The Ultimate Wedding Dress

Last week one of my brides casually mentioned that Princess Diana's wedding dress is on display in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WHAT?! I was shocked that it was so close and I hadn't heard anything about the exhibit in Chicago! I missed the opportunity to see it years ago in Florida, so I was really excited to hear it was nearby this time. Apparently the exhibit has been open since November.

Tickets are selling out fast because the exhibit is coming to a close around Valentine's Day. So I took a road trip this past weekend to view the gown. 

The exhibit is at the Grand Rapids Art Museum and it was well worth the trip! You can't take any photos inside but I was able to find a few images online. The first room featured the Spencer family history and jewels. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls in gorgeous antique brooches, necklaces, and earrings were scattered around the room. An amazing crown (pictured, sparkling away) is front and center greeting you when you walk in  ...stunning! They also had portraits and the entire family history including a huge family tree dating back to the 1300's.

The next room was Diana's childhood. They had home movies playing on a screen along with her personal articles like toys, school books, school papers, baby portraits etc...

The museum curators unpacking the dress when it arrived in November.

The next hallway featured her engagement at the young age of 19, with engagement photos and painted portraits. As I rounded the corner to the next room...there it was! THE dress!

It was in a grand security case that displayed the entire 25 foot train. They also had her shoes, a parasol and a flower girl dress. There are huge photos of the wedding day and a looping video of the wedding ceremony which was the most watched TV event in history, 750 million people! It may not be the prettiest wedding gown by today's standards (it was the 80's, after all) but the fact that it was hers is what makes it special. 

The next room's theme was her charity work. Featured were letters and hand written speeches she had given, along with video clips of her charity work.

You then walk into a dimly lit room where they had the largest screen of all playing clips of her funeral with the famous Elton John song. There were music sheets with Elton John's hand written notes detailing the changes he made to the lyrics. They also had Diana's brother's touching eulogy that he gave at her funeral enlarged and mounted on the wall. 

From that room you walked into a fabulous room filled with different outfits she had worn through the years. Famous suits, dresses and evening gowns with photos and the history behind each one...seeing these dresses was such a bonus! We thought we were just going to see the wedding gown!

They had a small gift shop as you made your way to the exit through the final hall where there were cases and shelves filled with books of condolences from all over the world. 

We also found out that Diana and Charles's wedding cake replica was on display at a nearby hotel so we ventured out to find it! The cake was a fruit cake with apples, grapes and other fruits topped with cream cheese frosting. You could get samples at the hotel restaurant but I decided to pass since I am chocolate lover. :) It was quite the exhibit and it was such a unique experience that I will always remember!

New 2011 Dresses!

We are receiving more and more new dresses every week! We have a great new selection of Aire Barcelona, Enzoani and Amy Kuschel. We're excited with our upcoming trunk shows this spring starting the end of January with KittyChen Couture and three shows in February. Check out our website for our trunk show list and be sure to make your appointment early, they are booking fast! Our prom dresses will be out the second week in February but we are taking Prom Dresser applications now!

The Dress by Nicole is also receiving a lot of new accessories including hair jewelry, belts and beaded trims! Looking for the perfect shoe? We have a new collection of shoes that have peacock feathers, crystals, flower petals and can be dyed in almost any color. Stop by today and see our exciting new goodies!

It's Time for Prom!

With the holidays quickly coming and going it will be prom season before we know it! As we did last year The Dress by Nicole is looking for young ladies that would like to become Prom Dressers for the 2011 season. There are all sorts of incentives for our Prom Dressers where they could potentially earn a free prom dress! Check out our website today for details and apply quickly! Only a few Prom Dressers can be chosen.

December Updates...

