Daring to be Different

Today I've been inspired to write about being individual, and not be afraid to do so.  The inspiration came (as so often it does!) from one of our lovely brides, who has a very difficult decision to make between two dresses.  One is a classic, traditional, ivory gown, with a bit of lace, and a bit of sparkle.  She herself described it as 'safe', but it is really lovely and suited her figure perfectly.  The other gown is something quite different; still unmistakeably bridal in the layers of taffeta and tulle and its long train, but with a print fabric and a very distinctive, and not traditionally bridal, look - quite a statement, but an incredibly beautiful one.

 

So this bride is faced with a dilemma - does she go for the 'safe', traditional bridal option, which everyone will expect, and which she knows she will feel comfortable and unselfconscious in on the day, but then perhaps regret not buying the really different dress that she can't stop thinking about?   Or does she go for the different dress that she really loves, and worry about feeling over-the-top on the day, and wish she had gone for the 'safe' option?  There is no right answer here - the only person who can make that decision is the bride herself, and I'm pretty sure she will make the right decision in the end.

 

I wonder if this sort of decision's made all the harder by the idea that a bridal gown has to conform to certain 'standards'.  That a bridal gown should be plain ivory or white, with some detail on, and apparently  that this is what every girl dreams of.  Of course we are bombarded in the wedding media by pictures of pure ivory gowns on every page, and row upon row of the same in bridal shops.  Now, that is, in my experience, what most girls want (and if you do fancy the traditional 'big white dress', then you should embrace that single chance to wear it with every ounce of enthusiasm!)

 

But I also know, from my own experience, that it's not what every bride wants.  Because it's not what I wanted.  My own gown was bridal in its own way, but it certainly wasn't all ivory or white, and I think it turned a few heads on the day.   I set out on my dress shopping experience knowing one thing - that I didn't want a traditional bridal gown. This was long before I owned a bridal store, and I can tell you that  it was not easy to find!  At every turn I was met by women who wanted to persuade me into increasingly meringue-like dresses, because that was their image of what-a-girl-should-get-married-in.  I stuck to my guns and ended up with something I loved, with not a pavlova in sight, but I had to stick to those guns pretty hard.

For girls who aren't as bolshi as me, I think it can be a pretty tough thing.  Society, the media, and your friends and family will all have a tendency to make you question your decision to go with a 'different' dress.  When you are surrounded by images of what a bridal gown 'ought' to be, and well-meaning friends and relations are suggesting to you that you might regret not going down the traditional route, it can be hard to stand up and say that no, your image of a bridal gown doesn't have to be like that.  And it can make you worry that your guests or loved ones might even be disappointed with your choice of gown if you don't play it safe with the traditional option.

My advice is always, always, to stick to what feels right for you.  Let your personality shine though, and remember: It's Your Decision.

If you've always dreamt of a short dress, or a coloured dress, or just something a bit different - if that screams 'MY wedding gown' to you, then please stay true to what you love and don't be swayed by what other people like.   I know how this feels, and I know that it can feel a little unsettling to have people question your choice, but often it's just because other people can't imagine not wanting the traditional gown.

If, on the other hand, you've thrown yourself a complete curveball by ending up liking something quite different when you thought you'd go traditional, you might have a slightly harder decision to make.  Try to build up a picture of the whole wedding, rather than just a picture of you in the dress.  Think about your bridesmaids, colours, decor, flowers, stationery, and how everything ties together.  That can really help to cement which sort of dress is going to work best for you - and could rule one dress out entirely.  And ultimately, if you think the 'different' dress is the one, be brave!  Remember that the only people who really truly matter on the day are you and your fiancé.  If you love your dress, you'll look fabulous in it, which will mean that he will love it too.

It Costs How Much??

For those of us who build our wardrobe with clothes that are bought from high street stores (mine personally has everything from Primark to Calvin Klein in it) the price of a wedding dress can prove a bit hard to swallow.  Wedding dresses can cost anything between £400 and £4000 (and upwards!) – depending on what you’re buying and where you’re buying it from.  In these budget conscious times it not uncommon ask questions about the cost of a wedding dress. It's not helped by crafty counterfeiters whose work is all over the internet, and who try to make brides think they're getting ripped off by the bricks and mortar shops.

 

So why the heck do they cost what they cost?  Lets break it down…

 

The Designer

 

Do you get paid for your work?  Well so does the person who designs your wedding dress.  These are very skilled and creative people who studied hard to learn their craft and get paid accordingly.  The best dresses are designed to flatter real people - and making a dress do that is a craft in itself.

