landlocked bride™ | midwest + mountain west wedding inspiration

I opened up the latest issue of The Knot magazine when I got home the other night, to find that one of the top 6 wedding dress trends for this year are pleats.

I’m not trying to give anything away here, but I’d like to say that I was ahead of the game on this trend, considering I bought my gown back in October 2009.

That’s the only detail you get until I try my gown on in February.  But even then, you’ll still be itching for more (in other words, you won’t get to see the entire dress until after the wedding – hate to be the bearer of bad news). I want to keep it a surprise for my guests.

Image courtesy of my crappy Blackberry camera.

I got this fantastic phone call the other day.  I was at work and my cell phone rang.  I didn’t recognize the phone number, so I just let it go to voicemail.  After I got the little voicemail notification, I checked the message, and realized that I received an early Christmas gift….in the form of my dress!  Town & Country Bridal called me to let me know my dress came in WAY EARLY.  They tried to get me to come in to have my “Meet my Dress” appointment, but with me out of town and us moving after the New Year, it was going to have to wait until late-January (I know, awful).

I’m excited to put it on and see how MY dress fits.

Merry Christmas!!

As much as I love a good “dress in the window” shot.  I love doing something different a whole lot more.

Photo courtesy of megan w photography

Completely in love with the idea of brides “making a change” between the ceremony and reception.  Either in the form of switching to a shorter dress, or in the form of an accessory.

This bride wore a great taupe-colored belt with her gown for her ceremony.

Image courtesy of W. Scott Chester Photography via The Brooklyn Bride

And, she changed into a black belt for her reception. It’s such a small detail, but it can really make a difference, or leave an impression on guests.

Image courtesy of W. Scott Chester PHotography via The Brooklyn Bride

It’s always great when a bride takes a risk and it turns out beautifully.

Image courtesy of Simply Bloom Photography via Style Me Pretty

AND, the bride is selling the dress (which has chic white buttons down the back) to any takers!

For any of you black and white brides out there, one of you should wear this dress.

Love the modern, sculpted bodice, and how chic this overall look is.

This would also be good for any of you winter brides.

PLUS, this dress is only $245.  That’s a steal if you ask me…

I don’t know about you, but I’m swooning over the ruffles on this dress.

Images courtesy of Amelia Lyon Photgraphy via Weddingbee PRO

I love when a bride is not afraid to take risks and opt for a dress that doesn’t look traditional. LE swoon!

I need a bride to wear necklaces like this on her wedding day.  I would so do it, but I definitely plan on wearing this fantastic red bolero, so those necklaces wouldn’t work right.  But then again I could scrap the bolero idea…

our labor of love

If you do this, please take pictures and send them to me so I can splash them all over this page.

If any of you are on Twitter and follow “tweeps” like Weddingbee or Martha Stewart Weddings, you’ll know that just about a week ago was Bridal Fashion Week in NYC.

This is personally an equivalent of NY Fashion Week, because you truly get a peak inside of the designers mind for the upcoming seasons and their designs.  I don’t know about you, but seeing everyone’s live Tweets is really putting me on the edge of my seat.

And, because almost no post is complete without photos, here are some peaks into what the designers will have to offer, thanks to Abby over at Style Me Pretty.

Ines Di Santo via Style Me Pretty

Amsale via Style Me Pretty

Hope you were able to find some great gown options in last week’s post!

This week, I’m featuring The Cotton Bride by Chis Cole. The second I found these gowns during my gown search, I had to find a shop in town that carried them.  I was in love with the idea of wearing a simple, cotton gown.  If you have never heard of Chris Cole’s “The Cotton Bride” line, trust me when I say that you’ll be shocked that these gowns are made of cotton.

This first one was one of the first one’s that I had my eye on, but the shop in town did not have it in their samples. Sigh. I love the detail on the bodice and the pleats.

The Cotton Bride via Brides.com

Here’s a close up of the bodice for ya!

The Cotton Bride via Brides.com

I’m not a huge lace fan, but the fact that the skirt and bodice of this gown has a cotton lace overlay blows my mind.

The Cotton Bride via Brides.com

And, again, a close up for you.

The Cotton Bride via Brides.com

For more beautiful designs, be sure to check out The Cotton Bride website.  Plus, I did some research on the prices for these gowns, and they appear to be in the lower end (under $3,000).

And, as a side note.  I tried to do a little bit more research on whether Chris Cole uses treated cotton or organic cotton and was not able to find out much information.  But I must say that a treated cotton is much better than using a polyester or other processed materials.  Their site does claim to use natural materials, which is one step closer than using a non-natural material!