One of the world’s most famous supermodels, Kate Moss, tied the knot on Friday with long-time boyfriend  and rocker Jamie Hince from The Kills.  The stunning beauty opted for a simple and chic gown designed by the infamous Galliano and paired with Manolo Blahnik shoes with blue lining.  Kate’s vintage-inspired wedding dress featured a simple v-neckline with sheer straps and a sultry bias-cut silhouette to show off the supermodel’s long slender legs.  The cream colored chiffon overlay was decorated with gold beading and gold applique along the bottom.  The fashion forward and romantic gown was a good match for the small English country church where the couple married.

Kate opted to use her favourite celebrity artist team with Sam McKnight tending to her hair and Charlotte Tilbury doing her make-up. Her loose curls and natural make-up paired perfectly with her bohemian chic wedding dress. For her reception, the supermodel further wooed the crowd by changing outfits custom created by Stella McCartney including an oyster silk chiffon with a diamond-shape, chain embroidered bodice and cut-out back designed and mini  dress with micro bugle beads and a plunging back.

Kate’s decision to opt for less traditional and more simple gown is a trend arising among Vancouver brides.  Many brides are searching for wedding dresses that are fashion forward and unique to show off their own personal style and taste.   Straps, halters, and v-neck lines have become more popular as many Vancouver brides want options other than strapless gowns.  Also many brides are choosing to accentuate their figure and be comfortable by seeking gowns form fitting gowns made of lighter weight fabric with little or no train.  Although Kate Moss’s wedding dress may be  more extreme than the average bride, the trends made prominent in her gown are sure to influence to styles and details of the emerging 2012 Bridal Collections.

Haute couture fashion dominates the pages of the latest issue of the high fashion glossy L’Officiel Ukraine, with a gorgeous editorial spread photographed by Justin Wu. Model Mariana Idzkowska is outfitted in couture garments by Valentino, Elie Saab and Maison Martin Margiela. The regal setting provides amazing architecture and the soft light and neutral background set off by shades of crimson creates a romantic and dreamlike feeling.

This stunning piece by Valentino provides great inspiration for bridal fashion. A major bridal trend for 2011 has been a shift towards shorter gowns. While some less traditional brides are choosing to embrace this new option for their special day, others are choosing to stay with a more traditional gown for the ceremony, but changing into something more casual and fun for the reception. The use of pre-structured bows is also a popular bridal trend for 2011.

This is an absolutely gorgeous shot which speaks to the romantic bride. Brides hoping to recreate this dreamlike quality for their wedding photos should consider taking shots at a historical venue which provides strikingarchitecture, such as Hycroft House or the Vancouver Art Gallery. These locations also provide open shade which minimizes harsh shadows and creates a soft, sensuous light. Red accessories can be used to create stark contrast for more edgy shots.

Soft eyes and gentle waves set off by bold lips creates a retro look to match the architecture of the shoot. The less daring bride could opt for a ruby stained lip to show off her femininity in a more subdued way.

Layers of sheer fabric flowing from the waistline creates a romantic silhouette that’s ideal for the elegant bride. The dress shows off the figure of the bride by drawing attention to waistline, without being too flashy or embellished.

La Novia Bridal recently opened it doors as Vancouver’s first haute couture bridal boutique, featuring exquisite gowns created by acclaimed local designer Jason Matlo.

The boutique is the first commercial space to open on the ground floor of the newly renovated Ranier Hotel in the heart of the historic Gastown. Built in 1907 by architect Emil Guenther, the boutique retains its unique character, complete with decorative ceiling mouldings, exposed brick, and the original Italian venetian tiled floor.

Decorated in hand crafted Art Nouveau and Victorian inspired furniture, the space provides the ideal backdrop for Matlo’s haute couture gowns. The dresses, hung like art pieces along both walls, display the exquisite fabrics, delicate detailing, and uniqueness of each gown. Matlo’s designs are inspired by high fashion, haute couture, and a vintage aesthetic, speaking to the fashionable, elegant bride who has a sense of personal style.

In addition to being the exclusive retailer of Jason Matlo Bridal , La Novia Bridal offers in-house photography packages, as well as hair and makeup services, the first boutique in Vancouver to provide brides with this comprehensive package experience. Brides can learn about all of La Novia’s services while trying on gowns at their personalized consultation, complete with champagne for a truly glamorous experience.

