About Me

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Spring/North Houston, Texas, United States
Okay let me start with my name, I'm Denise Case the owner of The Princess Bridal, a bridal shop in Spring,Texas. I opened my shop in November of 2005. I have always loved all things wedding. When I was a teenager I secretly looked at wedding magazines (I just couldn't stop dreaming of weddings). When my Daughter was seven, we started looking at Martha Stewart Wedding, as she got older the rule was we had to look at it together. Opening the shop was a lot of work but its the BEST job I ever had, making dreams come true!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Lace, Lace and more lace!




When you come to The Princess Bridal in search of your dream wedding dress, one of the ways we learn about you and your special day is by filling out a "bridal profile". This handy sheet of paper tells us important information, like your wedding date (that's important, especially if you want your dress in time), budget (so you don't blow your wedding budget all on your dress...that wouldn't be good) and what you're looking for in a dress (style and fabric). Now that you've found your missing puzzle piece (your fiance), it's time to find the dress, and we're here to help! Fortunately, finding your dress is much easier than finding your special someone.
Maybe you have a very detailed idea of what your perfect dress would be, including the color, style, fabric, and each individual embellishment with specific placemen, if so, that's great! Maybe you have absolutely no clue what you're looking for, and when we hand you a bridal profile sheet, the different styles and fabrics leave you in a tizzy, and that's great too! Have no fear, Princess Bridal is here to find your perfect dress! In this series of "What's hot: 2013", we're going to discuss all of the hot trends in bridal fashion for this year.

One of the hottest trends in bridal fashion today is lace. Yep, you've seen it. It's the fabric that hangs as a window treatment in your grandma's house, and it's the fabric that adorns your favorite red bra. Now, lace hasn't just become hot, it's been hot for a long, long time. Did you know that the Sumerians were the first to add lace to fabric in 4000 B.C.? Bobbin lace and needle lace first made it's debut in the fifteenth century. Queen Victoria made an impressive statement with her lace wedding gown and veil in 1839. Let's not forget about the lace dress Grace Kelly wore on her wedding dress in 1956; and more recently, the lace gown that Kate Middleton wore when she married her Prince Charming. It is obvious that lace can give you an elegant and timeless look on your wedding day.
For such an intricate masterpiece, the creation of lace is far from simple. Bobbin lace is made by the twisting of thread around bobbins over a groups of pins that are connected to a pillow. Once finished, the pins are taken out and the lace is separated from the pillow and viola! Needle lace is created by needle and thread over a pattern that is drawn on a backing and then removed when finished to create an open lace pattern. Did you know that it took six months and one hundred workers to finish Queen Victoria's famous lace dress? It is clear that lace making is no easy task, therefore, making it a rather costly fabric. Royalty were most common to wear lace because of the high expense. It was often taken from one fabric and then added to another fabric to make it more cost effective. Just like in the 15th century, lace is still an expensive garment, which means it is more difficult to find a well-made lace dress for under a thousand dollars.

There are many different styles of lace, including the most common: Venise lace, Chantilly lace, and the Alencon lace. Venise lace usually has floral, foliage, and geomettric patterns with a thick needlepoint style. Chantilly lace is usually a soft, floral patten on a net background, while Alencon lace is more of a bold pattern and can be used as an applique or one continuous garment.
For such an intricate masterpiece, the creation of lace is far from simple. Bobbin lace is made by the twisting of thread around bobbins over a groups of pins that are connected to a pillow. Once finished, the pins are taken out and the lace is separated from the pillow and viola! Needle lace is created by needle and thread over a pattern that is drawn on a backing and then removed when finished to create an open lace pattern. Did you know that it took six months and one hundred workers to finish Queen Victoria's famous lace dress? It is clear that lace making is no easy task, therefore, making it a rather costly fabric. Royalty were most common to wear lace because of the high expense. It was often taken from one fabric and then added to another fabric to make it more cost effective. Just like in the 15th century, lace is still an expensive garment, which means it is more difficult to find a well-made lace dress for under a thousand dollars.

