Italian Wedding Dresses: Best Trends, Colors, and Details

A woman's wedding dress is the most important fashion decision of her lifetime. Most brides take months visiting different boutiques and obsessing over bridal magazines until they find "the one." Women are no longer limited to the traditional whip cream white ball gown of the past. There are an infinite number of dresses to fit the style of every bride, whether she is after a glamorous, romantic, or a cutting edge look. In fact, the bridal industry has blown up in the last few years and designers are creating unprecedented dresses to win the hearts of the most discriminating bride.

White and ivory will always remain the most popular choice to wed in, but faint shades of pink and gold are becoming hot choices for dresses. White and ivory can wash out most complexions, but a soft champagne color can flatter your skin tone. Brides should try out each shade to see which ones looks the best with their coloring. It is now common for dress designers to offer several different colors in the same style gown. Sashes were another way that color was incorporated in the design of the bridal gown, sometimes to even match the bridal parties attire.

Grey was a huge color on the runway this year. Several dresses were made of luxurious satins in the palest shade of grey and others featured bows and ribbon detail in a deeper charcoal. Although it is not a traditional color, it is decidedly gothic and enchanting for a wedding.

Lace is a natural favorite among brides who covet romantic, vintage styles. Countless women still consider Grace Kelly, who wore a long sleeve lace gown when she wed Prince Rainier of Monaco, to be the most exquisite bride of all time. While it was necessary for Grace Kelly to show the utmost modesty due to the nature of a royal wedding, most brides can be more flexible. For a more seductive look, brides are opting for lace dresses that are formfitting and strapless. Lace bodices are also paired effortlessly with tulle skirts for a current look.

Ruffles are not just for Flamenco dancers, as observed from the shows this year. They add instant drama and volume to a dress and are particularly flattering when they frame the neckline. It's an exotic style for a flirtatious bride lusting after something saucy and fun to wear for her wedding.

Preppy brides will appreciate the return of pleats, which is both neat and regal looking on a wedding dress. The complex pin-tucked pleating evident on gowns this season is clearly a work of art.

As for styles, two favorites this year are the empire waistline and mermaid gowns. Empire waist dresses can be tricky to wear, but also quite flattering on women who want to hide their waistline. Mermaid dresses are close fitting in the bodice and flair out around the mid-calf. It looks best on slim or athletic women who want to accentuate their curves. Styles ran amok from slim sheaths to voluminous gowns this year. The sky is the limit for the bride on the hunt for a dress in 2007.

By Meredith Paslawsky

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/weddings/wedding-trends.asp

Wedding Dresses And Gowns In Traditional Japanese Wedding

From Shizuko Mishima,

Spring and fall are popular seasons for weddings in Japan. Traditional Japanese wedding ceremony are Shinto-style and are held at shrines (jinja). In a Shito-style wedding ceremony, the bride wears a traditional wedding kimono called shiromuku (white kimono), and the groom wears montsuki haori hakama. Usually, only family members and close relatives of the couple attend the Shinto-style wedding ceremony. The ceremony includes sake drinking rituals, exchanging wedding rings, and more. There are neither bridesmaids nor a best man, and an older married couple called nakoudo (matchmaker) attend the ceremony.

Most of weddings in Japan are held at hotels or wedding halls. Chapels and shrines are conveniently located within the facilities, and couples can choose the style of their wedding ceremonies. A Japanese wedding ceremony can be Christian, Buddhist, Shinto, and non-religious styles. The wedding style doesn't necessarily match with one's religion. Non-Christian couples often have their weddings ceremony at chapels.

After the wedding ceremony, the reception party called "kekkon hiroen" is held. The style and scale of wedding receptions vary depending on the regions. Typically, relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors attend the reception. When you receive an invitation card, you need to return the enclosed card and let them know if you can attend or not as soon as possible.

If you are attending a Japanese wedding reception, you are expected to bring cash for a gift. The amount depends on your relationship with the couple and the region, unless fixed amount is indicated in the invitation card. It is recommendable to ask someone who are attending the same wedding. The average is 30,000 yen for a friend's wedding. It's important that the cash is enclosed in a special envelope called shugi-bukuro, and your name is written on the front. It's polite to use new bills with no creasing. When you go to the party, give the envelope to the person at the reception desk and sign your name in the guestbook. People usually dress formally to attend a Japanese wedding reception. Female guests wear dresses, suits, or kimono. Male guests wear black formal suits.

The bride and broom change costumes a couple of times during the wedding reception. The bride wears a wedding kimono or a wedding kimono, and colorful dresses. The groom wears a men's montsuki hakama and a tuxedo. During the reception, the married couple sits on a stage enjoying the guests' speeches and performances. Some guests are asked to do something at the reception. Many people sing their favorite songs. The couple cut a large wedding cake and walks around the room, lighting the candles and greeting guests. A full course meal is often served at the table.
At the wedding reception, souvenirs called hikidemono are prepared in a bag for guests to take home. They are often tableware, sweets, interiors, and so on. In recent years, gift catalogs from which guests can choose gifts are popular as hikidemono.

