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.

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.

David Fielden is at the very top end of his field for wedding gown design, and his designs are jaw-droppingly lovely.  I imagine they have a jaw-dropping price tag, though don’t take my word for it – they just LOOK expensive.  He’s easily in the “top designers in the world” category and on a par with Vera Wang, so if you’re looking for an unbelieveably stunning gown and have a big budget, take a look at his website.  (Shame his website is so awful…!  I really really REALLy hate it when people have music on their website and don’t have a mute button, meaning you have to mute your computer.  STOP IT ALREADY. )

View David Fielden Stockists »

Vera Wang, the queen of bridal designers, has posted two Youtube videos of her 2009 collection – absolutely stunning, and the music is pretty cool too.  Enjoy!

Our current wedding fashion trends feel really diverse – you can have a wedding gown style based on pretty much any era of fashion and still be extremely fashionable.

So what’s in store for this year and next?  What wedding dress styles are hot, or going to become hot?  Some leading wedding gown designers were asked that same question, and the following are what they predicted.

1. Sexy Slinky Silhouettes

If you’ve got a fab figure (or fantastic suction underwear!), now is the time to do a victory dance – sexy, figure-hugging wedding dress silhouettes will be hot for the next couple of seasons.

Left to right:

Maggie Sottero, Justin Alexander, Jesus Peiro

2. Ballgown Styles

For those who loved the wildly ridiculous yet fabulous gowns in Gone with the Wind (*blush*), and for many of us who want to disguise our thighs, ballgown style wedding gowns are back. Fabulous! Ballgown wedding dresses have many rather wonderful upsides, including squishing you into the shape you desire, giving you fabulous cleavage, and being impossible to remove on your own .

From left to right:

Sottero & Midgley, Maureen Myring Kesterton, Ian Stuart

3. Fifties style wedding gowns

This is the one I’m really very pleased about – I always have and probably always will love 50’s style glamour. There’s something about the whole belted waist idea that makes me happy.   And the Stephanie Allin gown on the left is probably my current favourite gown of any I’ve seen (…and I see a LOT).

From left to right:
Stephanie Allin, Sarah Danielle, Suzanne Ermann

4. Mermaid Style Wedding Gowns

Apparently mermaid style wedding gowns are also a fifties influence, and thinking about it, one of my favourite dresses of all time is the dress Audrey Hepburn wore to the races in My Fair Lady – an extremely tight-fitting mermaid style gown.

From the left:

Benjamin Roberts, Pronovias, Ellis Bridals

5. Tea-length wedding dresses

Tea-length wedding dresses are fabulous for a more casual, less traditional wedding, especially if you have a nice pair of pins and some knock-out shoes.   Once again, the 50s influence is shining through!

From left to right:

Alan Hannah, Charlotte Balbier, Leigh Hetherington,

6. Grecian Goddess wedding dresses

Are you in touch with your inner goddess?  Grecian style wedding dresses are hot at the moment – high-waisted with floaty materials, they would make me look like a mountain, but if you’re slim and smaller breasted, it’s a style that could look stunning.

From left to right:

August Jones, Lambert Creations, Manuel Mota

For all closet Disney Princess dress style lovers, you can come out – ballgown is back.  Top designers all agree that ballgown is going to be a dominant style this season, so if you drooled over Gone With the Wind, you’re in luck!

Of course, if you really are a mad keen Disney Princess style lover, you could always go for the real thing – Disney have launched their own bridal range…!

From left to right:

Maureen Myring Kesterton, Hollywood Dreams, Benjamin Roberts

From left to right:

Justin Alexander, Maggie Sottero, Mori Lee