 

Materials

 

When you run your hand down the exquisite material of a wedding dress or you admire its beading or lace you are admiring the work of the person who sources all the materials for the designer.  This person hunts high and low for the best silk, the best diamante and crystals, at the best price to make your dress.

 

Pattern cutter

 

A true craft, once the designer has completed their piece, a pattern to bring their dress to life has to be created, and cut.  Not just in one size but perhaps in sizes 6 to 32 (depending on the designer).  Different sizes will need slightly different attention - it's not just a case of making the pattern bigger.

 

Marketing the dress

 

So once the designer has designed, and the pattern has been cut, a couple of the dresses are made and taken to a large exhibition to show different shops what they can buy.  Exhibitions cost a lot of money as do the marketing materials such as the photographs you see in bridal magazines.   But these are an essential tool both for the retailer, and for you, the bride, in helping you to make the right choice for your wedding day.

 

The costs of the Bridal shop

 

Buying the sample:  As a bridal retailer we have buy all of the sample dresses that we have in our shop.  Contrary to popular belief, we don't get discounts for these, we have to pay full whack. But without the samples, what would you try on?  This is an absolutely vital part of the shopping experience for you - we can't imagine how you'd make your choice without them!

 

Rent:  To be a bridal retailer who carries legitimate designs (i.e Maggie Sottero, Benjamin Roberts, Romantica of Devon, etc) you have to have a ‘bricks and mortar’ shop, that brides can visit to try on the designs.  So we do, we have a shop that costs us rent, electricity, heating, council rates, insurance - the list goes on and on, and sadly all that costs money too.

 

Staff:  We also hire and train skilled staff who are able to help and advice customers in their shopping.  This is a fairly obvious and visible part of what we do, of course, but once a bride buys a dress we then complete all the administration to send the order to the designer, which is more time consuming than you might think.  There is a huge amount of 'behind the scenes' work that goes into your order.

 

Ordering your dress from the Designer

 

The orders department at the designer will process the dress order, they will enter this into the production system (accurately – a mistake here could see the wrong dress arrive, or the wrong size of dress!)

 

The Factory

 

The factory receive the order and allocate it to the work load of its staff.  This has to be done to ensure the right product in the right size and colour is made by the required deadline for shipping.  There is no room for error, so Designers don't tend just to pick the cheapest factory - it's more important to get things right.

 

The machinist / fabric cutter / finishing

 

These are the skilled people who bring the fabric and materials together to actually make the dress.  They measure and cut the fabric, they sew it together, insert linings, facings, boning, sew on embroidery, beads and applique.  To create a single gown, hundreds of pieces need to be cut, draped, stitched, beaded, appliqued....

 

Quality control / packaging / shipping

 

So once the product is finished it will be checked for quality, it will then be packaged up and then shipped to the UK (usually from the far East – its an expensive journey).

 

Arriving with the designer

 

After a long journey your dress then arrives with the Designer at their distribution warehouse.  Here it will be checked again, steamed, re-packaged and then sent out for dispatch to the bridal shop where you bought it from.

 

Courier

 

Your dress is couriered from the designer to the bridal shop where you bought it.  No one can risk gowns going missing, so they have to be fully trackable packages, sent by couriers, often overnight, and this can be quite costly in itself.

 

Arriving at the shop

 

So finally your dress has arrived at the shop!  It is opened and checked over by a member of staff, time is set aside to steam / press the dress (this cannot be done when customers are in the shop so either we can’t take any appointments or it is done out of hours).   Once we are happy you are contacted and invited back into the shop for an appointment to try on the dress and make sure you are completely happy.

 

 

To be honest when I see what goes into making a wedding dress I’m often surprised that they don’t cost more.  They aren’t manufactured in the same way that New Look make jeans – there is no bulk buying power as dresses are only made to order.  Everybody in that chain is doing a job, and receives a wage for the job that they do, the transport costs, the buildings that cost money to run, it all adds up.

 

BUT what it adds up to is a process that provides you with a beautiful, well designed and well made dress that goes through several quality checks, all FOR YOU.  When it is your wedding day would you want to wear a dress that goes through anything less?

Carphin by St Andrews - Bit of a Wow Venue

Carphin House

Last weekend I was lucky enough to view a new wedding venue in Fife, Carphin House.  I say 'new', it is, in fact, a very old house, built in the 1790s.  But it has only recently become available as a venue for your wedding.  And honestly, this is one to go and see.

