By Kira Kolosova
The wedding season is coming up. Film directors and writers like to portray it as a happy time filled with sunshine, white flowers and tears of joy. In reality, the only thing it is filled with can be described with one word: stress.
The wedding season is coming up. Film directors and writers like to portray it as a happy time filled with sunshine, white flowers and tears of joy. In reality, the only thing it is filled with can be described with one word: stress.
What colour should the napkins be? Which dress will suit all the
bridesmaids? How to make the seating arrangements pleasing for all the guests?
And on top of all these challenges, like small figures of the newlyweds
decorating the cake, is the wedding dress. It cannot be simple: it should be
the one that makes the other brides envious and cause the little niece to dream
about her own wedding months later.
The fashion industry constantly tries to come up with a solution. Elle
UK has just announced that in September 2014 the Elle Wedding will be launched, "aimed at stylish modern brides". Everyone knows how expensive weddings are,
costing more than £18000 according to the Telegraph, so a month ago high street
brand H&M unveiled its debut bridal dress for as much as £59.55 to help all
those brides who do not want to spend a fortune on a wedding garment.
However, while some people were excited by the announcement, the idea of
wearing a high street wedding dress might sound horrifying to others. Notting
Hill is known for its original culture, where people are used to create
beautiful items for themselves and look for hidden gems in vintage shops, so it
is not a coincidence that the bespoke tailoring bridal ateliers are very
popular in the area.
“When you look around Notting Hill, everyone has their own style.
Notting Hill women express themselves uniquely and they appreciate being looked
as an individual with no labels.”, says Lucia Silver, the founder of the State
of Grace atelier which offers a full head to toe service for any occasion.
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Jane Bourvis, whose wonderful sea foam green vintage ballerina dress was
worn by Carrie Bradshaw in the last episode of Sex and the City, and whose
beautiful wedding gown Marie from Sherlock wore to her wedding, believes that
people who come to her atelier “want something unique, beautiful and soft,
something it is possible to be emotional about”. Looking at her magical
dresses, the idea of spending half of a salary on the wedding gown feels more
justified.
So when it comes to a choice of a bridal dress, Jane notices that
“brides normally come to shop with other people, and they get a lot of
pressure”. So both women agree that it is important “to shut off the noise of
the magazines, friends and relatives and remember that this day is about you
marrying the man you love, so therefore think about what would be the most
authentic and natural way to look beautiful for you and for him”. Maybe that
way, the carefree weddings from the romantic stories can finally become the
reality.
