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In the store it may look like just another dress on just another hanger for just another wedding. But to a bride, finding the right dress is about more than having something to wear down the aisle. It's about getting something she'll still love when she flips through wedding pictures with her children. Something her daughter or granddaughter might want to wear. Something she can look at years later and smile, remembering how she felt wearing it. At some level the mass consciousness doesn't want it to change too much because of what it represents," said Melissa Sweet, design director of the Priscilla of Boston and Melissa Sweet bridal collections. "It's sort of one of our foundations. The white gown, on the day, walking the aisle." While you're unlikely to see brides make a major shift away from the traditional white or ivory dress anytime soon, this season does showcase lots of small touches — from bright jewelry to metallic shoes — that help each bride make sure the ensemble is really, truly her. "Every girl should be allowed to have the wedding of her dreams," said Laurette Veres, producer of Houston's Bridal Extravaganza Show, whether she wears "a princess gown or a white pantsuit. For over 50 percent of the brides, the gown is the most important thing." Veres estimates that about 25,000 weddings take place in Harris County every year, adding that about 6,000 brides on average attend her shows in January and July.
Veres said Houston weddings happen year-round because of the warm climate, and brides and grooms — or their parents — spend an average of $32,000 on a wedding, $7,000 higher than the national average. Included in that amount is what the bride spends on a dress, which can start at around $200 and go into the thousands, with the average dress costing about $1,500, said Kathleen Murray, deputy editor of wedding resource the Knot. "A gown should be probably about 7 (percent) to 10 percent of your budget," Murray said. "But it really depends on the bride's priorities and her fashion sense." In terms of trends, fall and winter brides are opting for a wider variety of dress styles (although strapless A-line remains the most popular), shoes (goodbye, satin pumps) in metallic golds, silvers and bronzes, and bright, bold jewelry. Brides are also buying simple dresses and embellishing them with colored sashes, bright brooches, flowered appliqués and beaded trim. Catherine Vickers, a 34-year-old X-ray technician who is getting married in March, found her dress for $350 at David's Bridal and decided to have it embellished with a beaded trim she purchased at Hobby Lobby. "I tried it on and said, 'Oh, my God, this is perfect,' " she said. "But in my mind there are a lot of brides out there who bought the same style, and I don't want it to look exactly the same."
She told the story of a bride-to-be who recently visited one of her stores and asked her to make a small change to the dress's neckline. "All we did was make the sweetheart neckline on her, and it's like everything just came to life," Sweet said. "It wasn't just the dress anymore. She really jumped out." For brides on a budget who want a unique dress, WeddingChannel.com senior editor Marilyn Oliveira said there are plenty of options. She encourages brides to seek out "sample sales," in which designers offer reduced prices on dresses that have been tried on, options in eveningwear and even bridesmaids' dresses that can be ordered in white or ivory. "Try on those gowns that are similar to what you love, but also try on suggestions of the person at the bridal salon, because you might be completely surprised," Oliveira said. It took 27-year-old Hebe Arenas, who is from Mexico City and recently visited Houston to look at wedding gowns, less than an hour to find the perfect dress. Standing on a pedestal at Priscilla of Boston in Uptown Park, she said that even though it was her first day looking, she knew she had found the one. "I love it because it's ... very sweet, but the skirt is very modern," said Arenas, who will be married Dec. 2. "I like the combination of both things. When I tried it, I cried, so I was sure it was the one." Sweet said brides like Arenas need to make sure that — tears or no tears — they do it their way. "As opposed to subscribing to a fashion that someone else has set, it's about connecting with that energy, whatever you're finding you're drawn to, and then expressing yourself," Sweet said. "Do what you want. Have what you want. Wear what you want."
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Sweet, who has spent more than a decade creating dresses that stand out from what people typically think of when they envision a bridal dress, said sometimes the simplest alterations can make all the difference.
