New Wedding Gown Trends for 2006

While the time-honored wedding traditions are still very important, today’s modern bride isn't afraid to put a new twist on an old idea. Brides are finding novel ways to express their own style with interesting slants on established customs — and yes, even the once-sacred domain of the wedding dress is starting to bend to the trend.

As the owner of an online bridal salon that provides custom design services, I've noticed an increasing number of brides searching for that "special something" to make a gown uniquely theirs. Two of the most common requests I've encountered recently have been involved quite a break from the past — brides are looking for tea length and colored wedding gowns.

Tea length wedding gowns originally saw a surge in popularity during the depression and war eras, when both fabric and money were in short supply. A tea length wedding gown was less expensive and easier to piece together from remnant or recycled fabric, because its mid-calf length and the lack of a train required much less material than the traditional floor length gown.

But most of today’s brides are choosing tea length gowns for reasons of personal style, not a monetary crunch. With so many brides choosing to have smaller, more intimate ceremonies, the tea length wedding gown is making a real comeback.

Despite the growing popularity of tea length gowns, the selection you're likely to find through bridal salons — and even many designers — is still somewhat limited. Many of the brides who have contacted me have expressed frustration over the lack of advice and style choices. One option is to hire a seamstress to sew a gown specifically for you, but that isn't your only choice. There are designers out there, like the ones I work with, who are willing to alter and customize their designs, even to the point of altering a traditional gown into a tea length style! This is a sweet deal for the bride who wants a broad selection to choose from — you can pick from any of their many bridal styles, and simply request that the gown be made as a tea length. So if you have your heart set on a tea length wedding gown, don’t be discouraged — a little research can lead to a wonderful gown that's perfectly, and uniquely, yours.

A sweet tea length confection that's as bridal as they come Gown: Riviera Tea		Brides are growing bolder when it comes to color Gown: Calla Lily

But that's not the only out-of-the-ordinary type of request I'm hearing from brides. Another common call is for color. More than a few brides have told me they're flat-out bored with the vast but monotonous selection of white and ivory. Many of today’s brides are expressing their style in color, even when it comes to their wedding gowns. Some brides go for the subtler color expressions, running from gold and silver embroidery and colored beading to colored sashes and hems. Even more adventurous brides will take it further, with weddings gowns awash in pastels and even dramatic jewel tones. Some of the most common colors you'll find today include navy and light blue, red, rum, lavender and pink – though many other colors show up too, including black.

While fully colored wedding gowns are still a minority offering with most designers, gowns with colored accents are becoming quite common and are easier to track down. Most designers and salons will have at least a few for you to choose from. In either case, if you have a very specific style in mind, you'll probably need to find a seamstress or a designer who offers customized services. Again, a little research may be all it takes to get you that perfect gown straight out of your imagination — without having to spend a fortune.