Location-wise, this is fabulous.  It's just outside the village of Luthrie, in a part of Fife that my husband fondly refers to as 'The Shire' because of its lush green rolling hills.  The house itself is beautiful, and whilst it boasts all mod cons and has a lovely plush, up-to-date feel, it has retained oodles of charm with beautiful antique furniture, period colours and no shortage of character.  Great photo opportunities outside in the lovely grounds, but should the slightly unreliable Scottish weather not be quite so wonderful, you are guaranteed some great shots anyway, because the interiors are really lovely.



Interior of Highland Tipi. Wowzers.

You and your bridal party can stay here, in the 7, incredibly luxurious, en-suite bedrooms.  For small wedding parties you could have the whole thing inside the house, or for larger numbers you can have a Tipi or Marquee in the beautiful grounds.  The Tipi from Highland Tipis that was on display there at the weekend may not have looked big from the outside, but it took my breath away when I stepped inside.  I didn't realise it was possible to have such luxury and glamour under canvas.... I'm an absolute HATER of camping, but even I could manage to stay in one of these.

But the real beauty of this venue is the amazingly flexible approach of the team.  You won't be met with a set schedule or set way of doing things here.  If you've got ideas about how you'd like to do things, they want to hear them, and from what I can gather, they want to help make them happen.  This is why it's right up my street.  I love a flexible approach and I really believe that the more personal you keep your wedding, the more you and your guests will enjoy it.

Stay posted, we hope to have some more pictures of this venue soon...

The Drawing Room

Happy Birthdays!

This month at Aliya Rose we are wishing ourselves a very Happy 5th Birthday!

We can’t believe that it is 5 years… in some ways it feels like yesterday that we were opening our doors for the first time, and in others it feels like forever. I, for one, can’t imagine a life without Aliya Rose!



Accessory Zone



To celebrate, we have lots of things planned, mostly themed around the number 5. You may already know that if you book a dress appointment in February or March, you will be entered into a big prize draw. Five lucky brides will win £50 worth of Aliya Rose gift vouchers. Perfect for spending in the Accessory Zone.  And not to be sniffed at! More details can be found at www.aliyarose.co.uk



Starstruck Designs
'Aliya' Side tiara



Not only this but there will be a programme of events at the shop to help us celebrate. More details will follow, but we are planning a really special Accessories Evening next month, where you can pop in to view our beautiful range of jewellery, tiaras, headbands, veils and jackets, including the fabulous new, UK designed and made,Starstruck Designs range. There will be special offers on the night, and of course a celebratory glass of fizz! Stay tuned for more details.







Ellis 11286



One of our fantastic suppliers, Ellis Bridals, is also celebrating a birthday this year… only they have been going a little longer than us! Ellis Bridals is a very healthy 100 years old! They are one of the longest established bridal manufacturers in the country, and they are still a family-run business, based in Britain.





Their 100 years of experience has certainly taught them how to create perfect bridal gowns. Their latest collection is aptly named the Centenary Collection, and we are very proud to stock it at Aliya Rose. It’s full of really beautiful designs, including this one, which is an absolute cracker – a classic fairytale beauty with such a romantic look, guaranteed to make your waist look tiny!

And lastly, I’d also like to wish my son, Drew, a happy birthday too. He turns 9 this week. He often advises me on dresses he thinks look good, and is very VERY honest about dresses he doesn’t think much of. And he is scarily good at it. So it seems appropriate to give him a mention here too!

Does Size Matter?

Ok ladies. You’ve probably heard all sorts of things about sizing of bridal gowns. Some of it may have made sense, and some of it may have mystified you entirely. It can certainly be very confusing to find yourself buying a £1000 dress whose label states that it’s a completely different size from the one you’d normally buy from the high street!

But we all want to make sure that on the big day there are NO muffin tops or back-cleavages in evidence, and that your wedding dress is possibly the most flattering thing you’ll ever wear!

So how on earth does this mystical bridal sizing thing work?

Well, there isn’t really some kind of magical trade secret here. In actual fact it works very much like any other clothing manufacturing. Each manufacturer works to their own size chart, and each dress they produce will correspond to the measurements on their size chart. The confusion starts because:

1) As you will know from shopping on the high street, sizes can vary hugely from shop to shop. In Next you might be a size 10, but in Monsoon you might be a 12. Bridal designers are no different, because each designer or manufacturer will be working from a different size chart, so a Benjamin Roberts size 10 will not necessarily be the same as an Ella size 10. And just because you wear a Next size 10 doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be a size 10 in bridal gowns! Each bridal shop will have all the size charts relevant to the designers they stock, and they’ll all be trained in how to use them!

