Planning Your Wedding Part 5: The Dress

The Duchess of Cambridge: Fine, fresh, fierce in Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.



You are engaged!  You're getting used to seeing that sparkling thing on your left hand, you've chosen the venue and date and are starting to think of your guest list (and if you've been keeping up with our recent favorite vendor posts, maybe you've chosen your photographer and menus, too).  Wondering why we've chosen to place this post so far down in the list? We think it's a little easier to choose a dress to suit the location and theme you and your partner have chosen together, rather than planning a multi-thousand dollar event around a single item of clothing. Knowing the location, date and theme, or at the very least the time of year you're planning on, will help narrow down your choices in a vast, vast market of seriously gorgeous ensembles that can quickly become overwhelming if you jump in without a little direction or pre-planning.

So with the when and where out of the way, it's time to stop imagining  the dress of your dreams and start shopping!  Never before have there been so many fantastic choices, from frothy, lacy confections to simple and modern satin numbers.

Check out some of the many we've been eyeing with envy lately!

Perfect for those of us who love classic vintage details or ladies who need a more modest dress for a traditional church wedding, wedding dresses with sleeves made a major comeback after the unveiling of Kate Middleton's flawless gown last year and we are so, so glad they did. 

Also reappearing in our hearts and on runways is this looser, late-Edwardian to 1920s silhouette. London's other Kate, Miss Moss, went with a variation on this theme for her 2011 wedding, going so far as to don a replica of Zelda Fitzgerald's wedding ring - let's hope for Kate's sake that's as far as the marital similarities go. 

Lady Mary Crawley, this dress is for you. 

Another amazing look we love is a beautifully detailed back:

The myriad of dress options out there is truly overwhelming - how did you find yours? Going with an opulent bespoke gown or an amazing vintage find? Tell us about it in the comments!