Tag Archives: Catherine Middleton

Spring 2012 – What’s in Store?

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As the New York Bridal market is about to begin, retailers anxiously await the unveiling of the new collections. Color, fabric, cut and style… who will be showing what and which gown will be the one that sets women’s hearts fluttering?

Since the Spring Collections will be available in Bridal Salons in January for the busy season, this is the big one. The trends for 2012 will be defined at the Spring Bridal Market.

My predictions are for more color in Bridesmaid dresses. I firmly believe that women are ready to come out of the dark ages and express themselves with a burst of color, getting away from the  little black bridesmaid dress. The most popular colors? Greens, Oranges, Yellows and Reds. White could be a big color for bridesmaids, having seen several examples of the monochromatic scheme done in spectacular fashion this year!

Continuing the hiatus from extravagant veils, I believe women will  focus more on  glamorous headpieces and more natural hairstyle with lighter veils. Accessories are big. The right necklace and earring can make or break the look  and accessories are a crucial part of the wedding ensemble.

As for Bridal gowns, I think this season is going to show us a lot of tulle. Tulle skirts, big or small will be popular. Also heavily encrusted bodices and perhaps (dare I say) a few designers will produce something other than strapless. The designs will probably first manifest  in the form of spaghetti straps but, its a start. Belts will continue to accentuate mermaid and other slim styles and corset tops will still be popular with voluminous skirts made from yards and yards of various ruffled fabrics.  I also think we will see less of the pick-up skirt which I personally think is difficult to manage, anyway so “buh-bye”.

I can’t help but wonder if any of the high-profile weddings this year have inspired copies. I will be waiting with baited breath to see how many designers will come forward with their version of Catherine Middleton’s gown! Since the Kardashian gowns are already being copied by Vera herself, there is no need for anyone else to follow suit. But this is where I think the heavy tulle influence will come in.

I am equaly sure as our fashion team gets photos they will be posting them from New York, so stay tuned to see if any of my predictions are correct- and don’t be afraid to tell me I was wrong!

– Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

The Waiting Game

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Shannon Tweed waited for Gene Simmons to pop the question. She waited for 27 years, through 2 kids and a reality show. When he  sensed she was obviously tired of waiting, he caved and popped the question. It seems no matter how secure and happy you are in the relationship, it is not quite the same without the marriage…. and the wedding! This Saturday October 1, 2011 they will be tying the knot with a wedding fit for a rock-n-roll king, and playboy queen. If the truth be known, I am more interested in this wedding than all the Kardashian women put together. You have a mega-talented Rock-n-Roll superstar, the lead singer of one of the most successful groups of all time (Kiss) and his bride-to-be, a talented actress and model in her own right. They have two gorgeous and intelligent children who are blessing this union with their own unique brand of humor; daughter Sophie wrote a humorous poem and son Nick drew a family cartoon on the invitation itself.  Take a look at the invitation :

So this begs the question, “How long is too long to wait for your beloved to decide you are the one, even if you decided a long time ago?” Not having much experience with this, I would say that 27 years would be the absolute maximum amount of time.

The average courtship is less than three years at which point it either moves forward or ends. Practically speaking, it is easier, cheaper and more convenient to be married to the person you live with than to merely co-habitate. There are insurance issues, children’s last names, next of kin, power of attorney, taxes and basically everything is more complicated. However, if you have access to unlimited funds, this is a non-issue. Which is what  I suspect with team Tweed-Simmons.

Oddly enough the engagement of this power couple has lasted only a few short months. Was the wedding ‘hurried up’  for ratings since the wedding is the season opener for Family Jewels? I  suspect that played a major factor since Gene Simmons is known to be a financial (and ratings) wizard. I also suspect that the future Mrs. Shannon-Tweed was happy about the length of the engagement since 2 1/2 months is short by any standards… unless you have already waited 27 years.

My guess is that Ms. Tweed has been spending the last 60 days happily planning her long awaited wedding, and I can’t wait to see the results!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Let the Knock-Offs Begin!

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Spring Bridal Market is just weeks away and buyers across the country have already been tempted with a few sneak peeks at what designers will be featuring for 2012 brides. Not surprising, there will be copies  and modified replicas of Kate Middleton’s gown, Kim Kardashian’s gown and Pippa Middleton’s dazzling bridesmaid attire, all of the 2011 weddings we couldn’t wait to watch.

