LiveWorld Transcripts

Wedding Network presents

Bridal consultants Sandie Steffes and Lynzie Hayes
Wedding Tips

July 27, 2000

Bridal consultants Sandie Steffes and Lynzie Hayes discuss how to choose and purchase the perfect bridal gown and share other great wedding tips.

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WeddingNetwork: Welcome to WeddingNetwork.com's Live Bridal Gown Chat! Now that you're planning a wedding, you have so many details to consider. Some of the first, and most exciting, details are gowns and accessories. You're going to have a lot of questions, and we're here to help! So start sending those questions now, because our chat is about to begin!

Sandie: I'm glad to be here, and I am happy and anxious to start answering your questions, so whenever you are ready, let's get going!

Lynzie: We are very excited to be here and we want to help in any way we possibly can with your gown or attire questions.

OceanSerenity: What are the styles of the year 2000?

Sandie: A lot of the styles now are strapless--usually an A-line style with a small train, about chapel length, to semi-cathedral.

Lynzie: I would say that, probably, sheaf styles for a simple wedding are still thoroughly common for this time of year.

Veronica: How formal or informal should my dress be?

Sandie: That would depend on the style of your wedding and where your wedding location would be. Formal dresses tend to have longer trains--such as semi-cathedral to cathedral length--and are usually worn more in church weddings. Informal dresses with no trains, sweep trains, kickbacks, or some chapel length are used for informal weddings.

Lynzie: Generally, brides who are having a garden wedding or something, even if it's a semiformal wedding, will usually go with a shorter train, because they are dealing with outdoor environments, and it should also fit the season of the wedding, as well. If you have a theme, such as a time--a 1920s wedding, for example--you would want to have a dress that had a '1920s' feel.

Kujira: I want to have a simple but up-to-the-minute design for a Wedding dress--classic lines and NOT a gown. Do I need to get a custom dress, or is there anything on the market that will do from ready to wear?

Sandie: You could do a ready to wear from a department store in the evening wear section. Other choices…some bridesmaid dresses can be worn. There are also many informal dresses that have very classy lines. Some manufacturers that would carry such dresses would be Pronovias, Eden, Vera Wang, and Belsoie.

Nowipia: What are some alternatives for older brides?

Lynzie: A lot of older brides are going with the same styles that we just mentioned that have a clean line. Many of these can be worn with a jacket for a church wedding if they choose. They tend to have less bead or lace work. And since a lot of the brides are a little bit older when they get married these days, there are a lot of styles that are dressy without looking 'ball gownish'.

OnoImaBRIDE: I am NOT a 'dress' kind of person. What other options would you suggest for a Wedding outfit?

Lynzie: Brides, these days, can get married in just about anything they feel comfortable in. That can be anything from a very smart suit, to a tuxedo. It could be a dress, but many of the dresses, even like a slip dress or a tank dress that has very little frills, beading, or lace on it, so they don't feel as overwhelmingly feminine, but they still have that feminine feel to them. And depending upon your wedding, some weddings are even western weddings--people wear jeans. Generally, you want to feel comfortable at your wedding, and you should wear what makes you feel good.

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