The two to three month turnaround time on dresses, which are created in Yaletown at Matlo’s atelier, is significantly shorter than the standard six month timeframe required for dresses ordered and shipped from overseas. The good news: Brides still have plenty of time to order for late spring, summer and fall weddings!

Paris haute couture week ran from Jan 21-26, 2011, displaying stunning pieces of art by acclaimed fashion houses Christian Dior, Elie Saab, Alexis Mabille, Chanel, and Armani. Although haute couture pieces are often criticized for being impractical, the exquisite fabric, detailing, and structure can provide great inspiration for bridal gowns.

Lebanese designer Elie Saab used delicate flowers, layers of sheer fabrics, and dramatic slits, to create a very feminine romantic look. The gorgeous shades of rose and dream-like silhouettes evident in his collection are trends that are popular for 2011 bridal gowns.

Esteemed couturier, Dior stunned the crowd with dramatic vintage influenced pieces inspired by Rene Gruau, a famous french fashion illustrator popular during 1940′s in the height of haute couture. Although a bit more abstract than Saab’s collection, the highly decorative ball gowns, structured silhouttes, and the as the use of tulle are great bridal elements, and can be incorporated into dresses to suit brides that crave an avant garde touch to their bridal look.

Finally, Alexis Mabille’s utilized a mostly bridal-white palette to create his stunning haute couture gowns,making his latest work an obvious choice for inspiring bridal fashion. The flawless draping and flow of the gowns emphasizes a classic,elegant look, perfect for a beach wedding or romantic garden party.

International designer Jason Matlo presents 3 stunning bridal gowns on Shaw TV’s Urban Rush with hosts Fiona Forbes and Michael Eckford.

Haute couture, which is French for “ high sewing” or “high dressmaking”, is used to categorize garments that have been painstakingly crafted from high quality fabric and are, or appear to be, custom fitted to an individual bride’s figure. Often, the details on haute couture garments are done by hand with particular attention to detail. The intended result is perfection that is visible from across a room and up close. Lately, haute couture has become more than a dressmaking method, it has evolved into a culture that is being embraced in bridal boutiques all over the world as brides are looking for more than just the regular wedding dress buying excursion; they want the whole experience to feel luxurious, exclusive, and high end. Boutique owners have taken notice of the growing haute couture trend and have begun stocking their shops with the dresses, accessories and ambiance to fulfill the wants and needs of even the most demanding brides.

Designers like Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, John Galliano for Dior, Tom Ford for Yves St Laurent and Vera Wang are the flagship designers of wedding couture. For decades they have reached back into the glory days of Paris haute couture and chosen the nostalgic elements that work best for current brides. Finishing touches like flounces, skirting, appliques and the like all serve to add chic detailing that is very couture.  The typical price of a gown by one of these designers ranges from $5,000 to $25,000, but other designers are beginning to create gowns that incorporate couture elements at prices that are much more accessible to the average bride. How are they doing this? By paying special attention to cut, fit and fabric choice and being mindful to keep their detailing simple but gorgeous. Here are some examples of haute couture construction:

Couture gowns have another important feature: they are incredibly versatile. If embellishments are kept to a minimum, many of the designs can be easily worn in a very formal setting like a swanky hotel or posh country club, a backyard garden ceremony or at a destination beach wedding. Better yet, many different body types benefit from the beautiful tailoring which relies more on the shape of the body within the garment’s excellent construction than on elaborate draping to act as camouflage. The effect is sophisticated and intensely feminine, two hallmarks of haute couture.

In the same vein, French salon-style boutiques are popping up. Brides are looking for an entire gown shopping experience instead of just a day in the dress stores; they want to feel like they have stepped back in time to the heyday of Parisian garment design when brides-to-be spent the day in sumptuous surroundings having tailors fit the dress perfectly to their shape. They want all the glamour and drama of high fashion and now they can have it. Bridal stores and boutiques are being decorated to resemble a bridal salon of yesteryear, complete with soft pastel paint, plush seating, chandeliers and gauzy curtains. An example of this is La Novia Bridal in Vancouver, a place where brides can lounge in the gorgeous, peony-coloured boutique (complete with charming antique plaster mouldings) and sip champagne or tea while they browse dresses that fit like a glove but don’t cost an arm and a leg.