Romona Keveza stuns with her choice of fabrics and the veil edged in lace. Although this is not an exact copy of the gown worn by the Duchess of Cambridge, it is close enough that most people will be reminded of the lovely spring nuptials of the future King and Queen of England. In fact I like this gown better for a number of reasons: I was never quite thrilled with the way the skirt and top came together on the Royal version and this designer seems to have a better understanding of how the skirt and top should go together.  I also like the veil better as well as the way it sits on her head and the fabric on the skirt of the gown looks more finished.

In addition to high end designers making modified versions of popular styles, you have the discount designers making their (cheaper) versions and not always hitting the mark. Look closely and tell me what is wrong with this picture… it is obvious that the fit, the fabric and the finish are way off. Copies and Knock-offs are only good if they are put together well. This one is not….

…And it is even worse because they have used the cheapest,  weirdest lace available and still didn’t even fix the only  design flaw on the original gown. Look closely at the waistline.

Vera Wang has the right idea: make a highly publicized gown or two (or three) for a high-profile person and then knock off your own design. Genius! Elminiate the middle man and you can make money on both ends. She is reported to be copying two of her own three designs used for Kim Kardashian  and they will retail for under $2000. The copies surfaced so quickly it leads me to believe the staff was working on the copies while working on the original. Your thoughts?

I came across this interesting tidbit a few months ago and was waiting for the right time to share:

Before Kate and Will were even engaged, Bride’s magazine asked designers to submit sketches of wedding dress ideas for the future princess. Look at how closely the sketch by the design team at Watters resembles Kate’s dress. Same lace bodice, same v-neckline, same grand skirt, even a similar ruffle in the back. Congratulations Watters on your design, your talent and your psychic ability. Spooky, isn’t it?  This sketch is dated months before April 2011 and has not been altered in any way mostly beacuse truth is stranger than fiction and also because I don’t know how.

What I do know is that if you loved one of the ultra expensive gowns worn by celebrities in 2011 and you are getting married in 2012 or after, you will probably have the opportunity to wear something similar. Just beware of really cheap versions of someone else’s  gown or you could wind up looking like a cheap version of a bride.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Show Me The Sleeve!

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In case you didn’t hear, there was a celebrity wedding last weekend. Not just any celebrity but, a  celebrity (?) who has 5 million twitter followers and has the rare  opportunity to change fashion. My hope was to  steer bridal fashion away from the bare shoulders which have completely dominated the first decade of the 21st century, sliding into the second decade still in first place. The Kardashian wedding had more security than a NATO conference and most of it was to ensure that no one took pictures and leaked anything in fear Mom Kardashian (Jenner) could not collect her 10% from the reported $18 million profit so, the only photo currently available  shows nothing but bare shoulders and a diamond (not swarovski) headband and veil. We’ll get back to the headband in a moment.

Maybe I missed something but, the one Vera Wang gown I saw (and the grainy photo of the bridesmaids) looked completely strapless. Wedding gown? Strapless. Bridesmaids? Strapless. Mermaid, ball gown, pencil skirt, satin, tulle or beaded –  it doesn’t really matter since what I was looking for was something with a little more style and coverage. Let me clear this up once and for all: I am not a prude. I don’t have any religious convictions that prohibit me or anyone from exposing their shoulders in church or during a religious ceremony. I don’t particularly care if someone wants to go topless, strapless or completely see-through. My (strong) opinions on this subject are strictly from a design standpoint. Strapless has been done to death and it has quite frankly become boring. Show me something with some style and class and couture detail, show me something other than your boobs! Don’t even get me started on how  few women really look good in strapless, especially larger busted or heavier women. Two words that should never enter your mind at a wedding: Backfat and Sideboob.

Last spring we witnessed Katherine Middleton become the Duchess of Cambridge in a Long sleeved lace gown. Her gown, no matter how beautiful, did not seem to make a bit of difference to designers. Last weekend Kim Kardashian had the opportunity  to  leave an indelible mark on fashion history, to send designers rushing back to the proverbial  drawing board in a  mad dash before next month’s Spring bridal market.  If the small photo I saw is any indication, I doubt if anyone is scrambling.  Maybe one of the other two gowns has some standout quality that I haven’t seen yet and I am completely wrong about the whole thing. I guess we will see when the pictures come out in People magazine.

Back to theheadband:  just like the strapless gown, the tiara seems to have run its course so it was nice to see somthing unique. The headband was unusual because it didn’t exactly frame the face – it was sitting in the middle of it. Unusual? Yes, and no. I’ve seen this before, many times but not for some time. This style was quite popular in the 1980’s and was often accented by a large teardrop shaped stone ( pearl or crystal) in the center. Of course back then it was flanked by dozens of yards of veiling with huge poufs of veiling in varying sizes scattered with sequins, crystals, pearls and everything but the kitchen sink. This was a  version of that and perhaps could inspire brides to revert back to this style. Of course most brides can’t afford $10 million dollars worth of bling. I wouldn’t place any bets on this since sometimes styles  find their place in history and stay there, like the fluorescent, bubble, lame bridesmaid gowns. They made sense in the ’80’s but not so much now and anyone who would dare to bring them back would be banished into bridesmaid hell…. for all eternity. My opinion? The headband was okay but looked costume-y and would have made perfect sense with Grecain style gown or a vintage 1920’s look. With the strapless gown (from  the limited amount I saw) it looked like a wedding scene from the early days of Dynasty. Actually Dynasty seems tame compared to the Kardashian /Jenner production.

So what does all this mean? Actually nothing. Not one thing has changed since Kate or Kim got married and even though a few designers are challenging the  strapless trend (Kudos) it will take the consumers to force the trend to change. I am excited to see what the designers have in store for the upcoming market since I have inside information that there are a few designers offering non-strapless choices. Hopefully instead of cleavage, we can talk  about sleeve-age.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Do it Yourself Weddings – don’t try this at home

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I’ll admit it. I am an obsessive do-it-yourself-er. I am an amateur at some things and an expert at others. I can do just about anything given enough time and internet access or a library of books on the particular subject. I am also heavily opinionated about when to do it yourself and when to call in the professionals. There are just some things that are not a good idea. Weddings, in particular are one of those times.

The months, weeks and days leading up to your wedding are busy. Most women have to work and plan this event in their free time. There is barely time to sleep so taking on an extra task is unthinkable to most brides-to-be.

However, there are some couples faced with wanting or needing to cut costs so fervently that they decide to tackle the Do-It-Yourself wedding. Maybe they are just gluttons for punishment or they really do think they are capable. I’m not sure – but I can tell you this has more of the potential for disaster than asking Rosanne to sing the National Anthem.

DIY nightmare #1 -Bridesmaid Dresses. Sewing is easy, you get a pattern, cut it out, thread the needle and begin, right? NO. Sewing properly is an art form not to be taken lightly. Sewing delicate fabrics requires patience, skill and concentration. Unless you are a professional seamstress with your own studio filled with eager employees, do not attempt to make your own bridesmaid gowns. You will not only be disappointed when the gowns come out looking like a bad Home Ec project, you will also hate the pictures because they will magnify every poorly sewn detail. You also risk having bridesmaids who will never speak to you again.

#2 -Flowers. This has the potential to be a major catastrophe. Imagine staying up all night, the night before your wedding day clipping flower stems and ribbon-tying bouquets. That’s a best-case scenario and it goes downhill quickly from there. Ask yourself if you have a cooling system large enough to house the completed centerpieces and bouquets. You can’t put them in your refrigerator ta home because there are natural gases in food that will destroy the flowers. not to mentions flower arranging is very difficult and time consuming if done properly. Ask yourself if you will truly have time to enjoy your wedding week if every second of the last three days is spent focusing on flower pick up, purchasing and arranging only to wind up with an arrangement of half dead flowers. I doubt it.

#3 – Photo/Video. So you have decided to just put single use cameras on the table and let everyone take photos at the reception? Really? Maybe you handed a cam-corder to Uncle Bob and asked him to tape the whole thing. Maybe it would be a better idea to have everyone hold up their cell phones and snap random pictures out of focus with bad lighting. Or you could just have a courtroom sketch artist  depict the whole affair. Hire a photographer, even if it is just for an official portrait…. hire a photographer.