2) When you compare someone’s actual measurements to a size chart (ANY size chart, whether it’s Marks & Spencers or Maggie Sottero), it’s very, very unusual for anyone to be the same size on their bust, waist and hips. It’s far more usual for someone to be, say, a size 12 bust, size 14 waist and size 10 hips. In ‘normal’ clothes which have a bit of stretch in them (thank god for Lycra), this doesn’t really matter, and in fact a size 12 top wouldn’t feel too small on their waist at all. However, bridal gowns are not normally made from stretchy fabrics. Unlike most ‘normal’ clothes, bridal gowns are very tailored with heavily structured bodices. This means that there’s no give in them. And if your bust measures a 12 and your waist measures a 14, then you won’t get away with the 12 on your waist – that 2 inches of difference between the sizes might be the difference between you looking fabulously gorgeous, and bursting the zip, having spent the whole day being unable to eat or breathe properly.

3) A lot of bridal size charts come up small compared to high street manufacturers size charts. You may have found in the past that some shops are a little generous with their sizing (and we all like to be flattered!), and some manufacturers are becoming increasingly flattering with their sizes! Some bridal manufacturers (unfortunately for all of us who like to know the size on the label is a small number!) don’t tend to be all that flattering with their sizing. This can mean that when combined with the effect of point 2), when you compare your measurements to the size chart, instead of the size 12 you were expecting, your measurements fit more neatly into a size 16. Trust the size chart here. Ignore what ‘label’ they give these measurements and remind yourself that the most important thing here is that your dress fits whatever your largest measurement is properly. There is nothing worse than seeing a bride in a dress that is too tight.

4) Sample sizes can be incredibly deceptive. During appointments I’m usually bombarded with questions about what size this or that sample is. But my answer is always the same - the size on the label of a sample dress is largely irrelevant. Why? Because sample dresses are tried on over and over again, by people of all shapes and sizes. They have to be cleaned. And all of that can stretch the dresses. A well used sample dress in a size 14 might actually be an inch bigger than a brand new size 14 dress in exactly the same design. And that inch can really count! At Aliya Rose we rarely use samples as a true guide for size – we always take measurements once you’re ready to order a dress, and work from there.

5) Some designers use US sizes. Which are not the same as British sizes, even though they are called 10, 12, 14 etc. Again, the important numbers here are the measurements of your bust, waist, and hips. Don’t get hung up on the number that they give the size!

So here are my top tips for brides with regard to size:
• Forget the size you wear in ‘normal’ clothes.
• Try to leave your size vanity at the door. It can be hard, but remember at all times that you will NOT be walking down the aisle with the size label hanging out the back of your dress (I hope!), so no one needs to know what size your dress is. Cut it out if you want, and also remember that once your dress has been altered, it’s ‘you’ sized, not a size 14 or 20 or whatever the label said.
• Take the shop’s advice. At Aliya Rose we WANT your dress to be as much the right size for you as possible. We always show you where your measurements are on the size chart so that you can understand why we’re ordering the size we are. We hope that our customers leave understanding how it works, but we’re always open to questions if people aren’t sure! So don’t be afraid to ask if you feel you need clarification.
• If a dress is too small for you, it will make you look bigger. But if it’s the right size all over, you’ll instantly appear to lose pounds without making any effort. How can that be a bad thing?

Underwater Wedding Photography. Yes, underwater.

Normally, when the words ‘wedding dress’ and ‘swimming pool’ are mentioned in the same sentence, one would think of those poor unfortunate brides captured for eternity on their wedding video falling into their venue’s swimming pool fully clothed, and then shown on You’ve Been Framed….

But in this case, when the wedding dress and the swimming pool are combined with an extremely skilful photographer and make up artist, a beautiful model, and a WHOLE lot of careful planning, you get one of the most amazing bridal shoots ever.

When we responded to photographer Jonathan Ryan’s request to supply a dress for an underwater wedding shoot, we were really quite excited about the prospect. Here at Aliya Rose we’ve always liked things that are a bit eye-catching or different, so there was something about this idea that really appealed. And even though we weren’t sure if our valuable dress would survive, we reckoned it was worth taking the plunge, as it were. What is life if you can’t take a risk or two?

This incredible photo is only the second one we’ve seen from the shoot. And frankly we cannot WAIT to see the rest (although we’re giving poor Jonathan some time to recover – he was, understandably, pretty exhausted after hours of shooting underwater).

You can find another amazing photograph here http://peoplebyryan.com/photoblog/mermaid

There will be more, but don't hold your breath..... ;)