There are many different styles of lace, including the most common: Venise lace, Chantilly lace, and the Alencon lace. Venise lace usually has floral, foliage, and geomettric patterns with a thick needlepoint style. Chantilly lace is usually a soft, floral patten on a net background, while Alencon lace is more of a bold pattern and can be used as an applique or one continuous garment.

For such an intricate masterpiece, the creation of lace is far from simple. Bobbin lace is made by the twisting of thread around bobbins over a groups of pins that are connected to a pillow. Once finished, the pins are taken out and the lace is separated from the pillow and viola! Needle lace is created by needle and thread over a pattern that is drawn on a backing and then removed when finished to create an open lace pattern. Did you know that it took six months and one hundred workers to finish Queen Victoria's famous lace dress? It is clear that lace making is no easy task, therefore, making it a rather costly fabric. Royalty were most common to wear lace because of the high expense. It was often taken from one fabric and then added to another fabric to make it more cost effective. Just like in the 15th century, lace is still an expensive garment, which means it is more difficult to find a well-made lace dress for under a thousand dollars.

There are many different styles of lace, including the most common: Venise lace, Chantilly lace, and the Alencon lace. Venise lace usually has floral, foliage, and geomettric patterns with a thick needlepoint style. Chantilly lace is usually a soft, floral patten on a net background, while Alencon lace is more of a bold pattern and can be used as an applique or one continuous garment.

Venise lace
Alencon lace

Chantilly lace

Since lace made its debut to the fashion industry, it has been popular for lingerie, veils, and, of course, wedding gowns. Whether it be the Spanish flair or the sexiness of the open lace or the vintage aspect that you're longing for, lace can make you feel like the princess you deserve to be on your wedding day.

If you are a lace kind of gal, we have gorgeous lace gowns for you to try on! Here are a few lace gowns we have:

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Tradition or Not....to Veil or not to Veil

Kristina Eaton Ltd.
A woman is likely to wear a veil on her wedding day, especially if she follows the traditions of a white wedding. Brides used to wear their hair flowing down their back at their wedding to symbolize their virginity, now the white diaphanous veil is often said to represent this.
There are many stories of the origin of a bride's veil. The definition of veil is to "obscure, shroud, mask or cover, so perhaps that is how the bridal "veil" got its name.

Back in medieval times, the veil was a symbol of purity, chastity, and modesty. Long ago, the Groom was making a promise to clothe and protect her, he recognizes that he was marrying the bride for her inner beauty; while looks will fade with time, his love will be everlasting. Some ultra-orthodox traditions have the bride wears an opaque veil as she is escorted down the aisle to meet her groom. This shows her complete willingness to enter into the marriage and her absolute trust that she is marrying the right man.
Some say the the origin of the bridal veil was due to the circumstances of an arranged marriage. In the past, men bargained with an eligible young girl's father for her hand in marriage. After the ceremony, the veil was lifted to reveal the brides face. This was to keep a groom from backing out of the deal if he didn't like what he saw.

Some say that the veil was used in days past as a symbol of a bride's submission and willingness to obey her husband. The veil is also said to be symbolic of the passing from girl to married woman&the Father of the Bride lifting the veil and giving her to her Husband is the beginning of their new life together or unveiling.

Cathedral Veils were only worn in wedding that took place in cathedrals, thus the name.

Traditions change, now wearing a bridal veil:

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signifies joy&the beginning of life together
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highlights the bride's appearance and features
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is the ICING on the cake! Brides are transformed with the addition of a veil, yes even if you think you don't want one try it....you never know it might make you FEEL like the Bride.

The history of wearing a bridal veil has given way to new traditions. Over the last 20 years, traditions surrounding the bridal veil have changed even more. Veils were worn more frequently over the face, a blusher; Brides today are forgoing the veiling of their face. Brides are also returning to the 1950 style French net or bird cage veil for that vintage look.

Brides of today are making their own wedding veil history! It used to be that Brides marrying for the second time traditionally were not supposed to wear a veil, especially a white veil. Is this your LAST marriage then wear the color&accessories you want to! Don't let anyone try to tell you different. It's YOUR day!

Your wedding day is one of the most important days in a woman's life, you want to FEEL like the Bride!
Happy Planning

Denise Case

Resources:
http://www.veilubridal.com/history-bridal-veil.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil