#LuxeFeteAtVersace
When we had the chance to participate in a shoot at the Versace Mansion - we jumped for joy! Yes we would send over a dress! And of course, it should be Berta! The perfect fit for this iconic, glam venue.
We knew that with one of these chic gowns and the Versace Mansion as the backdrop, we'd see something special - but we could have never imagined something this beautiful, this luxe!
The full credits are listed below the images. Each and every one of them a talented vendor as these photos show. If you want to see more images, and who wouldn't, head over to Luxe Fête - that's the creative mind that literally had a dream of this bride and then made it all happen in real life. Enjoy!
Planning and Design: @LuxeFete
Photographer: @_dianalupu
Cake: Dominque Couture Cakes
Florals: @sproutmiami
Berta Wedding Gown and Veil: @chicparisien
Jewelry: @mariaelenaheadpieces
Bridal Styling: @dressvoyage
Make Up: @natashagrossmakeupartist
Hair: @braid_queen
Furniture and Linens: @nuagedesignsinc
Tableware: @zgallerie
Paper Suite: Letter Heads
Aventura Magazine Features Chic, Chic, Chic Parisien Gowns
Aventura Magazine did us the great honor of featuring our gowns in their very beautiful Bridal Issue. Monique Lhuillier (Posh Gown) and Inbal Dror (BR-13-23) take center stage with Miami's iconic Cuban architecture as a backdrop and Maria Elena Headpieces as accessories.
Photos by @gioalmapics and styling by @marcelopolis.
A #RealChicBride in Inbal Dror (and Louboutin's!)
This beautiful #RealChicBride wedding has been making the blog rounds - and we know why! It's so chic, so romantic and the couple looks so in love! Chris and Colleen tied the knot at Deering Estate, she was wearing an Inbal Dror gown from Chic Parisien - one of the first ones she tried on!
They got all the details right on this one. Read all about the couple, their wedding day and how they brought their personalized touch to this intimate wedding on House of Lilac's Hello Beautiful blog and on Green Wedding Shoes.
Photos by Merari Photography.
A Showroom Viewing with Monique Lhuillier Spring 2016
Here's an inside look at our showroom viewing of the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2016 Collection. Just after the magnificent runway show, we got some time alone with these beauties so that we could inspect them up close, ask questions and make our buying decisions.
Now, they're coming to the store and you can see them in person too! We're the very first store to host a trunk show with Monique's Spring 2016 Collection (and isn't it just amazing?!). Appointments are limited, so call now and reserve some time to come in and try these on before anyone else!
Monique Lhuillier Spring 2016 Collection Debuts at Chic Parisien
Be among the first in the world to see the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2016 Collection in person.
This week (Thursday - Saturday), Chic Parisien is proud to debut this stunning collection just weeks after the Bridal Market runway show. We are the very first store to host this collection, so make your appointment now and be the first brides to place your orders on these very fresh, very, very chic gowns.
All images courtesy of Monique Lhuillier.
Bridal Market Recap Part I
There's nothing like a trip to New York. It's the city of Carrie Bradshaw, of Fifth Avenue, of Fashion Week - and then, there's Bridal Market. Bridal Market is the Fashion Week of the bridal world. Twice a year, the industry, and the Chic Parisien team, descends on the city for a few days of non-stop appointments, runway shows, presentations and showroom visits. It's an overload of tulle, lace, beading, trends and all things wedding, but we aren't complaining; there's nothing better than spending time around beautiful things and we are so lucky to spend our work days surrounded by beautiful designer dreams.
We're happy to report that we're back in the store, as inspired as ever, and have brought with us all the trends that we'll see throughout the rest of 2015 and 2016.
We'll be sharing some of the hundreds of photos that we snapped over the course of the trip - seriously, we couldn't help ourselves, there was just so much beauty! But first, we wanted to talk about the big trend at Market: sexy dresses.
Over the past few years we've seen a swing towards a sexy wedding dress and we took note that it isn't stopping. Low back, unlined bodices and plunging necklines were some of the ways designers are vamping up the wedding gown.
