Bridal style Archives - Smashing the Glass

New York Bridal Market Fall 2019 Recap {and Top Bridal Trends for 2019}

16/10/2018 by Emily Sacharin Leave a Comment

Ines Di Santo’s afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images

5 days, 18 appointments, approximately 57 million Insta stories (if you missed them, you can catch the best bits in our highlights), and countless fantastic dresses later, New York Bridal Fashion week is over for another season. Basically Fashion Week for wedding dresses, Bridal Fashion Week (aka Bridal Market) is easily one of the most fun times of a wedding blogger’s year.

Some of the collections are presented at full-on runway shows (and Ines Di Santo put on a particularly epic one this Bridal Market, plus the coolest afterparty at the Baccarat Flagship), while others are shown at more intimate appointments for small groups of buyers from bridal boutiques (plus press, of course), sometimes with the designers present.

Suzanne Neville

Limor Rosen

Ines Di Santo Photo by FIRSTVIEW

I had some fantastic conversations with designers and PR reps, learned a ton about everything from who actually buys those epic but unwearable-looking designs you see on the runway (answer: often no one, since some designs are purely intended for editorial impact and never even make it to production) to the differences between what American and British brides are looking for in a gown (according to Sassi Holford, it’s half an inch: Americans invariably want deeper sweetheart necklines, while the Brits prefer theirs with less of a dip). The more you know!

There’s so much fantastic bridal fashion in the pipeline for next year, and I’m so excited to share it with you, along with my take on some of the top trends we’ll be seeing (or, in some cases, continuing to see) over the next year. From classic elegance inspired by Meghan Markle’s gown to a burgeoning range of alt coverups from capes to ruffs (perfect for under the chuppah!) to unexpected bursts of color, 2019’s going to be an exciting year for bridal. Pin your favorite looks!

Caroline Castigliano

Suzanne Neville

Smashing The Glass at New York Bridal Market!

05/10/2018 by Emily Sacharin Leave a Comment

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeeear… New York Bridal Fashion Week, aka Bridal Market! It’s basically Fashion Week, but for bridal designers. And now that Team STG has a New York-based member – that’d be me, Emily, your friendly Client Relations Manager – we’re able to bring you the Spring ‘19 fashions live from the catwalk.

Bridal Market really is one of the exciting times in a wedding blogger’s year, and we have invites to some absolutely fantastic shows this time around. I’ll be posting it all on Smashing The Glass’s Instagram Stories, so stay tuned over the next few days for some gorgeous gowns, fab accessories, and a behind-the-scenes peek into the life of a wedding blogger!

I have a super packed schedule over the next few days – I’ll be running around the city from Midtown to Chelsea to Soho to see the latest and greatest from some of our absolute favorites, including Lela Rose and Ines Di Santo (I’ll be joining the fabulous Caroline Burstein of Browns Bride for these two!), Vera Wang, Alon Livne, Dany Mizrachi, Halfpenny London, Hermione de Paula, Lee Petra Grebenau, Emmy London, Caroline Castigliano, Limor Rosen, Sassi Holford, aaaand… Suzanne Neville!

Follow along at #STGBridalMarket

Mirror Mirror London: Celebrating 29 Years of Beautiful Brides

27/09/2018 by Smashing The Glass Leave a Comment

This is a guest post by Maria Yiannikaris, co-founder of Mirror Mirror London

It’s a family affair!

Jane, my business partner, and I look at each other and smile, not actually believing so much time has passed since we first hatched the idea of starting a bridal design company. We had both trained at The London College of Fashion, but our paths didn’t cross until some years later.

Being raised by a very talented mother in the clothing industry it seemed only natural for me to go into clothing design. My parents were originally disappointed as they would have preferred I became a lawyer!

I had worked as a commercial designer (technical pattern cutting and turning a flat design into a beautiful 3-dimensional form is still one of my favourite things) both in high street fashion and luxury evening wear when I took a sabbatical to raise my young family.

I was still working on private commissions from home when I made my first wedding gown, a beautiful labour of love for my younger sister. Working with beautiful evening wear fabrics had left me with the idea that if I was to stay in design I only wanted to work with the most beautiful and the very best quality fabrics.

From Sketch to Dress: A Q&A with Master Bridal Designer Caroline Castigliano

20/09/2018 by Karen Cinnamon Leave a Comment

So you’re a newly engaged bride – yaaaaay! What’s the first thing on your mind (after sharing the big news with your family and friends, of course)?

If you’re like us, it just might be the dress. It may even have been on your mind way before you got engaged – how many of us can truly say we’re not guilty of sneaking the occasional peak at a favorite designer’s website, or in their shop window?

Your dress is such a huge component of your wedding style, and we know finding one that’s the right fit for you is of the utmost importance. So what could be better than having a bespoke gown made? And by master wedding dress designer Caroline Castigliano, no less?

One of our absolute favorite designers here at STG, Caroline Castigliano has been working at the forefront of British bridal design for 27 years. She’s known for her ultra-unique bespoke gowns, featuring all kinds of fantastic details from the finest fabrics to the signature hidden corset (designed to define and balance your figure to perfection).

Every Caroline Castigliano gown is a one-of-a-kind piece, and each is handcrafted in the UK, and the dreamy Knightsbridge store is one of the world’s ultimate bridal destinations.

That’s why we’re so thrilled to bring you a Q&A with the Caroline Castigliano team on what you can expect from Caroline Castigliano’s bespoke design process. Read on for some serious bridal fashion inspo.

SCREAM The Browns Bride SALE boutique is now open!

19/07/2018 by Karen Cinnamon

Galia Lahav Alexandra wedding dress I £10,700.00 £5,350.00

OK, so we can’t quite believe this but one of our all time favourite bridal boutiques Browns Bride have opened up a SALE boutique. We have wished for this for so long – we can’t quite believe it’s actually here!

The Browns Bride Sale Boutique gives all brides an amazing opportunity to purchase a beautiful designer gown at a price within your budget. With up to 70% off dresses by dream designers such as Galia Lahav, Mira Zwillinger, Peter Langner and Reem Acra (permanently!) get your skates (or your Jimmy Choo’s!) on and visit the Sale boutique.

Just like the Browns Bride flagship store, their sale boutique is by appointment only, offering the same personal service (including a glass of bubbly!) that they renowned for. Each appointment is an hour long, with an appointment fee of £20.