Queen Victoria started the trend of white wedding dresses. Prior

Elegant And elegant bridal gowns Iconic Wedding Dresses

Elegance is in the eye of the beholder, much like beauty. It depends more on attitude and quality than it does on price. A simple definition of elegance is grace of movement, polished expression and refinement of beauty. If youre determining which wedding dress style is right for you, take a look at some of the most memorable iconic wedding dresses of all time to get some inspiration.

Queen Victorias Wedding Dress

Queen Victoria started the trend of white wedding dresses. Prior to that point, wedding dresses were every color and meant to be worn as the woman's best dress rather than just once on her wedding day.

Even now in some cultures, white is overlooked for other traditional colors. Red is the color of choice for Chinese brides. Indian brides choose brightly colored and richly embroidered saris. And Japanese brides will wear a wedding kimono and often change into a western style white wedding dress for the reception.

So what did Queen Victoria's wedding dress look like? It was white satin accented by nosegays of orange blossoms at the bosom and scattered about the full skirt. Her lace veil was designed exclusively for the wedding. The pattern was later destroyed so it couldn't be used again. Nearly 200 people labored for six weeks to produce the lace veil and lace for the trim of her dress. The neckline left her shoulders bare. Sleeves were full, starting off her shoulders and ending above the elbows.

Queen Elizabeth IIs Wedding Dress

This beautiful queens dress was richly embroidered ivory silk with a satin train. The ball gown had a scoop neck, full skirt and long sleeves. It was embroidered with 10,000 seed pearls. The 15-foot train was made of delicate lace embroidered in the same pattern as the dress, including flowers, the white rose of York and wheat heads, a symbol of fertility. The queen wore a veil made of white tulle attached to a diamond tiara. Around her neck she wore a double pearl necklace.

It is said that Queen Elizabeth II had two wedding dresses. The first was worn when she married Prince Phillip and the second at her coronation when she wed the people of the United Kingdom. That dress was designed by Norman Hartnell who also designed her wedding dress. While the original design called for white satin and little embroidery, the final design remained white satin but was heavily and richly embroidered with plants or flowers to represent each of the entities that make up the commonwealth. The embroidery was in pastel colors and accented by gold and silver threads with diamonds, amethysts and colored crystals.

Grace Kellys Wedding Dress

She was a real fairy tale princess whose gown has been a timeless inspiration for brides since her wedding day in 1956. The gown was white satin with a high neckline and long sleeves. The bodice and sleeves were antique Valenciennes rose point lace. Twenty-five yards of silk taffeta and ninety-eight yards of tulle were used. Her headpiece fit close to her head with a fingertip length veil in front and longer veil in back. Her wedding dress and veil were designed by Helen of MGM studios and given to her as a wedding gift from the studios. She carried a small bouquet of lilies of the valley over a white Bible.

Princess Dianas Wedding Dress

Princess Diana had one of the most stunning and talked about wedding dresses ever created. Actually, there was more than one dress designed and made to keep the media guessing as to what she would wear on her wedding day. Immediately, brides all over the world wanted the full sleeved, full skirted over the top style of gown for their weddings.

Celine Dions Wedding Dress

This well known Canadian singers wedding gown was a stunning extravagance of white satin embroidered with crystals and pearls. The ball gown had a full skirt, sweetheart neckline and long sleeves and a 20-foot train. Her crowning glory was literally a crown consisting of 2000 Austrian crystals which weighed seven pounds. Attached to the headpiece was a Cathedral length veil. Before and after the wedding she wore a white fur coat to keep her warm.

Melania Trumps Wedding Dress

When you're marrying a Trump the sky's the limit. Melania Trump's wedding dress is rumored to cost nearly $100,000. Designed by Dior, the dress weighed close to 50 pounds and had a 13-foot train, complemented by a 16-foot veil. The veil was artistically arranged in a swirl pattern to match the swirls in her dress. The dress was in the mermaid style, fitted through the hips and flaring out starting about mid-thigh. While the bride had fittings for the dress, she had never walked in the gown until her wedding day and stumbled a bit when she first started down the aisle. Obviously, that dress was not jovani bridal gowns meant for dancing. Melania changed into a simpler and much lighter dress for the wedding reception.

Wedding gowns have changed a lot since the Victorian ages, but theres still so much inspiration we can glean from yesterdays style icons. By blending your personal style and personality with some elements of these unforgettable wedding dresses, youre sure to have en elegant wedding dress that you and your guests will remember forever.

How To Choose The Right Wedding Dress For Your Body Type

Many brides-to-be spend hours flipping through the pages of bridal magazines in search of the perfect wedding dress. They may find several that they fall in love with, but it could be that none of them are the right dress for the bride. The fact is that not all dresses look great on every bride.

Choosing the best wedding dress is about how the dress looks on your body. All brides even those who are very thin have to keep this in mind. Choosing a dress from a picture is just not a good idea. Instead, you must try on gowns so that you can figure out which style looks best on you. Below are some of the most common styles of wedding dresses.

Sheath

This style of wedding dress typically falls away from the body. It is best suited to brides who are tall and slender.

Empire Waist

An empire waist wedding dress features a waistline that falls just below the bust line. This dress is a good choice for a bride who does not have a large bust. For shorter brides, it can add height.

Ball Gown

This very popular style of modest wedding dresses wedding dress is what many girls think of when they picture a princess gown. It has a full skirt and is wonderful for hiding imperfections around the hips or thighs.

Mermaid

A mermaid style wedding dress is very fitted and is a good choice for those brides who want to accentuate their curves.

There are hundreds of variations within each style of wedding dress. Once you determine the shape that looks best on your body, you will be able to start your search in earnest. For example, you may have to try on a dozen ball gowns before you find the one that is right for you.

Some other tips:

Try It On

Yes, try on that wedding dress even if it is nothing like what you imagined wearing on your big day. You would be surprised at how many brides end up falling in love with a dress that is much different from what they thought they wanted.

It doesnt hurt or cost anything to just try it on, and you just might find the dress of your dreams.

Dont Settle

Just because you always wanted a wedding dress of a certain style does not mean that you should get that dress even if it does nothing to flatter your body type. Conversely, do not be talked into a wedding black homecoming dress dress that everyone else says is great on your body if it is not really what you want.

Keep looking until you find the perfect wedding dress that both flatters your body AND lives up to the picture that you have in your mind of what your wedding dress will look like.