Even though Marc Rancy spent his high school years doodling gown sketches in his notebook, he never thought that designing clothes would become his life’s passion. After graduating with a degree in Multimedia design from De La Salle School of Design and Arts, he took classes in fashion design at his alma matter and the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. He then started out by designing gowns for proms and graduation balls until he felt confident enough to establish his own label.

I love his dresses, but most of all, I love his attitude about fashion and his goals as a fashion designer.

“As a designer, my utmost goal is not to create a piece of clothing that people would notice but a piece of clothing that would put on a pedestal the person wearing it. At the end of the day, it is not the dress that should be noticed but the person wearing it. I feel that I have done my job as a designer having achieved that. I want to be able to make my client feel good about herself through what I have created – that the dress is beautiful because she is beautiful, and not the other way around.”

Marc Rancy has a more traditional bridal line, but I thought I’d feature nude wedding dresses from his previous collection. It’s such a lovely, sexy color that doesn’t screan for attention. Some of the dresses may be too revealing if you’re a more traditional sort of bride-to-be, but you can request for more conservative styles.

Check out the rest of Marc Rancy’s work at marcrancy.com.

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While we’re on the subject of international wedding gowns, I thought I’d do a small feature on Indian bridal dresses. I’ve always loved the colorful fabrics of the traditional sari, but if you thought the sari was beautiful and elaborate, you should see Indian wedding dresses. Like the sari, they can be made out of all sorts of material – cotton blend, satin, crepe, georgette, silk, and other luxurious fabrics. The difference is that they are heavily embellished with beads, sequins, rhinestones, and Swarovski crystals. Indian wedding dresses are usually red, but the bride can pretty much choose whatever color she wants.

What I’m going to show you today is a collection of Indian bridal dresses by designer Ritu Beri. They’re not so much traditional Indian bridal dresses as Western evening gowns made with luxurious Indian fabrics. Definitely not for brides who don’t want to stand out on their wedding day!

The peacock blue dress with gold undertones (right) is my favorite dress in the collection. If only I had the belly for that dress!

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When I first saw Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, I found it silly, frivolous, and rife with historical inaccuracies. Of course, this was back when I was a graduate student with absolutely no interest in fashion. Now that I have become somewhat silly and frivolous myself, I developed a better appreciation of the movie’s visuals. This movie is not the story of Marie Antoinette’s life and demise; it’s about what she wore and what she ate. In any case, the movie has so many ideas to offer for a picture perfect wedding.

If there was one accessory that got a lot of air time in the movie, it’s fans. Brightly colored fans made of paper, lace, and beads depicting scenes of courtly life. In the tropics, fans aren’t merely decorative. Instead of making your bridal party carry bouquets, have them carry brightly colored fans, especially if you’re getting married in a garden or a non-air conditioned venue. They make such lovely wedding favors too!

Designer Manolo Blahnik created literally hundreds of shoes to complement the movie’s extravagant costumes. White wedding shoes with a white wedding dress is so passe. Be adventurous and wear a colorful pair!

Then of course, there are the dresses. The movie’s costumes were designed by Milena Canonero, who received an Oscar for her beautiful work.

The costumes for the movie were designed by Milena Canonero, who won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

The costumes certainly aren’t very wearable, but you can use them as inspiration for your wedding’s color scheme and motifs.

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If you want a little avant garde flair into your wedding day look, I suggest you take inspiration from fashion house Lanvin’s Collection Blanche – their bridal collection. Alber Elbaz, one of the lead designers behind Lanvin, created the first Collection Blanche as part of the resort collection. This year, there are four new wedding dresses in Collection Blanche. Not all of them are wearable though; I much prefer the dresses from 2009 (shown above). Still, the 2010 collection is worth a look.

This is this strangest dress in the collection. Maybe it’s just the angle, but the model looks like she has a furry raccoon tail.

I can totally see someone wearing this hot party dress to her reception!

Other photos from style.com.

Last Friday, I attended the tail end of The Wedding Library Bridal Fair at Megamall to meet my friend Kathy of Bolsito Bags (check out their website, they have lots of gorgeous new handbags). The exhibitors were starting to close up for the evening and I couldn’t take good photos, but as I was walking around the fair, I realized something – I disliked wedding gowns with lots of beading, sequins, and other shimmering embellishments. This was a surprising revelation, considering that my dream wedding dress is a rather frothy concoction from Raylia. Maybe it was just because the dresses on display were way overdone, but I hated how tacky embellished dresses looked. Although I gave it no more thought after event, I found my wedding dress aesthetic changing. While looking at photos today, I seemed to be more drawn to simpler wedding dresses with all-over lace and understated details rather than dresses with out-there design.

The simple romanticism of Peter Langner’s spring 2010 collection was what caught my eye. I’m still a lover of lace because I think no other fabric can be quite as romantic, and I like that his dresses echo this sentiment without being too obvious about it. If you’re into simple wedding dresses with a hint of dreaminess, check out my favorites below.

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News of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s suicide sent ripples of shock throughout the fashion world this morning. I’ve always liked his creative use of textures, the structure of his clothes, and how he used his collections to make real statements (see the Highland Rape collection from 1995). I wish I’d been rich enough to buy a pair of shoes or a purse when he was still alive. :\

Alexander McQueen never released a bridal collection per se, but he has a few aisle-friendly white dresses for the fashion-forward bride. Check them out below.

Lily Donaldson & Jessica Stam in Alexander McQueen – V #53 by Sebastian Faena, May/June 2008

This crinoline dress isn’t exactly aisle-friendly but it sure is an interesting take on the wedding gown. From the Givenchy Spring-Summer 2000 collection.

I don’t remember which collection this dress is from but I love the lace booties!

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From Alexander McQueen’s spring/summer 2003 collection.

Emma Watson in Alexander McQueen at the National Movie Awards in 2008.

Rest in peace.

All other photos taken from Daily Mail

Among all the dresses at the Golden Globe red carpet, it was Dianna Agron’s Reem Acra dress that struck me the most. It was so beautiful in its simplicity, it made me want to check out the rest of Reem Acra’s wedding dresses. I was not disappointed; her spring/summer collection is just as gorgeous, not to mention that it has one of the broadest selections I’ve ever seen. There are Greek goddess dresses in billowy chiffon, old Hollywood glam dresses with ornate beading, unadorned yet beautifully structured ballgown dresses, and dresses following key 2010 trends (ruffles, tiers, high-low hemlines). A very well-rounded collection all in all. Check out my favorites under the cut!

View the rest of her stunning collection at Brides UK.

I can’t believe I missed this last year! Music producer and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi got married last July at a very private ceremony in Maine. Her husband is actually someone far removed from showbiz – his name is Mike McCuddy and he’s a general contractor who built the house next to her summer house in Prospect Harbor . They met when she marched next door to complain about how the house he was building was too close to hers. She found him hot, they ended up dating, and they got engaged during a vacation in Mexico.

Kara DioGuardi said her I do’s in a strapless silk faille gown by Vera Wang. Her wedding dress is from Vera Wang’s fall 2008 collection and features a bustling mermaid skirt with a long train.

She also wore $250,000 worth of wedding bling from celebrity jeweler Neil Lane. Her jewelry consisted of candelier earrings with 20 carat diamonds and a 30-carat diamond and platinum bracelet. Personally, I wouldn’t spend that much on my wedding jewelry but hey, I’m no celebrity!

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This column gown by Jenny Packham features a beaded bodice and ruffled skirt. It’s very flapper girl, isn’t it?

This halter satin back crepe gown from Priscilla of Boston is something I can see on a tall celebrity walking to her limousine, illuminated by the flash of the papparazi.

The deep v-neck of this satin-faced organza gown by Lela Rose is very forgiving; the draped detail in front can easily hide unwanted tummy bulges!

Everything about this gown by St. Pucchi screams high fashion. From the Queen Anne collar to the beaded chapel train, this vintage-inspired gown is fit for royalty.

Mermaid skirts are very old Hollywood, but this gown from Rivini has a certain structure and rigidity that could only be done by modern designers.

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