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Featured Wedding Dress: Alanna from Casablanca Bridal’s Beloved

Meet Alanna!

Designer: Beloved by Casablanca

Alanna From Beloved by Casablanca
Alanna From Beloved by Casablanca

Why We Love Her: Alanna is a dream dress for every bride! Her romantic sweetheart neckline is the perfect shape that will look flattering on any bride. It will show the ideal amount of skin without being too scandalous or uncomfortable. She has a beautiful natural a-line shape that will perfectly flow and move with the bride.

Alanna's sheer bodice with layers of lace and corset boning
Alanna’s sheer bodice with layers of lace and corset boning

Her bodice consists of strong corset boning that extends to a drop waist silhouette to ensure that it hits the perfect spot and compliments every bride that puts her on!

Alanna’s intricate detailing doesn’t stop with the shape; she has gorgeous floral and various natural viney lace detailing that is the central focal point and gradually cascades throughout the skirt! In between all the viney appliques, there are small delicate petals that add dimension and uniqueness!

Looking for sparkle? Alanna will not disappoint! On top of all the leafy appliques, she has iridescent sequins that will sparkle and shine. She even has a delicate layer of glitter tulle underneath the appliques that will glimmer in every lighting, both inside and outside, making her perfect for all weather!

Alanna's Leafy lace pattern is perfect for outdoor summer weddings
Leafy lace pattern is perfect for outdoor summer weddings

This beauty is available in six different colors, allowing the bride to have many different options to choose from! The colors are Ivory, White, Champagne/Nude, Champagne/Ivory, Ivory/Sorbet, and Ivory/Nude (shown in the photos). With all of these color options available, it will ensure that she will showcase all the detail and match all wedding vibes!

Alanna's Dramatic and beautiful details all around
Dramatic and beautiful details all around

She’s Great For: The bride that wants a traditional shape with a nontraditional feel! Her floral and leafy appliques will steal the spotlight any time of the year and at any type of venue. Some ideal venues for Alanna would be outside in a garden scene or in a rustic barn. She is even the perfect dress for destination weddings as well due to her lightweight and airy characteristics!

Alanna's Removable lace sleeve can be worn on or off the shoulder, or not at all
Removable lace sleeve

What Makes Her Special: What makes Alanna special is her unique detachable off the shoulder straps! When attached, they give the perfect romantic look with an extra touch of bohemian detail that every dress needs! And when the party starts and the dancing begins, they can pop right off! Beloved by Casablanca allows for custom changes as well to make a dress like this unique to you!

Have a dress from one of our designers that you would like featured? Let us know and we can tag you in a WDW Blog!

Dear Future Mother-In-Law

Dear Future Mother-In-Law,

I cannot wait to marry your son. I love him with my whole heart. Since getting engaged I have been on Cloud 9 and it’s been a whirlwind of exciting decisions and appointments, many of which we have been fortunate to have your opinion and knowledge to help guide us.

We are grateful that you are involved in our wedding planning and want you to continue to be, however, I need you to understand that ultimately this is our wedding and some details are not up for debate. One of them is that you do not get to choose what your son wears when he marries me.

You have mentioned on numerous occasions that you know him best and how he always looks so handsome in this particular color. I think he looks handsome in any color, but the one you continue to insist he wears does not go with our color palette.

This detail already seems to be causing drama in the family. I prefer not to have this stress, but please understand he will be wearing what we have already agreed on. You can choose whatever you would like my future Father-In-Law to wear! We want him to feel great on that day so all options are open. Your son, my groom, is going to wear what we have already decided. Again, I ask you to please respect our decision.

I hope we can move forward with this understanding and look forward to more planning together with you for our wedding day!

With thanks,
Your future Daughter-In-Law

This has been such an interesting series! Brides are writing in to us with some great advice, stories, and wishes. We just started a few weeks ago, and you can read the last one here!

Featured Wedding Dress: Petra from Eddy K

Meet Petra!
Designer: Eddy K

 Petra by Eddy K, a stunning ballgown with lace, beading, and a beautiful cathedral train with a finished lace hemline
Petra by Eddy K, a stunning and classic ballgown

Why we love her: Petra is classically bridal! Elegant, romantic, and sparkly, she is everything you could ever want in a ball gown. She has a classic ball gown silhouette; she brings the drama without even trying. This silhouette is good for all body types, especially curvy brides. Being fitted through the bodice then coming out at the skirt allows brides to accentuate their waist and chest. This beautiful wedding dress is flattering on everyone!

She has a beautiful beaded plunging neckline. Thin spaghetti straps hold the dress up while the beading on top of them adds a gorgeous sparkle. A sweetheart neckline is accompanied by a deep yet narrow plunge. Her bodice is covered by gorgeous floral applique. Flowers and petals decorate the top and gently trickle down the waistline. This helps elongate brides by not cutting them off at the waist. The lace applique is continued on the skirt and comes up gracefully along the train. A scalloped hem lace adds a beautiful, delicate finish to this statement gown. A layer of sparkle tulle throughout the dress gives her a gorgeous shine. 

