Katya Katya Shehurina Archives - Smashing the Glass

Good News: Some of Our Favourite London Bridal Boutiques Are Reopening!

11/06/2020 by Karen Cinnamon

Jewish wedding Villa Tiberio Marbella Spain_0044

This news has Team STG almost as excited as Olivia and Paul after they smashed the glass! Olivia found her STUNNING Gemy Maalouf gown at Mirror Mirror, which reopens 4 July

As lockdown regulations loosen throughout the UK, we’re reaching an exciting milestone for the wedding world: bridal boutiques are starting to reopen! Over the next month, some of London’s very finest – including Morgan Davies Bridal, Katya Katya, The Wedding Club, Andrea Hawkes, and Mirror Mirror – will start seeing brides for in-person appointments again for the first time in months, and we are ready for it!

The experience will look a little different than before – like most places these days you can expect plenty of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and social distancing measures, and boutiques are taking a variety of extra safety measures including the following:

Limiting each bride to one guest – although most boutiques are more than happy for you to Facetime the rest of your crew so they can participate virtually
Requesting that brides bring their own shoes to try on with gowns, and that the bride’s guest help dress her rather than a member of the team
Disinfecting fitting rooms and common areas between appointments
Steaming and sanitizing gowns between appointments

But one thing’s going to be just the same, and that’s the absolute magic of finding the dress of your dreams. That, and the absolutely above and beyond service all of these wonderful shops provide for each and every bride. Read on for the details.

Virtual Bridal Fashion Week: Coronavirus Lockdown Edition

07/05/2020 by Emily Sacharin

Photo courtesy of Pronovias, stocked at Mirror Mirror London

Ordinarily, this time of year I’d be reporting back to you with all my hot takes from New York Bridal Market, bringing you the best of the best of the latest bridal fashions. The wedding industry’s answer to Fashion Week, Bridal Market is one of my favorites times of the year (or actually, two of them – like Fashion Week, it happens every April and October).

Photo courtesy of Katya Katya London

It didn’t happen this year. Obivously. As with so many, many eagerly anticipated events, Bridal Market fell victim to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some fab new collections to ogle: even though we couldn’t check them out in person, we’re actually totally obsessed with what we’ve seen of the latest collections.

Photo courtesy of Joyce Young

We weren’t able to feature as wide a lineup of designers and boutiques as we would normally, since a lot is still up in the air right now. But we’re grateful that a handful of our favorite boutiques and designers were in a position to share what they’re excited about for going forward. Top London bridal boutiques Mirror Mirror London and Morgan Davies Bridal, along with designers Katya Katya, based in London and Latvia, and Joyce Young, based in London and Glasgow, shared some absolutely swoonworthy styles I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with.

Photo courtesy of Jesus Peiro, stocked at Morgan Davies Bridal

Majestic Minimalism

How perfect is this Jesus Peiro number (style number 208, to be precise), soon to be stocked by Morgan Davies Bridal?! It also happens to be made of a new eco fabric made from recycled bottles, but more about that later!Continue Reading

White Gallery London 2016

20/05/2016 by Karen

On Monday I attended The White Gallery in London’s Battersea Evolution which is essentially the London Fashion Week of the bridal industry. It’s a trade event for UK and international bridal designers to showcase their 2017 collections to press and buyers, and it feels like stepping through a vortex into the bridal apparel future.

The show took place in the heart of a blossom-filled Battersea Park inside a pavilion that was transformed into an elegant showroom, complete with catwalks and press lounges. The event ran over three days and offered press and buyers access to a diverse range of designers, runways, and of course industry lovelies!

You may have already seen a few sneak peeks of my photos on Instagram, and live commentary and video on Snapchat (and if you’re not yet on Snapchat, you’re missing out on ALL the fun and behind-the-scenes footage!). This post takes it up a notch with my favourite wedding dress and wedding shoe designers, and my six key bridal trends for 2017 as spotted at White Gallery.

If you’re currently on the hunt for your wedding dress or shoes, I do hope that this post will inspire you. All the gorgeous images (unless otherwise stated) are by the super talented Kate Nielen who accompanied me to the show. Feel free to pin and share them to your heart’s content!

Below: clockwise from top: Sassi Holford catwalk show / Emmy London / YolanCris

Stephanie Allin Couture

Stephanie Allin designed my wedding dress and is genuinely one of the loveliest people in the business. What appeals to me about Stephanie, besides her wonderful service and giving nature, is her contemporary take on classic couture and her desire to create wedding dresses for the ‘real bride’ as opposed to what looks best on a model. Her latest collection is inspired by the Italian lifestyle and artistic flair, and incorporates compelling fabrics including metallic jacquard prints on silk organza, and concepts like bridal separates of bra-lets teamed with dramatic skirts.

One a side note, Stephanie definitely gets the award for the most inspired creative campaign (shot by Matt Bird). How uh-mazing is the shot below taken from Stephanie’s new Bellisima collection?!