I had a very brief chat with Sharon Bowen at last years wholesale bridal show – she was an incredibly nice, decent person. I have a confession to make – I sometimes get majorly intimidated by highfalutin wedding fashion designers (which may well say more about me than about them… insecure etc etc. OK, shut up already.) But there are some in the industry that have a knack for putting people at ease – worries about having spinach stuck in your teeth, or frumpy hair, or being so downright ordinary in the face of glamour fade into the background whilst in their company!

So basically, Sharon Bowen is nice. And extraordinarily talented – her dresses are very very classy. Check out her website for more eye-candy.

*groan*. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Vivien Sheriff is the queen of bridal millinery, and if you haven’t spotted her confections lately, you’re in for a treat. Her 2010 range is even more stunning than 2009 (which is saying something – 2009 was a GOOD year in the Vivien Sheriff designing world).

Since I am blessed with an extraordinarily large head (it creates its own gravitational field), I’m really not sure how her hats would look on me (you need to be feeling sorry for my mother right now – she had to give BIRTH to this thing), but my head aside, if you are looking for something extraordinarily stylish and different from your regular bridal veil, especially if you’re going somewhere a little vintage with your style, Viven Sheriff may well be the milliner for you.

Take a look at her website »

Well that’s a freaky coincidence. I spotted an ad with a wedding dress so lovely it made my eyes ache, looked up the advertised web address and realised that it’s a new ready to wear range by Alan Hannah – how exciting! Apologies internet for two Alan Hannah posts in a row, but it was an accident, honest.

Anyway. MiaMia Bridal. What can I say, but “Wow!”. Go look yourself if you don’t believe me. MiaMia Bridal »

Alan Hannah has also sent me a couple of shots from their latest collection called English Romantics due out very soon (thanks Alan!). Oh, I’m exceedlingly smitten with the flower neckline number on the right.

I received a heads-up late last year from Alan Hannah – they’re in the middle of photographing their new collection for 2010, (which isn’t on their website just yet… but soon, apparently.  Patience is a virtue, and all that.  I’m the most patient person in the world.  WOULD YOU HURRY UP ).  Anyway, their ad is apparently running on Wedding TV (you may have seen it) – it’s very pretty, and deserves more than the 260 views it currently has on YouTube!

I’ve stumbled across Veromia a few times in my travels, thought they had very pretty gowns but nothing that really inspired me to blog, but my word, Jason Jennings has come up trumps with this lovely vision of a wedding dress – absolutely exquisite.  This would be an inspired choice for any bride who doesn’t want white, and the combination of brown and pink (which sounds really quite foul – “Yes, I’m getting married in brown and pink”…!, but in this dress is simply gorgeous) would suit a lot of different complexions.

View the Veromia website »

I avoid posting about US designers simply because this blog is really for UK readers, and it seems a bit pointless waxing lyrical over designers who are fairly inaccessible to Brit brides, unless they’re into jetting off overseas for the sake of their big day.

Carolina Herrera is one of those US designers who I’ve heaved wistful sighs over – she has utterly gorgeous wedding gowns that make me drool on every perusal. So after another idle glance through her website this morning, I discovered (to my delight) that Browns Bridal is the sole stockist in the UK, so if you too were longing for a Carolina Herrera gown, you’re now officially in luck, and you’ll only need to go as far as London.

I was excited to see that Charlotte Balbier has posted on her blog some images (admittedly small, but I’m guessing things are still a little under wraps until the official launch) of her 2010 collction – looks fabulously girlishly pink. You can follow her on Twitter too.

Just got an email from Jeff (thanks Jeff!) about a new online wedding planner he’s built called My Wedding Workbook – it has loads of extremely detailed planning tools, checklists, task calenders, and so on.

What with so many cool (and free!) planning tools online now, you barely need wedding planning books, though you still need to do something with all of the bits and pieces of paper you pick up along the way, so you could make a good argument for using both.

If you’re a classic apple shape, you’ll probably have a tendency to carry weight around your middle.  On the up side, you’ll probably have fantastic boobs, and slim arms, legs and hips.  Head straight to ‘dress-that-shows-off-great-bosom-and-hips’, do not pass go!  The basic idea is to emphasise the illusion of waist, so a bodice with an A-line skirt is a great look for you, as are empire line dresses.

If you want to go strapless, avoid a bodice that cuts straight across – you’ll look much better in a dress with shaping to show off your cleavage.  The other great option is going with a v-neck gown as it will do all of the right things: lengthening your neck, and minimising the width across your boobs and shoulders.

For skirts, go for a softly fitting skirt that skims the hipline, but avoid any fussiness or detail at your waist as it will emphasise it.  If you’ve got slim legs, why not show them off in a tea-length gown with a fab pair of show-stopping shoes?

If you want a jacket with your gown, avoid box jackets – they’ll do you no favours. Instead opt for a gently fitted jacket.

Left to right:

Ian Stuart, Alan Hannah, Jesus Peiro

Body shape plays such an important part in what wedding gown you will suit. If you go to a decent wedding shop, they should be able to give you a look over and recommend a style, hopefully in a more tactful manner than Trinny and Susannah!

So what suits the hourglass figure? Well, as the bearer of an hourglass figure (yippee!), though sadly with short arms and legs and a long torso (curses!), I can start by telling you what hourglass figures DON’T suit, and that is anything that doesn’t go in at the waist, but rather hangs from the chest. It creates a rather unfortunate ’shelf’ illusion, which will only make you look pregnant. So avoid empire line dresses (ala Jane Austen), and box jackets – they’ll do you no favours.

On the other hand, us hourglassers can embrace the fifties styles with relish – anything that pulls in at the waist and emphasises it is superb. Corset bodices will also make you look wonderful, and your groom’s eyes pop (just don’t do it up too tightly, or your eyes will pop too…!).

Fishtail skirts will make your legs look longer (big tick!), but avoid bias cut skirts – they’ll add a bit too much curve to your bottom half. Also avoid lots of pleating and ruffles, as they’ll make your bottom look bigger than your top half, turning you into a pear! A-line skirts are fab on hourglass women.

Left to right:

Augusta Jones, Benjamin Roberts, and Stephanie Allin (wow!!!)