#4- Cake. Speaking from experience, decorating a cake is not easy. Martha Stewart seems to show up, squirt icing on the cake and it looks fantastic. The truth is that she had years of rigid training, attention to detail and only now after decades of hand-piping by herself in the confines of her own kitchen, she has a staff to handle this for her. Her staff has been trained and re-trained and practiced on more cakes than you can eat in a lifetime. In all fairness, they do make it look easy on TV. Don’t attempt to make your own cake. It took 5 weeks to complete the cake for William & Kate’s Royal Reception. 5 weeks of sugar flowers, 5 weeks of hand rolling  petals made of frosting to mirror an actual rose. Not to mention the added worry of transporting without dropping it. You would be better off buying a cheap cake at the grocery store than attempting to make one yourself. I’m not wrong about this.

In the end, it is the actual ceremony that matters the most but, why waste time and money trying to do it yourself only to have a fiasco weeks, hours or even minutes before the ceremony?

There are a few things you can do yourself. You can print or make  labels for bottles of wine as gifts, you can carefully arrange and/or wrap the favors that will be sent home, you can also cut and tie the netting or paper rice holders, if you are having rice thrown at your wedding. Other than that, I would advise against any attempt at handling these tasks yourself.

I won’t bore you with endless DIY disaster stories. I will share only one. A close friend of mine decided she would do her own hair and makeup, as well as the entire bridal party. They even went so far as to get together and do a practice run so she knew what everyone wanted. That’s a  lot to remember if you ask me. Anyway, fast forward to her wedding day when due to a traffic snafu she was literally putting on makeup right before she walked down the aisle. The bonus is that she was not familiar with photography-style  makeup so she and every bridesmaid looked comopletely washed out and borderline macabre. Big Mistake.

Hire professionals to have professional results. Visit www.bridalshowexpo.com to find a qualified, reputable, professional baker, florist, bridal salon or photographer in your area.

– Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

The Royal Wedding Workout – guilt free viewing!

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The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton is less than 24 hours away! My alarm is set for 3 am and the DVR is set to BBC America for commercial free, uninterrupted, live coverage of the events. I have even designed a mini-workout so I won’t be tempted to doze off since 4 am is a little early for me,  I don’t want to miss a thing and I don’t want to turn into a couch potato! My phone will be charged and by my side in case I need to compare notes with a kindred spirit.

I am sharing my workout with you so we can all get our day started shaking things up and not gluing our butts to the sofa for the wedding marathon!

Items you will need:
Water (bottled or otherwise) … LOTS of it!

Sneakers or shoes suitable  for movement!

Lets get started!  When the coverage begins, or when you begin watching, you can start the workout right away. Find a comfy seat with lots of room around you and you are ready!


Every time the host  says ‘Prince William’ you must take a drink of water. It is important to stay hydrated so you can stay focused and not be tempted to curl up and doze off.

Every time they say ‘Catherine Middleton’ (or any variation of her name prior to the nuptials) you must stand up, bend over and touch your toes. This reminds you that you must bow before the queen. They will be saying this a lot BEFORE the wedding but, not much after since she will have been bestowed a title by the time the affair takes place.

Every time they mention the ‘late Princess Diana’, stand up. With your feet planted shoulder width, stretch your arms up into the air five times.

When the Queen arrives, stand up and do ten jumping jacks. If she is wearing purple, do 20 more jumping jacks. I am actually excited to see what she will wear. She is known for her love of weddings and extreme love for her grandchildren, so I would bet this is probably the happiest day of her life, so far. She may be an aging monarch but she is still  a woman so, I would be willing to bet she is pulling out all the stops. Jewelry? Yes, please …..and lots of it!

When the bride’s parents arrive,  stand and bring one knee at a time up to your chest. Do this five times for each leg.

When Prince Charles arrives, do five lunges. First on the left side and then the right.  This is just to remind us all not to rush into anything no matter how good of an idea it seems at the time.

When Camilla arrives, run in place until she is seated.

When Prince Harry is shown,  stand one one foot, balancing for five seconds and then do the same with the other foot. If you can do this without picturing him in that unfortunate NAZI Halloween costume, you get an extra slice of wedding cake.

When Catherine’s car arrives, stand up once again. You are now in the presence of a future queen. Remain standing until she is at the altar.