For an haute couture inspired wedding gown shopping experience, visit La Novia Bridal in Vancouver at 311 Carrall Street in Vancouver.

Happy shopping and bonne chance!

One-shoulder

Single shouldered gowns have gone mainstream. Five years ago, bridal boutiques were filled with full shouldered, strapless and even spaghetti strapped gowns, but the asymmetrical look was nearly impossible to find; lately, however they have become de rigeur in the world of wedding gown design and now they are flying off the racks at breakneck speed. The reason may be that brides are increasingly looking to distinguish their looks with original touches and the asymmetry of these gowns does just that. There are so many ways to wear this style that it is nearly impossible to come across a dress with the same interpretation of the trend twice. This style is most flattering on  brides with long necks or toned arms, but is really forgiving enough for anyone to wear with confidence. Below we show some of the most popular and flattering ways that any Vancouver bride can take advantage of single shouldered gowns in order to create the best possible look for her wedding day.


Flowery

Brides who love everything spring-y and floral will love this take on the asymmetrical neckline. By attaching flowers to the one shoulder, the designer of this dress has brought an element of whimsy and a dose of nature to an otherwise plain silhouette. This kind of embellishment makes it easy for the bride to get away with simple accessories like diamond stud earrings and a crystal cuff bracelet. No necklace is needed because the neckline is a show stopper all on its own. If you are getting married in the full bloom of summer or if you are having an outdoor wedding in a landscaped setting, a dress like this will help you blend in and stand out at the same time.


Ruffles

Are you a bride who is more playful than serious but still wants to look sophisticated and tasteful on her big day? This type of one shouldered gown may be the answer to your prayers.

The best part about this type is that, at the right height, it will raise just high enough to graze your jawline, making for many beautiful photo opportunities. Plus, there is an impressive range of ruffle choices; you’ll be surprised at all the options available to you if you decide to go with this style. From a very subtle wave in the fabric to a full-on seashell cut, it is nearly impossible to wear the ruffled style the wrong way.


Wrapped

Maybe you are looking for a more understated approach to the single shoulder and do not feel comfortable with the level of drama found in the ruffle or flowery style asymmetrical gowns. This style is a more classic take and recalls the gentle draping of the dresses found on Greek goddesses. By drawing a wider piece of fabric across the body and up over the shoulder, the wrap style is less structured and therefore more soft and feminine that other single shoulder styles. For added drama, look for a gown with this type of draping that adds a shoulder clasp and and a long piece of fabric cascading down the back.


Strapped

If you are a bride who loves all things geometric, then the strapped style of asymmetrical gown might be for you. You can wear it as a one, two or three strap look, depending on how edgy you would like the look to be. It’s a great way to show a little more skin while still making a statement about your personal bridal style.

For more gorgeous wedding gown trends, check out our Jason Matlo Collection.

Increasingly, couples are looking to find a way to capture the intense emotion of their wedding day using photography as a vehicle. There are so many beautiful moments that happen “behind the scenes” on a wedding day that are missed because the bride and groom are trying their best to make every picture perfect by striking just the right pose. However, the best photos are often taken by a photographer who knows how to stand back and wait for the truly meaningful moments to materialise so she can capture them in the quietest and most unobtrusive way possible.

Not only does this approach allow the day to develop organically, it also tells the story about how the event unfolded. As a time capsule of a special moment, a photograph of this nature is rare and priceless.

Couples looking for a way to individualise their wedding photograps have never been more fortunate! Now that LaNovia Bridal offers photography packages that perfectly translate a couple’s individual style through the use of artistic and creative photography, the options for telling the story of your special day are not only endless, but sublime.

Lorilee Keller, LaNovia Bridal’s owner and photographer, has made it her mission to provide couples with photographs that don’t just capture the guests, cake, first dance and the like; she wants to give couples photographs that accurately translate the feeling of the day and the individuality of the couple with style and edge. To accomplish this, she makes sure to get a clear understanding of how the couple envision their day, the dynamic between them and their aesthetic preferences.