ABOVE: MIRA ZWILLINGER
INES DI SANTO
MONIQUE LHUILLIER
images via WWD.COM
I Love You More Than Pizza
#RealChicBride Ashley is half of the couple behind Brickell's Stanzione87 - a pizzeria serving the most authentic pizza Napoletana in town. This long-time couple finally tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at The Kampong, a hidden botanical garden in Coconut Grove. The bride wore a chic Monique Lhuillier and held a simple, and striking bouquet of tiny white flowers. And what a handsome groom! We are positively swooning over these amazing photos captured by the endlessly talented Katie Lopez. Don't they look so in love!?
They didn't serve pizza at the wedding, but quality food was clearly a priority for this foodie couple - they started with oysters and ended with a family style Italian meal followed by a polenta cake!
A #RealChicBride's Cancun Wedding
Do you have a few minutes? Good. Because you'll want to take your time to soak up these beautiful images of #RealChicBride Andrea's wedding in Cancun. Andrea visited us in Coral Gables from Ecuador and was then wed in Cancun, Mexico wearing Marissa Bridal. We love the beachy, fun spirit in these amazing snapshots of her big day.
Are you a #RealChicBride? Share your photos with us! We love sharing photos of our dresses on your special day! Email - info@cpbride.com. Xoxo.
Ballet Is In For Spring
Ocean Drive Magazine featured a Jenny Packham headdress from Chic Parisien in a beautiful photo shoot featuring ballet inspired accessories for spring. If a ballerina-inspired wardrobe is in for Spring, we'll go ahead and say it - we've been ahead of the trend! Come by the boutique for more on pointe accessories.
See the full photo shoot here.
Photography by Jeff Crawford Styling by Faye Power
#RealChicBride Nicole in Naeem Tells Us Her Story
The Photographer: Jonathan Connolly (www.jonathanconnolly.com)
The Venue: The Caribbean Resort in Islamorada
Florist: Floral Fantasy
Caterers: Construction Catering & Caribbean Catering
About Us:
Ian and I live in Brooklyn. Ian is a software engineer and I'm starting as a creative strategist at Facebook on Monday (woohoo!) before that I was an associate creative director at Genuine, a digital ad agency.
How We Met:
We met at Wall, the club at the W, on Super Bowl weekend in 2010. I was there with two of my best single (at the time) friends. A friend in New York needed "filler girls" for some celebrity-filled, brand-sponsored party so we happily obliged (Just setting the scene here! Haha). It was a very unlikely night to meet the man you're gonna marry.
So we're inside the club, and I decide to do a loser lap because - all sorts of famous people everywhere - and I bumped into Ian.
Ian was in town for the Super Bowl and was at Wall because his friend was the manager of the W.
Back then, when I'd meet a random guy at a club I'd speak Portuguese to them (the little I know from living in Brazil) just to mess with them. But...when we ran into each other, and I spoke to him in Portuguese - he responded in Portuguese! He's from Rhode Island and his mom is Portuguese, and had also lived in Brazil. This is why we went to Brazil on our honeymoon!
Anyway, we were making out within 10 minutes and speaking Portuguese to each other. Then his brother came up to us and said "Can I get you guys a drink?" And I said "You speak English?!". We got each other's numbers at the end of the night and he put his name in my phone as "Ian o meu amor possivel". We were so intense! And we've basically spoken on the phone every day since.
After we met I was leaving to New York for school in a couple weeks. We did long distance NYC to RI for a little while, and then I moved to Newport for the summer with him and well the rest is history!
The Dress: My experience with Naeem Khan was also pretty fortuitous. I Googled where to find his designs in Miami and he was having a trunk show at Chic Parisien that day! So, I rushed over with my mom and I fell in love with the dress almost as quickly as I did with my husband. Cheesy, I know! But I know a good thing when I see it!
How amazing is this picture of Ian getting a first look at Nicole? Swoon!
All images by the very talented Jonathan Connolly (www.jonathanconnolly.com).
#RealChicBride Kelsey in Berta
Real Chic Bride Kelsey was a sight for sore eyes in her Berta Bridal gown. We were so thrilled to help Kelsey's dream bridal look become a reality.
Isn't she a vision?
Real Chic Bride Emma in Monique Lhuillier
Real Chic Bride Emma was featured on SmashingTheGlass.com in her stunning Monique Lhuillier "Forever" dress and Maria Elena accessories. We love, love, love the details on this tropical affair held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club - just look at that flamingo/sprinkles cake!
Luckily, you can read all about it on here - where Emma spills all her secrets for creating this elegant and fun wedding style with a beachy touch.
photos by Justin DeMutiis as featured on SmashingTheGlass.com
Around The Boutique: A Chat With Lazaro of Lazaro Bridal
Last week we hosted a Lazaro trunk show that was extra special because Lazaro himself was here at the boutique!
It's truly extra-special to work with the designer to pick out your dream dress. It's not everyday that a bride get's to have the expert eye of the visionary behind the gowns give a look over for just the right fit, the perfect complimentary accessories and the right silhouette - but some brides-to-be had this extra-special opportunity at the Lazaro trunk show last weekend.
We took a minute to chat with Lazaro between fittings and meetings about this collection, his thoughts on bridal trends and more:
L: This collection for the Spring 2015 there was a lot of color! We’re starting to bring the color back into bridal. We did a lot of ivory and rose, cashmere and wisteria, which is the blue. You can order the dresses in all cashmere, at ivory or with the wisteria beading.
We also did champagne. We’ve done it before and it’s done very well for us. We added a little bit of sparkle tulle in it – there’s always that layering, the very soft deconstructed skirts really work for me.
CP: What would you call this big beautiful kind of dress.
L: A full ball gown.
CP: Right now, I’m into these big beautiful ball gowns. The fuller the better, right?
L: Exactly, just do it if you can! It has a spectacular train. It’s very dramatic. It looks extremely dramatic, but it’s extremely light – the hanger probably weighs more!
CP: You’re right!
L: Again, the beading; beaded straps, which are really in right now and can be worn off the shoulder or on the shoulder.
CP: Is this collection inspired by a specific era?
L: What I try to do is try to expand it and look at my whole collection and think about what my customers need. I do a lot of these trunk shows and I see “What am I missing?” It’s more about how can I make my collection more extensive and make the brand larger. Who is out there that I’m missing?
This collection was very evening-ish. It’s very slinky, very eveningwear. That’s why I try to get people from the red carpet and people who want that feeling translated into the bridal gown.
I’m doing a lot of laces. Not just plain laces but with gold or silver threading going through and capturing the Swarovski crystals.
CP: Right it doesn’t only shine in one part.
L: It has a glimmer through the whole dress.
Crepe is really big now. We did it in a few colors, a light blue. Crepe is really nice and forms to the body really beautifully. It’s really lush.
Every collection I do a textured skirt.
CP: Fun!
L: We did it in blush for the runway.
CP: I love the blush. Do you feel like people are scared of the color or increasingly open to it?
L: You know, people are more open to color. I’m doing very well with color. People are loving it. I do very well with a color called “Sorbet” it’s a peachy with a little bit of yellow tone, very warm and soft and beautiful.
Chantilly was very big so I brought it back. I do a lot of layering, so there’s lacy underneath the beading and more and more layers or a net with sparkle underneath. This way when she walks it catches the light.
We always do one or two with feathers! You have sparkle you have to have feathers. They have a lot of movement.
CP: Do you feel people are more inclined to a red carpet vibe right now?
L: Definitely. I think the stars have a big influence. They see something on the red carpet and think – I want that in white for my wedding gown.
CP: So many of these can be worn to any special event.
L: Yes, definitely. Some of the collection tends to go towards the vintage glamour.
There’s a little bit for everybody.
Real Chic Bride Laura Makes "The Knot" Best Dressed Brides In 2014
We love January for so many reasons! One, so many couples get engaged over the holidays that January is always buzzing around the store (even more than usual!). Two, the whole month all our favorite websites are posting recaps of the best weddings and wedding trends of last year and predictions for the coming year and we can't get enough of these inspiring lists.
Imagine our delight when we found out a Real Chic Bride Laura was featured in The Knot's "The Best Dressed Brides of 2014"!
Real Chic Bride Sends a Real Chic Thank You!
We hear the nicest things from brides in thank you notes. They come in all shapes and sizes, on beautiful stationary and on handcrafted notes made with love. Unfortunately, we can't share them all on here (although we do post some of them in one of the fitting rooms in the boutique - maybe you've spotted them?) but we just received a lovely little email from a Real Chic Bride who wore Berta Bridal for her wedding in Puerto Rico that we thought we'd take the opportunity to share her kind words right here on the blog.
