresses I wear all of the other days of my life – because it’s what looks best on my body, had a natural waistline. Tiffany’s wedding dress had a dropped waist, a waistline that looks great and is therefore common on a ball gown style wedding dress but seldom appears anywhere but a wedding dress. Stefanie’s wedding dress, like almost every Grecian-sheath and maternity wedding dresses, had an empire waistline.

 

 

With so many different options these days for wedding dress fabrics, it came as no surprise that each dress was made of a different material. My dress for my cool May wedding was made of vintage style lace, Tiffany’s dress for her tepid June wedding consisted of one of the many satin-like fabrics common with wedding dresses and Stefanie’s dress for her hot July wedding was a light rayon-chiffon.

It is truly amazing how each and every woman who becomes a bride is able to express her unique and timeless style while still giving a nod to the current trends of the day. Every bride is different but it is the similarities that bring them together and identify them as beautiful wives-to-be.