Lorilee has managed to elevate wedding photography from the traditional pose and smile style we’re all used to seeing to something intimate and captivating:

By blending the principles of fine art and documentary style photography, Lorilee caters to unconventional couples who want their wedding photographs to be something they’ll never tire of looking at. Fortunately, Vancouver is a perfect place for this because it offers the perfect mix of lush nature and urban chic. Perhaps the most enticing aspect of this type of photography is that it can be reminiscent of high-fashion or editorial magazine spreads that can can range from abstract to minimalist.

Add elements of creativity and spontaneity and you get photographs that combine art, emotion and personality to achieve an exquisite result that any couple will be proud to show off for years to come. No set of photographs is the same; expect your package to be as unique as you are.

Most importantly, Lorilee’s clients know that they are going to be able to relax and have fun while having their photos done:

“Throughout the chaos of the preparations, the pictures, and the wedding ceremony, Lorilee was so calm and reassuring.  Not only did she do an amazing job of the pictures and of executing out our request for “something different” but she also has a knack for capturing  the very special moments during the ceremony. She truly was an angel sent to us and was a huge part of making our day an extra special one. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

-Wayne and Deanna, newlyweds

If you are a couple who want something different and special that truly speaks to who you are together and tells the story of the most important day of your life, contact Lorilee  Keller at La Novia Bridal.

All of the above photos were shot by Lorilee; for more examples check out the photo gallery.

Do you have any questions about wedding photography or experiences that you’d like to share? If so, please comment below.

You’ve probably seen him around  town, dressed to the nines, surrounded by Vancouver’s fashion glitterati and sporting his signature accessory:  half-gloves that encase only his fingers. He is unmistakeable, and not only because of his artful and intruiging sense of personal style. A dominant force in Vancouver’s fashion scene, Jason Matlo has quickly become the go-to label for the style conscious woman who wants to hear jaws hit the floor the minute she walks in a room. To the delight of every fashionable Vancouver woman sporting an engagement ring, Matlo has created a bridal collection that uses exquisite tailoring, luxurious fabrics and stunning silhouettes to take bridal fashion from conventional to sensational.

La Novia Bridal’s owner, Lorilee Keller, immediately recognized the benefit that Jason Matlo’s talent could bring to her avant garde bridal boutique, with its dedication to creative fashion and focus on individual taste. The boutique and designer together create a synergy where the photography and make-up styles work ideally alongside Matlo’s creations.

Thus, La Novia Bridal happily became the exclusive Vancouver distributor of the Jason Matlo Bridal Collection. Their beautiful new Gastown boutique is the only place in the city where Vancouver brides can get their well-manicured hands on the gowns designed by the man who transforms wedding wear into wearable art.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the Jason Matlo Bridal Collection is that it covers an extremely wide range of fashion preferences. Any bride, whether she wants to invoke the feminine glamour of 1930′s high fashion, or the minimalist sophistication of the urban set, will be able to find the gown of her dreams in this collection. La Novia Bridal also offers gowns custom designed for the boutique by Matlo, the most recent of which were two elegant 1940′s Haute Couture inspired dresses.

The following gowns offer a small glimpse of the flawless tailoring and attention to detail that La Novia Bridal is proud to offer exclusively to their brides:

Juliana

An extraordinary gown in its ability to accomplish two things at once: first, it’s body hugging cut flatters a brides curves by accentuating the narrowest part if the body: the waist and, second, the fabric details provide an architectural flair that adds visual interest to the gown.

The quality of the material, shuntung silk, and the care with which the gown was constructed means that the sculptural details will stand the test of time- at no point will the fabric sag, pucker or lose it’s shape. Brides can hit the dance floor for as long as they want knowing that their gown is will continue to look stunning from every angle all night.

Carmen

Leave it to Jason Matlo to take the textured fabric trend and turn it into a gown that is intensely feminine but also, fascinatingly, manages to incorporate the masculine with a black belt detail that brings to mind the high-end elegance of vintage tuxedoes.

In a true testament to Matlo’s aesthetic versatility, this feast for the eyes works in any setting from black-tie to garden thanks to the curious juxtaposition between open work lace texture and structure. The result is the creation of a new classic that brides of all tastes can adapt to suit their individual vision of wedding day perfection.

To see Jason Matlo’s bridal collection and to learn about La Novia Bridal’s range of wedding services, visit the La Novia boutique at 311 Carrall Street in Vancouver, B.C. or visit the website at www.lanoviabridal.com