Lucianne writes:
My name is Lucianne Rivera and I am a lucky Chic Parisien and Berta Bride. My wedding was on December 27,2014 and even though I don't have my professional photos yet I wanted to share some of the pictures I have of my special day. A weekend like this up coming weekend one year ago I flew to Miami with my mom and my mother in law for a day to try on the dresses I'd followed for over a year on Pinterest. We were on a mission! Alana was there on that day to help me in finding the perfect dress. Can I just say she is wonderful! She really understood what I wanted, she made us feel welcomed and cared for at all times. Gracias Alana por todo! Gracias por hacer de este momento tan especial uno inolvidable para mi y mi familia!
Everything about my experience in your store was perfect! I loved everything about my dress. If you could please extend my message to Berta... On my special day I felt absolutely beautiful, elegant, feminine, and classy. She is an amazingly talented designer and I felt honored to have worn one of her beautiful pieces of art! I just love her work!
Thank you to Lucianne for forwarding us her pictures so quickly and including this adorable one of her pup Toffee looking incredibly chic!
We just wrapped up our Berta Bridal Trunk Show and it was wonderful! We saw more than a few brides find The Dress in the boutique over the past few days. But, time to move on!
This week is the Lazaro Trunk Show and Lazaro himself, the gown's designer extraordinaire, will be at Chic Parisien. What a treat! You can try on Lazaro gowns with the expert eye and opinion of their creator there to help you put together the whole look and pick the perfect gown for you!
Chic Parisien To Host U.S. Debut Of Berta 2015
We are very excited to be amongst the first to have the new 2015 Berta Bridal collection - and it is amazing. All the elements that you already love about the Berta brand shine just as bright as always; it's a sexy, modern take on traditional bridal silhouettes and fabrics. If you aren't afraid to show some skin, but still want to be an elegant bride, you probably have already been following Berta.
The new collection includes stunning spins on illusion necklines, back-baring gowns, and intricate beaded details.
If you don't already have an appointment for the extra-long, Wednesday - Saturday, trunk show, you should make one now. Space is limited even with the additional time.
Maria Elena Headpieces Trunk Show + Gisele Del Bustos Magic
We love a good Maria Elena Headpieces Trunk Show. Why? Because not only does a Maria Elena Headpiece really complete a chic wedding look but the trunk show usually comes with the very talented Gisele Del Busto - such a treat for our brides. Gisele has both an infectious energy and a skilled eye for matching brides to their perfect headpieces. If you're a bride who hasn't decided on your wedding day hair and accessories you should plan on stopping by this Friday and Satuday, January 9th and 10th, to meet Gisele and have her work her magic on you.
images via Maria Elena Headpieces
#RealChicBrides of Instagram
Today, we're taking a look back at the #RealChicBrides that we've featured on our Instagram - because once just wasn't enough for these stunning brides in their ultra chic gowns. If you aren't following us on Instagram (@ChicParisien), you're missing out on daily posts of bridal inspiration, around the boutique shots, new inventory and trunk show announcements.
The Key West wedding of @Beetrizz in Lazaro.
This stunning, artistic photo puts the chic in #RealChicBride!
Yarelys in Monique Lhuillier.
Nothing is more chic than a real smile!
A Chic Parisien wedding in Paris! This Ines Di Santo dress traveled all the way to Paris to outfit Yainee on her wedding day.
And last, but certainly not least - this Berta gown on a Real Chic Bride is the perfect way to remind you that this weekend is the Berta Trunk Show. Make your appointment now to come by on Friday and Saturday and find "The Dress."
Bring It Back
Sure, the first impression is usually the front of the wedding dress, but isn't the back just as important? If your wedding includes a ceremony and an aisle, it's likely that your guests will be looking at the back of your dress for most of the ceremony. When you're looking in the mirror, you're probably focused on the front - but your guests (and your photos!) are looking from all angles - so don't forget to think about the back!
Over the past few years, dresses have plunged dramatically in the back; it's a way to give a traditional dress an element of surprise or feel sexy by tastefully showing some skin. Designers have been experimenting with taking dresses of all shapes and styles for a dip in the back. You can find everything with a low or exposed back - short, long, traditional, bold, classic, modern, sleeveless, sparkly or simple.
Are you shopping for a dress, considering a low back? Or are you a bride who opted for a sexy back? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook at facebook.com/ChicParisien.
Photos taken at Chic Parisien.