Wedding

I wasn’t the first of my inner circle to get engaged, and while I loved fawning over my friends as they tried on billowing gowns of lace, tulle, and taffeta, I knew the whole “say yes to the dress” thing wasn’t for me. Instead, I opened my laptop, browsed the Net-a-Porter sale, and chose a non-bridal dress. It came, I tried it on in my flat, I liked it, and the rest is history.  In the almost seven years since I tied the knot, several of my closest friends have all opted for the in-boutique experience. We sipped champagne and shed tears when the bride-to-be emerged wearing The One. And although this wasn’t the shopping path I chose for myself, the occasion’s specialness was, and still isn’t, lost on me. And this year, I’ve had to console...

There’s no denying the fact that COVID has completely turned the wedding industry on its head. Plenty of nuptials have been cancelled, re-scheduled or made incredibly low-key this year due to the new rules. While we don’t know what’s ahead for 2021, we very much hope that there’ll be plenty of weddings going ahead. This also means, of course, that we’ll have an excuse to dress up. But, seeing as we haven’t done much of that of late, we need a few reminders of how to get dressed, especially for big events like a wedding.  We all have to walk that fine line when it comes to deciding what to wear to a wedding: You want to look striking, somewhat fun, but still appropriate. You want to be remembered for the right reasons, even if it isn’t you...

The dress came in a heavyweight fabric that hung beautifully, and with a simple and chic twisted halter neckline. Dress it up with a sleek veil or headpiece and bunch of wildflowers, and you’d never know it wasn’t a designer piece. I went onto the ASOS app and realised the e-tailer had countless other designs that would satisfy even the pickiest of brides—from sequinned showstoppers to classic lace. Clearly I’m not alone in this discovery, as in their end of year report ASOS revealed that shoppers snapped up an ASOS Edition bridal dress every three minutes during lockdown, and over 14,000 brides bought the ‘Sophia’ wedding dress to wear on their big day. That’s not a number to be sniffed at. So, for any style-conscious brides-...

Out of the nine jewellers who I spoke to, over half told me that coloured stones and gems are going to be big business in 2021. Emma Clarkson Webb says she’s seeing a “real movement towards coloured gemstones—from salt and pepper diamonds to tsavorites and tourmalines.” Similarly, Lucy Crowther, the founder of Minka Jewels, says she’s seen a rise in the popularity of coloured pieces. “I love chunky gold rings with a flash of colour, and this coming year, I think we will be seeing a lot more of them,” she says. Phoebe Coleman also said that she expects to see an increase in people being more adventurous with their stone choices, “opting for grey sapphires rather than royal blue for example,” she tells me.  Yo...

Thanks to lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID, many weddings have either been dialled back or completely cancelled. While we always want to give our Who What Wear readers a look at the coming bridal trends ahead, it’s worth noting that the backdrop of a pandemic has definitely had an impact on how brides are planning their outfits for the big day. For this piece, I spoke to a range of wedding dress designers, retailers (luxury and secondhand) and Lyst, a global fashion search platform, to get the best idea of what brides are going to be after come the new year. So, whether you’re rearranging your look for a postponed ceremony or just looking for inspiration for TBC nuptials, keep scrolling for everything you need to know about the biggest bridal trends for 2021. The Duchess...

I’m no Mystic Meg, but I’ve always prided myself in never being surprised by any of the trends we end up wearing. Part of my job is understanding how we’ll dress in the weeks, months, and years to come. But dear reader, 2020 is no ordinary year, and 2021 is likely to be much of the same. We didn’t know, for example, at the start of the year that our top priorities for fashion would be face masks, knitwear, and leggings. So forgive me when I say it’s a little difficult to predict wedding guest outfit trends for 2021.  Usually when analysing what people will want to wear for big events such as weddings, we look to the runways, street style trends, and, most recently, Instagram. However, with a reduced amount of designers showcasing their latest co...

In our minds—and we assume the minds of many cash-strapped UK millennials—the amount spent on an engagement ring should be 100% up to the person buying it. While you can, of course, adhere to the above rules if that’s what you want, you can also take the advice of Michelle Oh, founder of Michelle Oh Jewellery, who says that ultimately choosing a piece of jewellery, especially, an engagement ring is a very personal choice. She also said that the focus has very much shifted from one that was all about how much the ring cost to what the ring wearer will like—so in many ways price doesn’t matter as much as it used to.  Now keep scrolling to see some engagement rings we love. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating sh...

By far the biggest trend for brides right now is choosing two outfits for the big day. Designers, luxury retailers and even secondhand bridal stores told me that plenty of brides were searching for not one but two knock-out looks. Luxury retailer Net-a-Porter told me that it’s a trend that has been gaining traction for some time but is only set to continue. Grace Loves Lace founder Megan Ziems and designer Kate Halfpenny revealed a similar trend, especially when plenty of couples have had to postpone a bigger event due to Covid.  “I’ve definitely noticed is our brides now buying two dresses; one for the micro wedding and one for the big celebration, later down the track. A lot of couples still want to keep that original, special wedding date they have set, so this is a gre...

The thing about celebrity engagement rings is that the longer you read about them, the more skewed your perception of “expensive” becomes. A ring that racked up a £150,000 receipt is no longer considered to be worth a second glance when you compare it to one that cost a cool £7 million. In reality, though, nearly every celebrity engagement ring is absurdly beautiful, large and therefore, pricey. What’s more, the stories and proposals behind them make every ring that little bit more interesting. From Victoria Beckham‘s incredible engagement ring from David Beckham (apparently she has 14 others in the collection, as you do) to Jennifer Lopez’s pink jewel from Ben Affleck (remember Bennifer?), there are so many we know you’ll be keen to ogle. As for more re...

In March, weddings were put on hold for several months. And while we can now attend nuptials for no more than 30 people, if you had an extensive array of RSVPs for 2020, then you’ll know that many couples postponed their big day until next year. This means that while you didn’t get to celebrate this year, you can start planning your wedding guest dress for the following. At Who What Wear, we lovedresses (you might have noticed), so it gives me great pleasure to look through all the biggest dress trends of this year and the coming season to pick out the more suitable pieces for a wedding. Keep scrolling for our guide to the best wedding guest dress trends for 2020 and beyond.  You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined w...

Everything this year has been disrupted and weddings planned over spring and summer have all had to be rescheduled and moved. Weddings are allowed to now take place (with limitations on guest lists), meaning they are starting to resume, and invitations are stacking up for next year. If you’re starting to plan and hunt for wedding guest looks this is where we step in, as we’ve looked through the thousands of dresses available on the high street and from designers. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair sh...