With more women postponing marriage until later in life and many women remarrying in their middle age, mature brides have become a commonplace phenomenon and many of the ‘taboos’ on wedding attire for older brides no longer apply.
An older bride does not need to look ‘matronly’. No matter your age, you should be able to wear the fabrics, styles, and colours you like. However, some guidelines are still worth following to ensure a mature bride looks her best.
Trains
In general, no etiquette rule states that mature brides cannot wear a train, it is ultimately a personal decision. Mature brides, however, tend to have a more practical mindset and, therefore, may wish to opt for a dress with no train or at least a minimal one. This way, not only will the dress be less hassle to wear but it is also more likely to be easily re-used in the future as an evening gown or cocktail dress.
Alternatively, if you have really set your heart on a traditional look, then ask your dressmaker or alterations specialist for a ‘wedding dress bustle’ – this will enable you to hook up your train in a decorative way so you can move freely about without worrying about someone stepping on it or having to carry it. Also, don’t forget that a long gown can always be shortened later to create a more ‘everyday’ dress.
Sleeves
One of the most common worries for older brides is bare arms and shoulders as it is often an area of dissatisfaction in older age – and so sleeves are one of the most requested additions by mature brides. While sleeves can certainly be added to sleeveless and off-the-shoulder styles, this can be very expensive, and therefore, it is often better to select a wedding gown with sleeves in the first place. Alternatively, a strapless or sleeveless gown that is worn with a small jacket is also a very stylish look.
Smile and Teeth
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You’ve got your perfect venue, flowers, and music. The invitations are ready. You’ve ordered the dress, and you’ve booked the photographer. All that’s missing is the perfect smile for photos!
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Fabrics
Most wedding dresses come in traditional bridal fabrics like chiffon, crepe, satin, georgette and poly silk blends. These drape well and don’t wrinkle easily. Wrinkles appear prominently in wedding photos and can seriously detract from the bride’s overall look.
Some mature brides may prefer natural fabrics, which can be more comfortable to wear because they allow air to circulate. This can be particularly important if you tend to get warm and perspire easily. However, natural fibre fabrics wrinkle easily, so a blend of natural fibres and polyester is generally better. This type of fabric will still be breathable but will wrinkle less.
Styles
Most older brides will have areas of the body that they are not keen to draw attention to, particularly the mid-section or waist and tummy area of their figures. Try Abbie Chapel’s dresses. One good way of ensuring this is to make sure that the dress you choose is semi-fitted (as opposed to form-fitted), especially if your wedding gown fabric is a soft type that glides over areas of the figure where you may not be as toned as you like.
Mature brides also usually want to cover their shoulders and arms with a jacket or drape or choose a wedding gown style with sleeves.
With these issues in mind, here are a few dress types which would be flattering to mature figures:
- Strapless wedding dresses combined with a jacket cover the back and arm areas.
- A-line gowns also give good coverage of the figure: the higher the A-line flare starts, the more it will cover your figure. This is a dress shape which flatters all figure types.
- Empire-line wedding dresses do an adequate job of hiding the mid-waist section.
- Princess-line gowns, which is simply an A-line dress with princess seaming – these vertical lines are extremely figure flattering.
The most important thing is to ensure the dress is not too tight and fitted – a slightly loose dress is much more flattering.
Look Around…
While at first glance, it may not seem that there is much choice in dresses which suit the older bride – especially if you’re looking for modestly styled but still stylish pieces – there is in fact a good supply of gowns which complement the mature bride, as long as you are willing to do a bit of research and ‘hunt around’. Finally, remember that you do not need to opt for a traditional wedding gown – you could always choose a two-piece wedding suit which can be reused in the future while still looking very stylish and attractive on the wedding day.
To view some bridal gowns for mature brides, click here.
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