Wedding Trend: Trash the Dress

You spent hours searching for the perfect dress, hours more in detailed fitting sessions, not to mention the years that you spent dreaming about the dress as a child, only to – drag it through the mud after your wedding? Light it on fire? Swim in it?


It may sound ridiculous but growing numbers of women are doing just that. They are part of the trash the dress trend, where women hire a photographer to take beautiful, dramatic pictures of them essentially ruining their wedding dress shortly after the ceremony.


According to the New York Times, the trend started in 2005 when Las Vegas photographer John Michael Cooper began photographing his clients in extreme conditions. Apparently Cooper was inspired by fashion photography which long ago learned the merits of juxtaposing beautiful, couture garments with ugly, grungy or dirty settings. Cooper was bored by the same, cookie-cutter photos that every bride requests.

Why do the brides want it? Good question. Many superstitious people think that destroying your wedding dress is bad way to start a marriage. Maybe that’s why precisely why the modern bride chooses to trash the dress- it’s her little form of rebellion. Or maybe the bride really just wants gorgeous, dramatic photographs of herself which wouldn’t be out of place in the pages of W. Another option is that brides don’t like the idea of their dream dress sitting in their closet gathering dust.

What do you think? Would you ever trash the dress? Remember you would be paying your photographer extra for the photo shoot.

I am working on an in-depth reported piece on this trend, so any brides who are willing to be interviewed for the piece, please contact me at SJL446(at)nyu(dot)edu

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Bridal party and pearl edition

Pearls are my birthstone and I adore them. This week’s Monday PMU is going to be some affordable faux-pearl accessories that would be chic for your bridal party.

How sweet are these little Anthropologie hair pins? I think they would be lovely for a flower girl’s hair.

They’re such a steal for $10. Get them here:


This pearl and rhinestone brooch would be perfect for a mother of the bride.


Finally I like these Betsey Johnson earrings.

Betsey Johnson jewelry is always so fun and whimsical. A bridesmaid could wear these.

What do you think of these faux pearl trinkets?

Profile of Asema Ahmed, owner of Magnolias Linens

In 2003 Asema Ahmed planned a large-scale family event at the Plaza Hotel. She was dissatisfied by the limited selection of available fabrics, so, with the help of her mother, she decided to design all the linens herself and had them custom-made in India. Her gorgeous creations drew an immediate response and Ahmed quickly realized that she had stumbled upon an untapped market. So in late 2003, she partnered with her mother and her sister, Talaiya to launch their own textile business, Magnolias Linens.

On an overcast February morning, I met Ahmed in the Magnolias Linens’ showroom on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The vibrant fabrics filled every corner: saffron yellow, deep burgundy, warm chocolate, dark gold and iridescent pink. With their intricate beading, elaborate embroidery or hand-painted details, the samples bring to mind colorful saris. Ahmed designs the linens and then has them produced and imported from a factory in New Delhi, her parents’ hometown. Outsourcing the production to India and dealing directly with the factories – there is no middle man – keeps costs down. As a result, Ahmed’s company is able to provide high-end linens for upscale events at reasonable price points. Brides-to-be can rent a Swarovski crystal-encrusted table cloth for as little as $25.


Growing up in Scarsdale, NY, as the daughter of two physicians, Ahmed had ambitions of following in her parents’ medical footsteps. She graduated from NYU in 2000 with a religious studies major on the pre-med track. Instead of applying to medical school immediately, she enrolled in Georgetown University where she earned a Master’s degree in International Business Development and began considering an entrepreneurial field instead of medicine. It was her mother who saw the potential of Magnolias Linens. “My mom is the rainmaker,” Ahmed said. “She knew this was something I would grow and prosper in but I would never have gotten it off the ground alone.”
In 2007 she was married in New Delhi. The wedding was featured in InStyle Weddings, and Ahmed designed the tenting for the ceremony and the linens for the reception.
“It was perfect,” she said. “Exactly what I wanted.”



Magnolias Linens has expanded into other events, including bar mitzvahs, birthday parties and home decorating. Ahmed provides all the linens for every Plaza Hotel event, works with the Pierre Hotel and is preparing for her first event with the Four Seasons. Ahmed said that while business was affected by the economic downturn last year, their hotel accounts helped to keep them afloat. She explained that Magnolias was less affected than other wedding businesses because linens are a cost-effective way to decorate an entire venue.
“People are paying more attention to textiles because floral arrangements are so expensive,” Ahmed said. “When you walk into a room and see tables covered in floor-length blue linen that gives a more dramatic look.”
While it requires an incredible amount of motivation and self-discipline to run a company, Ahmed loves being her own boss. She enjoys meeting with new clients everyday and nurturing her creative side.
“I’m so lucky that I get to do this,” she said.

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Badgley Mischka 2.0

I am in love with these beautiful Badgley Mischka wine-colored pumps. The rich jewel tone is so lovely and I think the bow is sweet, understated, and classy.

These shoes would pop so much with a beautiful white wedding dress. I think wearing richly pigmented shoes with white wedding dresses are a must. The color pops so vividly against the neutral dress.

Get them here.

What do you think of these lovely pumps? When would you want to wear them?

Wedding Traditions from Across the Globe: Bangladesh

The second installment of wedding traditions from around the globe is the Bengali tradition of Gaye Holud.


Bengali weddings are typically multi-day events and the wedding festivities commence with the Gaye Holud. The bride and groom have separate Gaye Holuds but we're discussing the one for the bride (which the groom does not attend).

The term Gaye Holud means "body dye." During this event guests apply holud - a paste-like mixture of tumeric and milk - to the bride's face and arms as a blessing. The bride also gets mehndi done during this event, which is when henna is applied to her hands and feet in intricate and elaborate designs.


Additionally the Gaye Holud is when the bride receives her wedding outfit and jewelry and she get gifts from the guests. For Bengali couples who follow strict tradition, the bride's wedding sari is chosen and presented by her future mother-in-law. Lastly the bride sits on a dais and is feed sweets, before everyone enjoys a meal that her family has prepared.

Aren't the photos beautiful? The Gaye Holud sounds like the Bengali version of a bridal shower, during which the bride is "showered" with presents and goodies!

Wedding Guest Beauty

For the final installment of wedding beauty looks inspired by Fashion Week Fall 2010 RTW, I’m showing you two ideas for a wedding guest. They aren’t meant to be worn together however, they are just both pretty ideas to vamp up your makeup.

First is Chanel Iman’s red pout at Dsquared2 (which showed at Milan Fashion Week).

Now Chanel is rocking both intense smoky eyes and a fierce red lip in this photo, but for the purposes of this post, ignore the eyes and focus on the lips. What I like the most about this look, is the crispness of her lipstick lines: there is definitely lip liner at work here.

To get this look, outline lips in Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl ($24, sephora.com), outlining your lips with pencil first, prevents the lipstick from smudging or running which is super important when your lip color is bold red. Then color in your entire lips using the pencil, which prevents you from having harsh colored lines on the edges of your lips, provides a good basis for the lipstick you will apply on top of it and if the lipstick wears off, you’ll still have color below.

When you are finished coloring your lips in with the pencil, apply red lipstick over it. Try Dolce and Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in Fire ($30, saksfifthavenue.com), I am obsessed with their lipsticks and I promise that you’ll love them.

The second look that I think would be cute for a wedding guest is the dramatic, gorgeous eyes at Lanvin.

I think the gold shadow is what really makes this look special. To get it smudge Laura Mercier Eye Shadow in Gold Dust ($22, sephora.com) into your upper lids and along the inner corners of your eyes. Then apply a fine line of black shadow below your eyes. Try Dior Ultra-Smoothing High Impact Eyeshadow in Flash Black ($28, sephora.com) which has great shimmer. To get the thick lashes you could try black mascara (my favorite is Dior) or you could really up the ante with falsies. Try Laura Mercier Faux Lashes ($18, sephora.com) which look very natural.

Ok, that’s all I got. What do you think of the suggestions?

all images from style.com

Bridesmaid Beauty

I recently posted a bridal beauty look featuring new trends from New York Fashion Week Fall 2010 RTW, I had a lot of fun putting together that post so I decided to do two more fashion week-inspired beauty looks. This one is a bridesmaid look and tomorrow I’ll post a wedding attendee look.

The first look is a very intense, messy eye on Siri Tollerod at Zac Posen.

This is obviously a very strong look for a wedding party member but I love dramatic eyes, so I think that a toned down version could actually be beautiful for a bridesmaid.

To get this look, use Stila Smudge Pot in Black Cat and Grey ($20 each, sephora.com). I like this product because it works as both a gel liner and an eye shadow. For a less rock n roll version I would apply the grey in the inner corners of your eye and the black just on the outer third of your eye. Lots of black mascara will finish this look, try Dior DiorShow Iconic Mascara in Noir ($27, sephora.com).

Since the eyes are such a bold look, the rest of the makeup should be kept light and natural. I liked the makeup at Thakoon because it just looked like a pretty flush.

To achieve a similar color, try Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder in 3 ($46, sephora.com).

Finally for hair, I LOVE the look on Magdalena Frackowiak at Ralph Lauren.


Magdalena was the first model that I ever interviewed backstage at Fashion Week back in 2008. This is a super simple, relaxed look. To get it apply serum to damp hair, try John Frieda Frizz-Ease Extra- Strength Formula Hair Serum ($9, walmart.com). After blow-drying hair, add gentle waves using a wide-barrel curling iron, like the T3 Twirl ($119, sephora.com).

What do you think of the look? Any fall makeup trends that you are excited about?

all images from style.com

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Emilio Pucci edition

I love this gorgeous, graphic Pucci clutch.

The satin looks so luxurious, I literally want to run my hand along it! I think the black and white zig zag design is modern and edgy but the material makes it traditional at the same time. I adore classic looks with a modern spin and this clutch fits the bill perfectly.

It would add a finishing touch of chic-ness to any bridal look.

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Givenchy edition

I am not a flats girl. I am short so any added height is appreciated. That said, I understand the appeal of flats; they are comfy, they allow you to rush when you are late (this is a real concern for me), and they can be incredibly chic.

Case in point: these beautiful beige Givenchy studded flats.


For the most part I think a bride should rock ferosh heels on her wedding day, but there are some situations in which the bride might want to wear flats instead, for example if she gets married in a rustic setting, on the beach, on a farm (really anywhere where heels would sink) or if the bride is over 5’ 11’’. If this is the case, I think these beauties would be perf for a wedding day.

Wedding Traditions from Across the Globe: Kosovo

As a regular feature I am going to start posting about wedding traditions from different cultures.

In the first installment we have one from Kosovo:


Brides in the Kosovar village of Donje Ljubinje have their faces painted with heavy alabaster makeup in order to ward off bad luck during the wedding ceremony. The tradition dates beyond living memory and is only done for very traditional weddings. National Geographic reported that the villagers are very proud of this unique tradition.

I was struck by how detailed and intricate the bride's makeup is. Can you imagine how long it must take? The bride's family removes her makeup after the ceremony.

Isn’t it funny how wedding traditions, regardless of culture, almost exclusively center around preventing bad luck?

image from corbis images

Wacky Wedding News

There were some crazy wedding articles around the web over the past week. Here's a quick round-up.

On Sunday the Seattle Times reported that a wedding crasher, Pamela McBride (yes, that’s actually her name) was sentenced to 45 days in jail for stealing wedding gifts, including gift cards, and checks. Apparently McBride would crash weddings and then help herself to parcels on the gift table. The Spokane, Wash. resident ran into trouble last summer when she bumped into a former classmate at a wedding. He happened to be an off-duty police officer and he noticed that McBride was nervous and acting suspiciously. When the bride and groom noticed that they were missing presents, they contacted the police and the officer was able to put them on McBride’s trail. They tracked her down through the gift cards that she used, which were from Macy’s, Home Depot and Costco. Former victims of McBride’s sticky fingers were contacted and the police were able to reimburse some of them.


At least Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson didn’t steal from your wedding!

The NY Post reported that Brooklyn couple, Michael Dvorkin and Ambre Brandis, have filed suit over a broken air-conditioner at their 2008 Manhattan nuptials. The couple got married at 632 on Hudson and apparently the downtown-cool location was swelteringly hot, causing the couple and their guests to become drenched in sweat. The couple complained that they were unable to have a “public wedding album” because all their photos were of people with “red and puffy faces” and “wet and wrinkled” clothes. They are seeking $50,000 for emotional distress.
What a crazy story! I feel bad for the couple but I was surprised to learn that they had taken legal action, until I read that they are both lawyers :). Then it made more sense.

I’m willing to bet this isn’t the look you are going for at your wedding.

Yesterday British web site, wedding-news.co.uk reported that an elephant which was hired for an extravagant Indian wedding between the children of two New Delhi- politicians, escaped from the ceremony. The male elephant went on a six-hour rampage, chasing after a female elephant in-heat and causing $320,000 in damages. The elephant charged through wedding guests, crashed into a shopping center, overturned vehicles, and trampled on 20 limos, before being shot with a tranquilizer.



Elephants are not unusual at Hindu weddings as they are considered extremely lucky in Hindu culture. The poor couple! What an awful way to start your lives together.

Thoughts on these crazy stories?

Bridal Beauty: NYFW edition

For a year and a half I worked in beauty at women’s magazines. During that time I drowned in lipstick, mascara, and pomade and I loved every minute of it! One of the things that I miss the most about beauty is gushing over the runway looks and having it count as work. Of course beauty is still my favorite part of Fashion Week, so I put together a bridal look based on some of my favorite fall 2010 hair and makeup looks.

First up is peach blush shown at Michael Kors.

I love how sweet and subtle this look is. It should be applied sparingly so that the bride looks less as though she is wearing peach blush and more like she has a pretty flush. Sweep the blush along your cheekbones for a more pronounced look.

Nars Orgasm Blush ($26, sephora.com), which has shimmery undertones, is the gold standard of peach blush. I am also a fan of Benefit Coralista ($28, sephora.com) and Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect in Tweed Coral ($45, neimanmarcus.com)


The second look that I loved was big, beautiful doe-eyes seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim.

I am typically a fan of lots of black eyeliner but for a bridal look, I like the idea of something softer and more timeless. This look is also extremely easy in terms of application.

You’ll need lots of mascara. I am a huge mascara girl so there are tons of brands that I love. My two favorites (for the moment anyway) are Amazing Cosmetics Mascara in Black ($22, sephora.com) and Dior DiorShow Iconic Mascara in Noir ($27, sephora.com). If you have straight lashes, you should curl them before applying the mascara. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler ($19, sephora.com) is the best. If you have naturally curled eyelashes, like mine, then you can skip this step, the mascara will be dramatic enough.

Also apply a pencil eyeliner from the middle of the eye to the edge. I like Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Smokey Quartz ($18, sephora.com). This will give you a gentler, more workable look that is easier to smudge ever-so-slightly than a liquid or gel liner.

Finally since both of these makeup looks are so subtle, my pick for bridal hair is big and dramatic. I am in love with the retro, curly gorgeousness seen at Oscar de la Renta.

You’ll need volumizer, a curling iron (or old-school hot rollers) and lots of hairspray to achieve this look. Apply John Frieda Luxurious Volume Lavish Root Booster ($6, at all major drugstores and drugstore.com) to the roots of wet hair. When hair is dry, curl it using a curling iron. My favorite iron is the T3 Twirl ($119, sephora.com); it creates big, bouncy curls. Lastly you’ll want a flexible hold hairspray to keep the curl in tact while giving you movement. Try Nexxus Comb Thru Hairspray ($10, at walmart.com).

There you have it! A pretty, undone, romantic bridal beauty look.

What do you think? Do you like these trends? Do you use any of these products?

P.S. Is it just me or does that photo of Karlie Kloss (and her big curls) remind you of Olivia Newton-John’s Grease makeover? I think it’s the leather jacket that’s cinching it for me!

all images from style.com

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Manolo Blahnik edition

How pretty are these Manolos?



I love everything about these pale purple satin Manolo Blahnik pumps. The ruching is lovely, the open-toe is cute but demure, and the jeweled buckle is classy.

At $715 these shoes are on the pricey side but they are totally worth it for special occasion shoes. These could be wedding day shoes, rehearsal dinner shoes, wedding party shoes, wedding guest shoes, wedding – well you get the idea.

I like the idea of wearing them with a shorter wedding dress, so the shoes are the focal point of your romantic wedding day look.

What do you think of these shoes? I think Carrie Bradshaw would approve.

At Neiman Marcus.