When William and Catherine emerge from the church, stand up again.  Run in place, stretch, jog or whatever you wish. After the couple enters the carriage and begin their journey to Buckingham Palace, you can sit down.

The wedding day will more than likely begin around 2:30 am Central Standard Time so any time after that when you join, you can start right away. You can also add your own touches. I just wanted a way to get energized that early in the am without killing myself! 

For me – there is really no place I would rather be than watching this lovely couple exchange vows ….. even at that ungodly hour and from thousands of miles away!!

Since television around the world will be fixed on this wedding , so I encourage everyone to raise their glass to toast the happy couple!

Cheers!  Mazel Tov! Slainte! Prost! Salute! Skaal! L’Chaim! Kampai! Sante’!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

The Royal Fruitcake with Royal Icing

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Details have been revealed about the Royal Wedding Cake! Or should I say cakes? Cake #1 – (the main cake) is being designed by  Fiona Cairns and it is described as a traditional, multi-layered fruitcake decorated with royal icing in the Joseph Lambeth method using cream and white. Cake #2 was requested by Prince William and is described as a chocolate biscuit cake by McVities, who has been baking for the royal family since 1893.   Two cakes is really not  excessive  considering  William’s mother and Father had 27 cakes at their reception in 1981.

That is a lot of information. To most of us here on the West side of the pond, it doesn’t really make sense. Fruitcake? Chocolate biscuit cake? What is going on? Where’s the fondant? What about buttercream? Forget everything you know about American wedding cakes for now and open your mind to some new, international  possibilities.

Fruitcake – I have to admit I was taken aback when I heard the words Royal wedding and fruitcake in the same sentence.  I remember the fruitcakes my mom used to get as gifts at Christmas and make us  eat a piece to be polite to whomever gave it to us.  No thanks.  Now I did a little research and it seems that the bastardized version of fruitcakes is like that of anything else… inferior. The fruitcake that William and Kate will be sharing with their guests is something we would consider ‘bread’ or, more appropriately,  a muffin.  Imagine a dried cranberry, apricot, almond, raisin muffin! Possibly infused with some kind of alcohol, brandy perhaps? Now, thats more like it! Add frosting? Yes, please!

Royal Icing is a pure white icing that dries to a smooth, hard, matte finish. It colors beautifully and is really the best frosting option when you need intricate piping or ornate scrollwork done. When you see those beautifully decorated, intricate cookies on the covers of magazines, they are decorated with royal icing. The application is similar to spreading room temperature butter over the entire cake.

Joseph Lambeth method- Who is Jospeh Lambeth?  No surprise here, the Lambeth method is very popular in Great Britain and has been around since Joseph introduce his first book in 1934. What makes this method unique is the use of over-piping to create lacy, floral and ornate patterns and is is easy to recognize. Imagine a  cake with piping and scroll-work. Now imagine you added a layer of piping on top of the piping and scrollwork. On top of that piping  and scroll-work you added thinner piping and even more details. The end result is a very 3-dimensional cake that has so much depth you wonder how deep the icing really is and if there is any cake at all. Between the fruitcake and the icing and considering it is multi-layered (probably 6 or 7 layers) I would imagine this cake is going to weigh well over 500 pounds, in weight … not currency.

Chocolate biscuit cake is a no-bake cake that is described as one of his childhood favorites. He shared this cake with his mother and grandmother for afternoon teas throughout his childhood. This is more of a “grooms cake” which, until now has strictly been an American custom, that will be served alongside the main cake. Back to the no-bake part since this is right up  my alley. I won’t go into the recipe details even thought it is so simple I could make a few of these without blinking. Just imagine breaking up a bunch of shortbread cookies and basically gluing them together with melted chocolate in a buttered cake mold. After it is removed from the mold, drizzle it with white, semi or milk chocolate ( or all three) and serve with tea. My only question is : Will they be serving seconds? YUM!

The price tag for both cakes has been reported as $80,000 GBP and is being covered by Prince Charles, personally. If your currency converter is broken, that is roughly $132,000 US for the two cakes. With a guest list for the casual afternoon reception totalling  1,900 guests that is about $70 per slice.

My best guess is that even the cakes will set new trends. American Brides and fruitcake? Anything could happen!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago