The Wedding: it's a summer thing

 I think anybody who knows me knows that I’m not one of those –the girl who grew up dreaming of the perfect wedding and subjecting all those around her to mock-nuptials. It’s not like certain ideas have never crossed my mind; an exception would be when I was 13 and in the park across from the Sydney Opera House and saw a wedding of this beautiful young Asian couple underneath a shower of pink petals falling from the trees and I thought to myself, “I want that,”.

The only other distinct ‘wedding’ moment I remember was when I was doing my daily window-shopping along State Street on my way home from class, and I passed by a jewelry shop that had this really neat men’s wedding band made by hotdiamonds on display. I liked it so much as a piece of good men’s jewelry, that I asked to look at it and decided that someday I would probably coerce my guy to wear this or something very similar for my own visual enjoyment.  I’m not able to find it for a picture, but it was half brushed silver and half polished with a rectangular cutout in the front with a small diamond set to the left of the cut out. It was very cool and manly. This one below is also by hotdiamonds, and also exceptionally cool.

But apart from those few and far between moments, I, in fact, would rather forgo the whole wedding ceremony thing in the name of a down payment on a house, an extended honeymoon, or extra funding into IRA. So this post did require a little research. Heh.

But, as they say, when in Rome, so let’s talk about weddings as they are full of fashion and beauty!

And speaking of Rome, it is likely that the Romans are the cause for June being the most popular month for weddings, as this month is named for Juno, patroness of marriage, though I’m pretty sure weather has got to also play a part in it...

Rings

White and diamonds haven’t been instilled as tradition as long as most people think. White, has a little bit more history, thanks to the trendsetter Queen Victoria, but it’s DeBeers’ brilliant ‘a diamond is forever’ marketing scheme in the ‘40s that men have to thank for that coveted diamond engagement ring. And I have to admit- I loved the ‘shadow people’ commercials when I was a kid.

It seems like now more than ever it’s pertinent to follow the rules- If I were to present an oldschool engagement ring with a sapphire or emerald to friends and family, would I get sideways glances before squeals? My own argument for the diamond is just that it’s most pragmatic from a jewelry-wearer’s perspective.  It’s a neutral color, I love the way it reflects light, and as for pearls and opals which are also neutral,  I already have a lot of pearls that I’ve bought in traveling and I also have a lot of opals since they are my birthstone. My favorite jewelry- especially rings- tend to be vintage and I think it’s especially cool to have the man’s grandmother's or great-grandmother's ring- it definitely gives more weight to that whole ‘a diamond is forever’ thing, huh?

Dresses

Though ‘traditional’ wedding dresses still reflect Victorian era styles, they’ve had quite a bit of wiggle room for trends of the decade- we’ve got the shorter, fuller empire waisted gowns of the 60s, long, flowing simplistic gowns of the 70s , and my personal favorite for ridicule- the 80s’ full-sleeved dresses with mega volume in the shoulders- to match the giant permed hair of the times, of course.

 While we’ve got a lot of choices, it seems like now the overall trend is now the strapless, sweetheart cut bodice, embellished with pearls and crystals, and a full volume skirt. Honestly, I'm getting bored by it (No offense Chelsea Clinton- you looked great) and that kind of heavy, strapless gown would probably be miserable for the IBTCommittee girls like me.

On a related note, I want to give a shout-out to classy beauty Ivanka Trump (and Vera Wang) for her outstanding  dress.

Vera Wang has been the ‘it’ designer for wedding gowns as long as I can remember, so it’s really no surprise she popped this one out. I think Ivanka’s dress is gorgeous, classy, and has a refined sexiness to it that reassures me that there are still women like that I can look up to that know how to break out of the trend mold and look good without showing all the goodies.

In terms of dress style, I appreciate both the simplistic and the lavish. Elie Saab is probably my favorite overall designer for her utterly elegant dresses, but because I hate the idea of dropping so much money on a dress I’d only wear once, I also like the dresses that can cross over for other occasions (Alberta Feretti).
So there you have it. A very quick sweep of the wedding and my bow to its fashion glory.  I know There's a lot more to weddings, but the dresses and the jewelry are what get me excited.

So now I have some questions for you: are you also sick of the strapless, and what do you think will follow it? What do you think of the 'mangagement ring' a-la Michael Buble? And finally- what is it that motivates you ladies to have that all-out ceremony?