Wow. 2010. That sounds so futuristic, don’t you think? I’m happy to see that a little bit of that future glow can be found in some of the bridal gown trends I found.

Just like last my research last year showed, the experts have a bit of the old back and forth on picking trends, so I’ve listed my favorites here along with lots of juicy links, pictures and videos. Next to the cake, the gown is really the funnest to go shopping for….I took out my bridal gown just the other day and it almost made me cry. Yep. The power of that one piece of fabric is really special, so ladies, make sure you follow your gut when picking out your gown. Get what you’ve always dreamed of.

• So what’s the big trend I see a lot of right now? One-shoulder styles. It seems that First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off this trend when she wore the one-shoulder Jason Wu creation to the President’s inaugural Ball. It’s elegant, regal and classic in all the right ways. And her gown would make an absolutely beautiful wedding gown, wouldn’t it?

• And here’s an example from one of my beautiful brides, Annemarie, who got married at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort here in Naples, Florida. Her gown, an absolutely breathtaking design from Maggie Sottero’s Destination Collection really stole the show. It’s a one-piece with a corset closure and a single floral embellished shoulder strap made of billowing chiffon. Check out the gown’s url right here!

• A trend after my own heart: black! Whether it’s a bit of black in the gown’s details or yep! A totally all-black gown, black is not just for goths anymore! Want to check out an all black gown? AND it’s one-shouldered too AND it’s shot by the fabulous Jose Villa AND it’s worn with red boots? Check it out here at the Once Wed blog or here at Jose Villa’s blog! And for a few more selections of some totally fabulous black gowns, check out this post, BLACK GOWNS WITH BIG IMPACT I {heart} romona keveza I am Woman… Watch Me Lure over at the Knotty Bride!

• I’m sure that if you are a bride researching for ideas, trends etc. you haven’t missed the fact that vintage is very, very popular right now. Goes to say that 50’s flair in bridal gowns is a very hot trend this year, too. Think high necklines, tulle skirts and tea-length styles on the runways. I love this look, birdcage veil and all and if you can’t find it, have Unique Vintage make it to order for you!

• Another hot trend for 2010? Bows! Big, tiny, huge, droopy or structured anything goes when it comes to bows! The beautiful gown below belongs to one of my brides….Michelle’s gown, from Casablanca Bridal, has a really different half bow with tails and a lovely rhinestone detail. Beautiful!

• Metallic touches! Add a touch of futuristic metallic fabric to your gown and you are set to shimmer all night long! I’d love to pair this up with a black gown. Yum!

• Touches of flowers or anything garden-inspired like vines and leaves! LOVE it! As you can probably tell from our website and blog design is that I’m a nut for garden inspiration….And I’ve seen some really lovely gowns with touches of garden love. Here are a few that I found and love!

From Oscar de la Renta

 

From Watters

• And how fab is this gown from Spanish designer, Jorge Terra? I love it when I find a new designer I can’t stop gushing about. This gown would look SMASHING on the beach here in Naples!

• Coming in to round out the list are couture cover-ups! Gone are the days of the plain Jane wraps….say hello to ultra-sophisticated and ultra-unique from floor-length coats to airy boleros to detailed capelets. What’s not to love? Jorge Terra has some again, unique and really stunning cover-ups! If you are looking for some inspiring ideas, head on over to his website here! If you’d like to see a nifty slide show of his 2010 Bridal Collection during the Madrid Cibeles Novias (bridal fashion shows that feature the latest in bridal trends Made in Spain), visit the CanalBoda (wedding channel in Spanish). And isn’t that turquoise cover up absolutely stunning? Makes me wish I could plan my wedding all over again!

We are never ones to turn down a good challenge. And in this case, Chris had a specific look and feel he was after. Together with the art of Yukimi Mills and Mike Landry, we created a pretty cool portrait of Chris at his bar.

You can see Yukimi’s dragon piece to the far left and Mike’s custom-made wallpaper for Chris’s website to the far right. With a little Photoshop magic thrown in by us, and voila! You can check out the article, written by Jeff Berkwits, in the April 2010 issue of Sci Fi Magazine, which is on shelves now. Thanks Chris for giving us another opportunity to flex our creative muscle!

 

I think we photographers have the best job though….we get to capture it all forever!

Congratulations Jane and David! What a beautiful family you both have…

~ The Details ~

Location: Naples, Florida
Venue: La Playa, Betsy Tucker
Wedding Coordinator: Stephanie Shaffer - Weddings Made Simple
Stylist: Roni Fields
Florist: Mark Fessenden with Gene’s 5the Avenue Florist
Cake: Ella’s Cakes
Gown: Vera Wang
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Entertainment: Kevin Smith - Florida Talent Consultants
Chocolatier: Norman Love’s Chocolates

The dinner theme for the evening was Birds of a Feather. On hand to bring the vision to life was designer Gary Shanabarger, partner at 50Fifty Flowerphilosophy.

Celebrity chef for the evening was Richard Reddington of Redd and the vintners for the evening included Piero Incisa della Rocchetta of Bodega Chacra in Rio Negro, Argentina and Marc Perrin of Château de Beaucastel in Courthezon, France. Unfortunately, Mr. Perrin was detained in France but his wine made it all the way to Naples safely!

Aside from the fabulous smells emanating from the kitchen, the senses were flooded with beautiful bright shades of emeralds and burgundys, bright vivid reds and regal whites. Two peacocks graced the dinner providing a beautifully elegant backdrop and a visual feast for the eyes!

One of the centerpieces included a delicate wooden bird cage with bright red and black feathers intertwined around the cage, raising a few feet above the center of the table. Crystal birds atop gilded branches adorned two other tables.

With an absolutely incredible full moon out that night and perfect weather, what more could you ask for? How about fire art entertainment from Blaze Naples? Wow….talk about really lighting up a dinner party (ok, I know, totally cheezey but I had to say it).

And of course, the wine and the food and executive chef Reddington….

I’m really starting to get into black and white again. And I’m itching to set up my darkroom again….on the hunt for an enlarger! Wouldn’t these look great as large fiber prints framed on the wall?

 

 

 

This edition features Liz and Sean’s awesomely beautiful and fun wedding that we shot at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club here in Southwest Florida! What a great place to shoot! At every corner we found great spots and the decor is fabulous! Lesley and the staff at Miromar did an absolutely outstanding job making sure everything flowed smoothly and everyone was happy. And we couldn’t have been happier shooting at such a refreshingly unique spot!

I know that the wedding magazine industry experienced some losses last year with the loss of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride so we are SUPER ecstatic to see such a beautiful magazine going strong and representing some of the best vendors, locations and talent here in Florida. We are also very honored to be featured in Weddings Florida.

For us, it’s really wonderful to see this area of Southwest Florida receive the recognition it deserves as being a hot spot for destination weddings. Not only is the area beautiful, but we have some absolutely fantastic talent in the area that will do everything possible to help create a bride and groom’s vision. And part of that success comes from a strong network here of industry vendors that work with each other and support each other.

Thanks again to Weddings Florida for featuring Liz and Sean and thank you Liz and Sean for trusting in our ability to preserve your wedding day.

~ Astrid and Rene ~

 

 

 

If you’d like to learn more about Weddings Florida, check out their Facebook page and their website!

If you are in the Southwest Florida area and want to get to know some of the best vendors (including us) in the industry, make sure to attend the First Annual Clearwater Beach Bridal & Fashion Show produced by Weddings Florida Magazine, Sunday, January 24, 2010 at Clearwater Beach. Check out their website for more information and pre-registration.

As we end the year, Rene and I want to thank all of our friends, our family, and our clients for all of the support, challenges and excitement they have brought us.

Aside from our children and each other, our lives are full because of the many faceted relationships we’ve built this year. We’ve met so many new friends in the wedding industry here in Southwest Florida. New friends who have treated us as friends instead of competition and have welcomed us with open arms, great advice and a shoulder to vent, cry and laugh on! Never forget that in business as in life, if you build an island around yourself, you won’t get far. Letting our guard down has been the best thing we could have done for our business this year and we thank all of our new industry friends!

This year we’ve met beautiful brides and grooms beginning a new life together. Brides and grooms who don’t know us but yet trust us with one of the most important days of their lives. They’ve given us the opportunity to participate in a day so special, so unique and so important that for us, that in the end it’s a humbling experience. Rene and I want to thank each of you for letting us be a small part of that special day. For us there is no greater joy than hearing that our work will remain in your hearts and in your family’s hearts for generations to come.

And we’ve grown older with our families by our sides this year, too. Both Rene and I consider ourselves very, very luck to have both of our mothers here in Naples. Without them, we would not be able to do the work we do. Leaving our two girls with our mothers gives us the peace of mind we need in order to do the job we love to do. Thank you to our mothers for all the hard work they do for us and for their granddaughters. We are so lucky to have such beautiful, smart, hard-working, patient and loving mothers who serve as the very best role models for us and for our girls. We never take for granted all that you both have done for us. We love you both so much!

In the society we live in, it’s easy to forget what life is really about. The grind of daily life takes us over and we lose ourselves in work and responsibilities and the material things that so easily come in and out of our lives. For the New Year, Rene and I plan to strengthen our efforts in becoming better stewards of the Earth, stronger supporters for our friends and colleagues and even better image makers for our brides and grooms! These are no easy feats! But what does make it so obtainable a goal is that the people in our lives make it easy to want to be better.

]]> http://blog.astridandrene.com/2009/12/24/happy-holidays-from-astrid-and-rene/feed/ http://blog.astridandrene.com/2009/12/08/naples-beach-family-session-the-maschhoffs/ http://blog.astridandrene.com/2009/12/08/naples-beach-family-session-the-maschhoffs/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:25:03 +0000 Astrid http://blog.astridandrene.com/?p=460 With all the cold weather, I thought I’d post a beautiful shoot that we did a few months back right here in our favorite Naples beach. Now, I don’t mean to post this so that folks in the cold freezing snow feel bad (hardly because I wish I was in that snow right now, you know the grass is always greener….)! But I just wanted to post this session because if you’ve ever thought about coming down to Naples or Southwest Florida for a visit but have been hesitant, don’t be! Just look at how beautiful the beaches are here and don’t even get me started on the colors of the sky and water! It is that beautiful….any time of the year, too! Yes, even in the dead of summer with the blazing heat!

In this session, we had the opportunity to photograph the Maschhoff family. They hail from Illinois and commissioned us to capture them being themselves here in this beautiful paradise. Ok, ok. So yeah. Our job is super easy when you have a backdrop like Naples, Florida and when you have a gorgeous family like this, but hey! We had to push the button! Everywhere we turned there was a unique spot to photograph or something beautiful to lean on…and with that light and the wonderful sound of the ocean, what’s not to smile about! We love capturing families…..and thank you to the Maschhoff’s for letting us preserve these memories. It was an honor to get the opportunity to photograph all of you…..