Wedding Gowns 101

Most brides will agree that shopping for a wedding gown is a very fun and exciting experience. However, it can be a little overwhelming, especially when there are so many choices of fabrics and styles.. If you have ever picked up a wedding magazine or looked a wedding website, you have probably noticed that there is a lot of wedding gown jargon. Words like "trumpet", "mermaid", and "chiffon" are heavily sprinkled throughout these publications, describing the beautiful gowns that fill the pages.

Some brides will be familiar with these terms from an interest in fashion, having experience with girlfriends or family members being married, or they may  be that woman who has been planning her wedding dress since she was 5 years old. That being said, there are just as many brides who might be thinking "What does this stuff mean?!" Of course, it is not necessary to know the meaning of all these terms since a bridal consultant's job is to help you find the dress of your dreams but it may make you feel a little more comfortable about the process and give you a better idea what you might be looking for. Here, to demystify the dress shopping experience, we will describe some of the most popular dress styles and show what they look like.

Happy Shopping!

Fit and Flare, Trumpet, and Mermaid

These styles are all VERY similar and chances are, if you like one, you just may like the other two as well. They are all tight fitting through the bodice and then flare out at some point below the hips, the difference is where they flare out. Fit and Flare dresses are the most prevelant of the three because they have the smallest ratio of tight to flare, therefore you have the most range of movement in this style. This style remains tight through the mid-thigh and then the fabric flares out. Trumpet style is the middle ground out of theses styles and will flare out close to the knee. Mermaid has the longest portion of the dress fitting tightly with the fabric flaring out anywhere from just below the knee to as low as mid-calf.

Fit and Flare

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

Trumpet

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

Mermaid

 http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

A-Line

A-line dresses are called so because they are shaped like a capital letter "A". The dress bodice fits tight through the natural waist line and then flares out into a full skirt. This style is not tight on the hips or legs.

A-Line Wedding Gown by Impression Bridal

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

Ballroom

Similar to the A-line, Ballroom style features a natural waist line and a full skirt. This skirt is the fullest when in comes to bridal gowns and often has many layers of lining and crinoline to create an even more full skirt silloutte. Think Cinderella!

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

Sweetheart Neckline

This is a popular style, especially in strapless gowns. The neckline, instead of going straight across, dips down in the center, creating a shape similar to the top of a heart.

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

Modified Sweetheart Neckline

Very similar to a Sweetheart neckline, this is just slightly different in that it has less of a plunge in the center. It is somewhere in between being Sweetheart and being a basic Straight Across neckline.

http://www.impressionbridal.com/collections.php?cat=34

All of the gowns featured are by Impression Bridal. EvanGrace does not have samples of these particular gowns but we do carry Impression Bridal so if you are interested in seeing some other styles by them or any of our other lines, we would love for you to make an appointment or stop in during our business hours to shop!