Posts Tagged ‘alternative wedding dresses’

Camo wedding dresses for something different

It’s a whole new world nowadays, the world of brides. Modern brides are freer than ever before to express their individuality on their wedding day. A more unusual response to this is for brides to choose to wear camouflage style wedding dresses. These are bridal gowns that incorporate camouflage fabric in them, either entirely or as a feature.

Brides are very comfortable nowadays wearing alternative wedding dresses. Shops and boutiques which sell camo wedding dresses as part, or even their whole range, are becoming greater in number. On the Internet it is very easy to discover retailers who specialise in this style and you can easily peruse a variety of designs and interpretations.

To those who prefer more traditional styles and materials it may come as a surprise that the camouflage wedding dress looks very attractive and appropriate and very bridal. It is very easy to assume that camo wedding dresses would look unfeminine in some way. Such is definitely not the case.

Although some camo wedding dresses are made entirely from camouflage material, brides usually incorporate the camouflage fabric as a feature only. An examination of online stores reveals that camouflage material can be used in the bodice, on the sleeves, as a cummerbund, as a trim at the top of the dress, or added to the hem. Frills, inserts, blouses with camo skirts or the other way around are other alternatives. Camouflage can form the underlay so that just a hint is seen. Sometimes camouflage material is teamed with a colour other than white, such as green or grey and with the current trend in wedding fashion where colour is being used more frequently, it looks attractive and appropriate.

Camo weddings can use accessories and extras to emphasis the idea. A camo pillow on which the rings are placed, or baskets carried by the flower girls are ways this can be done. Of course invitations and thankyou notes can also convey this theme. 

Brides wear camo wedding dresses for several reasons. It may be that they either come from or about to enter a family with a military tradition and they wish to demonstrate their commitment or willingness to be a contributing part of that family. Similarly, it may be worn by those couples who are spend much of their time in the outdoors in activities such as hunting or fishing. Sometimes brides may consider that outdoor weddings are enhanced with the use of a camouflage wedding dress.

Gothic wedding dresses don’t have to be black

Of all the alternative wedding dresses now available, gothic wedding dresses are possibly the most extreme or at least to the more traditional among us or to those of us who are unfamiliar with gothic subculture. Gothic fashion is dark and morbid and sometimes erotic and characterised by black – hair, clothes, lipstick and nails. It seems almost that it can run counter to the joy and happiness which one would consider is the main feature of a wedding!

Gothic wedding dresses can reflect the above description completely and a bride can be clothed entirely in black. Contrary to an expectation that this could appear drab and dismal, in actual fact such gowns can be extremely glamorous. Picture if you will a black strapless dress embellished with a black lace bodice or, one with many underskirts and overlain with frills and flounces. Add some coordinating jewellery, or fingerless gloves or a lacy stole and wow! Gothic weddings can be very spectacular.

However, many gothic wedding dresses nowadays are modifications of this theme. Firstly other colours can be used which represent goth. For instance red, royal blue and purple are all colours which are appropriate. Any of these colours used by themselves will not necessarily mean goth. The colours need to be incorporated with other colours or worn in the particular gothic style for it to be authentic.

A gothic wedding dress often has long flowing sleeves combined with black lace gloves. Another feature of gothic wedding dresses is a design in a style reminiscent of the crinoline gown over taffeta with lots of underskirts.  Red ribbon in festoons on a wide black skirt with a slim lacy black bodice can similarly invoke the style. Sometimes short wedding dresses are worn revealing black chunky high cut boots! Tattoos in the gothic style are more easily visible in the shorter dress or in sleeveless wedding gown.

Sometimes gothic brides want only to symbolise their being gothic by adding a minor gothic feature to their gown. For example a red edging around the bottom of the gown may help or even just a black garter. Or red insets in a largely white dress can signify goth. A black or red train can also create a gothic feel. Gothic wedding dresses may include a white dress with some overlay of black lace, or a white flowing dress with a black lace overlay on the bodice.

The not-so white wedding dress

Not all of us are looking for a traditional white wedding, and whilst we have branched out from the traditional church ceremony and taken the wedding nuptials into more natural settings like beaches, parks and gardens, there are other, bolder options to host a fabulous wedding whilst turning tradition on its head. The choice of alternative wedding dresses is one such example of how we can radically step away from the confines of wedding custom.

If it’s a statement you’re after in the alternative wedding dress stakes, then the gothic wedding dress could be your look. We all know the look but don’t think that gothic wedding dresses can only be black. There are a range of deep, dark colours you can choose from.  The fabric you choose will also enhance your gothic look, and you’re not limited in terms of style either. There is the sexy dark red velvet gothic diva look or the black, high-neck, lace gothic glam look. In fact, alternative wedding dresses in a gothic style are as wide and diverse as the everyday gothic look is. To pull off the gothic wedding dress and maintain the glam of your day, be sure to opt for strong, bold make-up, and a killer pair of patent leather boots.

Camouflage wedding dresses are an altogether different statement, but still progress the alternative wedding dresses option. Don’t just think baggy army fatigues here, although that might be a matching option for you and your prospective life partner. Camouflage style fabric can become high couture if designed well. Lace, beading and tulle all juxtaposition strongly against camouflage fabrics, and military style design elements like pockets and collars. Team your dress with a glam pair of heels and the right accessories to show your wedding guests who’s winning the war.

Your dress is a powerful statement, and on your big day, choosing from some really special and unusual alternative wedding dresses can be your most powerful tool to stamp a theme on your wedding that guests will remember for a long time to come. If the alternative wedding dress statement is what you’ve been looking for, then keep in mind that whether it’s the gothic look or the camouflage look, to pull it off successfully you will need to consider the attire of your full wedding entourage. If you are going to go the whole hog and have the theme right across your wedding make sure all your guests are fully cognisant. You don’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable or left out.

Whilst your wedding invitation, venue and celebrant choice can hint at your radical departure from the tradition of white wedding, alternative wedding dresses cement your status as a brave free-thinking bride, pushing new boundaries and challenging the status quo. Or blaze new territory entirely, and maintain the traditional white wedding feel, until you march down the aisle in your gothic wedding dress and patent leather boots.