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/traditionculture/a/japanesewedding.htm

Japanese Wedding Dress And a Bout "Kimono" Wedding

The traditional white japanese wedding kimono is called shiro-maku. Shiro meaning white and maku meaning pure. The wedding kimono actually consists of two different kimono. The white wedding kimono is worn for the wedding ceremony and an elaborate rich patterned silk brocade kimono called uchikake is worn over the white kimono at the wedding reception.The bright and colorful uchikake kimono originated in the Edo era and originally only worn by court nobles. The kimono is made of silk and silk brocade. Rich in fine embroidered patterns, the uchikake is embellised with scenes of flowers, cranes, pines, flower carts or nature motifs. While red is the most popular color for the uchikake kimono, there are many different colors available from a stunning imperial purple to sea green. The bridal kimono is sometimes handed down in the family or made into futon bedding later in life.

In a traditional Japanese wedding, the brides hair is also styled in the traditional hair style called bunkin-takashimada and adorned with beautiful gold combs and accessories called kanzashi. A white wedding hood called tsuno kakushi is meant to hide two front golden "tsuno" or horns during the wedding ceremony to symbolize obedience.

Like American weddings, there are traditional wedding accessories that are worn for tradition and are said to bring good luck. The bride carries a small purse style sack called hakoseko and a small encased sword called kaiken. Lastly, a fan is worn in the obi belt for tradition holds that the gradual widening of the open fan implies happiness and thus brings a happy future. JapaneseWeddingFavors.com carries a wonderful selection of Japanese wedding favors, wedding presentation ideas and information on Japanese wedding and Japanese wedding traditions.

http://www.japanesekimono.com/wedding_kimono.htm

The Wedding Dresses: A History of Japanese Marriage

In the long history of Japan the marriage system must have gone through various changes in the social system and conditions. Such changes are now difficult to trace in detail but the most important and historical change in the Japanese marriage system is said to have been made from the "Muko-iri" practice for a bridegroom to enter the family of his aimed-at bride to the "Yome-iri" system for a bride to be accepted into her bridegroom's home. The change seems to have taken place in the 13th and 14th centuries by the rise of "Bushi" warriors in power.

During the age of aristocracy a bridegroom would nightly visit his bride at her home and only after the birth of a child or the loss of parents to the bridegroom or husband, the bride would be accepted as the wife in the man's home. Among common people labor power was and essential factor to maintain a family. It was an accepted practice in the Tohoku area in north for a bridegroom to live with his bride's family to offer his labor for a certain length of time. More widely spread was the system for a bridegroom and bride to offer their time and labor to their own families. In such cases the husband would visit his wife nightly to maintain the married life. Again in Izu Islands it was for a wife to work for the family of her husband who would, however, stay at her home. The practice remains today in the system of adoption by which a man becomes a member of another family by marriage. Under either of such system it was necessary for families concerned to reside in neighborhood.

In the old days of aristocracy men seem to have been freer and more insistent than those to follow in later ages in proposing marriage to women. Court Lord Fukakusa is said to have called on Ono-no-Komachi, "Miss Kyoto" of the 9th century day and night for one hundred consecutive days and broken down from exhaustion without her word of "yes".

After nightly visits of a man at the home of his aimed-at bride, he might be invited by her parents to a bedside and offered "Mochi" rice cakes. "Tokoro-Arawashi", as the ceremony was called was the most important function in the ancient wedding among aristocrats. A similar practice was seen among common people for a man to visit on the parents of a bride-to-be for approval of his marriage to their daughter.

With the rise of "Bushi" warriors whose spheres of activities were no longer limited within Kyoto or close neighborhood, the system of women marrying into men's families was gradually adopted and widely accepted in the 14th century and on. Under the feudal system marriages were often used as plitical and diplomatic approaches to maintaining peace and unity among feudal lords. Thus the personal will of men and women for marriage was ignored in the face of family interests and the social intercourse of unmarried persons was denied. Marriages came to be arranged by and for families and the role of "Nakodo" gobetween became very important in Japan.

Another result of the "Yome-iri" wedding and family marriage was the increased importance of engagement. The "Yui-no" betrothal thus became a serious step in the Japanese marriage. A "Nakodo" gobetween would make further certain of a proposed marriage by the ceremonial exchange of drinks with the bride side immediately upon acceptance of the proposal. "Yui-no", as still observed and later described more in detail, is the exchange of various items between two families concerned assuring the engagement to be followed through.

The wedding ceremony became also more elaborate. A messanger would be sent to the bride's home where family members hold a farewell party before hanging her over to the bridegroom side. At the wedding ceremony proper in addition to the "San-San-Kudo" exchange of drinks between the bridegroom and bride, drinks were now exchanged between members of the families for unification on the family basis.

Having briefly reviewed the history, we are now ready to go back to marriage and wedding, as more widely practiced in Japan today.

http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima

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