November came and went so quickly! I knew it would because I was fortunate enough to get to go on vacation for a week to Disney World, and a week later it was Thanksgiving. Anytime I can combine my two favorite things (dresses and Disney) is always a great thing! At Disney Hollywood Studios they had the costume Dame Judi Dench wore in Shakespeare in Love. The details in this were amazing! Right behind the castle in the Magic Kingdom there was a newly renovated princess shop where they had Cinderella's and Princess Aurora's dresses on display. I was a Disney cast member in the past in the costume department and it's so exciting to see what my friends have been up to at the parks creating gorgeous dresses like these.

Being in Disney for a week definitely put us in the Christmas mood when we came home. Just in time to get ready for the holidays.











We were busy decorating our window for the annual Christmas Lights parade in downtown Wheaton the Friday after Thanksgiving and the Holiday Open House that took place today, despite the first snow of the winter, people still came out for the sleigh rides and see the downtown shops!

I had the chance to check out the I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot at the Chicago History Museum. This exhibit is only around until January 3rd and if you love weddings as much as I do you HAVE to see it. It's a really great set up for wedding gowns from the 1850's to present day and I loved how they tied a lot of the traditions and origins back to Marshall Fields. I truly recommend it for a girls afternoon downtown.

 Tomorrow marks the end of our trunk show season with a collection from Saison Blanche. Every week now we are getting in our new 2011 dresses! We've been getting a lot in from Aire Barcelona and Enzoani the past two weeks. We're also been getting in bridesmaids, mom's and even prom! The prom dresses won't be out until February so that our Prom Dressers can get first choice before we put them out for the public. It's an exciting time of year when all the new gowns come in which means that the busy spring season is right around the corner.

It's the season for winter weddings and this time of year reminds me of how busy we were 4 years ago planning ours. Our anniversary is this Thursday, the 9th. I wish all our winter brides a beautiful winter wonderland wedding day!

Happy Halloween!

Downtown Wheaton had their annual Trick-or-Treat Friday from 3-5pm. Our Boston Terrier, Stitch had to get in the action with his spider costume. All the kids and even mom and dad loved to see him dressed up! He was so excited to meet all the kids! We even had some little brides come through so they were thrilled to come inside the shop.

We're finishing up our Kitty Chen Trunk Show tomorrow Oct 30th with her brand new 2011 collection. We are the ONLY store and the first in
the nation to show the new line! Our next trunk show will be Nov 19-21st for LaRichi Couture and don't forget our special hours on Sunday the 21st noon to 4!

Bridal Market and Trends for 2011

This weekend was bridal market for the new 2011 season. It's always exciting to see what the new styles and trends are coming up next. In wedding gowns, it's all about ruffles and layers. Mermaids and trumpets are still popular but I saw return of the full skirt or ballgown too! For accessories, everyone is showing feathers, flowers and Russian netting poufs or short bird cage veils! The biggest trend is BELTS! The more beaded the better! All different colors, widths and lengths! It's the perfect way to take that simple gown to the next level!
I got to see our friend, Kitty Chen, and her new 2011 collection that we will be the very first in the country to debut her new collection at our trunk show October 22-24th. The new collection has something for everyone and they are all gorgeous! While visiting LaRichi Couture I was lucky enough to meet the Mara the owner of Kleinfelds in NYC and her buyer Sandy. They actually spoke to me for a minute...very exciting! Hopefully we'll see some of our LaRichi Couture styles on Say Yes to the Dress on tv soon!

Another star sighting was that I got to meet Kathy Ireland! She is gorgeous in person and very nice. She chatted with us for a minute or two! Most of the new accessories we ordered should be in November/December and the wedding gowns will start arriving in December, January, and February. Don't miss our Hey Lady Shoes trunk show this weekend and see the new color options available as soon as January!

Time for Homecoming!!!

We now have homecoming dresses! We have long and short, poufy and straight, prints and solids! Homecoming ladies are choosing a mix of styles and colors from Faviana, Blush and other great designers that we carry. Just remember we won't sell the same dress in the same color to the same dance! We also have a great new selection of jewelry. Have a fun and safe 2010 Homecoming ladies!!!