 The pretty V back with lace applique and buttons
The pretty V back with lace appliqué and buttons

Petra has a stunning lace illusion back. The floral applique is unlined on the back, which creates a surreal effect. The back comes down in a V-shape, and it is lined with the same beading as the straps and neckline. She has a zipper closure, but there are a dozen buttons as well– super romantic! Petra has a chapel length train; it’s the perfect length for a dress with this volume. Her train will bustle without creating any unnecessary bulk. While being a ballgown, she is light-weight! She is made up of tulle, sparkle tulle, and some crinoline. Some crinoline can always be taken out in alterations, but why mess with perfection? 

Side-by-side showing Petra in ivory/mocha and ivory/ivory
Side-by-side showing Petra in ivory/mocha and ivory/ivory

Petra is available in Ivory/Ivory or in Ivory/Mocha. The Ivory/Mocha color matches perfectly with our Mulberry tuxedo, and the Ivory/Ivory gown matches everything!

Petra in the ivory/mocha color pairs perfectly with our Mulberry tuxedo
Petra in the ivory/mocha color pairs perfectly with our Mulberry tuxedo

She’s great for: Classic and romantic brides! She is a timeless ballgown with such sweet details. Petra will do great in many venues, like hotels, country clubs, and churches. Her flowers and lace give spring/summer vibes, but ivory ballgowns work all year long. Brides of all body shapes will love how she lays, as she is highly flattering. 

 The back of Petra is beautiful with a cathedral train edged with scalloped hem lace
The back of Petra is beautiful with a cathedral train edged with scalloped hem lace

What makes her special: Eddy K brilliantly combined lace, sparkle tulle, and beading on a ballgown without it becoming overwhelming. The craftsmanship in the details keeps this gown from becoming over-the-top. There is spacing between the lace patterns, the beading is so delicate, and the sparkle tulle is a very light layer. Petra has it all without having too much! She is a bride favorite, and it is very clear why!


Words Of Wisdom From A Bride: The Flowers

Pink peony wedding flowers in a bridal bouquet

Our wedding day was everything we could have imagined! I just wish we had put someone in charge of being responsible for our flowers the day of.

Our gorgeous flower bouquets arrived in two large boxes to the bridesmaids getting-ready location. There was my bouquet and 10 bouquets for my maids. Our photographer took out my bridal bouquet to take some gorgeously posed, story telling shots.

We loaded the boxes of bouquets onto the shuttle bus and departed for the bridesmaids photo location. No one realized that we had left my bridal bouquet behind.

As we got positioned for bridesmaids portraits it was evident that a very important bouquet – MINE – was missing! This certainly added unnecessary stress to the day as I pictured having to walk down the aisle with one of my maid’s bouquets… fortunately that wasn’t the case because my grandparents found it and came to the rescue to bring me my bouquet!

I do have a few “flowerless bridesmaid photos” as a keepsake to remember this hiccup.

BUT no, this wasn’t the only flower glitch.

After the ceremony my bridesmaids and I tried to stay organized and put all of our bouquets back into the boxes after they were no longer needed to safely bring them back with us to the hotel and take them home. We weren’t going to lose any a second time!

Well, we did. To this day it’s a mystery what happened to those two boxes. We contacted the venue, shuttle, and friends and family that helped clean up the bridal suite – and they have never been found. Eleven bouquets, neatly packed away in two boxes, disappeared without a trace. I had planned to preserve mine, they were the most gorgeous flowers I have ever seen and I was in love with them. I am still kicking myself for this avoidable mistake, and hopefully someone can learn from mine!

Words of Wisdom: Put someone in charge of your flowers the day of the wedding!

Do you have Words of Wisdom for a bride-to-be? Something you want wedding guests to know? Chat with us 215-491-8500 and let us know!

Featured Wedding Dress: Abigail by Madi Lane

Meet Abigail!

Designer: Madi Lane

Gorgeous Abigail by Madi Lane is a bride favorite
Abigail by Madi Lane is a bride favorite

Why We Love Her: Abigail is the ideal combination of fun, glamorous, and sexy for all brides! Her natural a-line silhouette complements all body types by flawlessly cinching at the smallest part of the waist, making for a very flattering look on everyone. She has a single layer of glitter tulle that lays under the applique lace layer to make the whole dress subtly sparkle from all angles and perfectly complements the appliques on top! The florals are the unique mix of leaves, vines, and flowers throughout, and they even have clusters of iridescent sequins to add even more glitz!

Abigail by Madi Lane has a Low scooped back with illusion lace and buttons
Low scooped back with illusion lace and buttons

Her bodice consists of a gorgeous deep, yet not too revealing, plunge neckline that is ever so slightly covered with the petals of the appliques. She also has a slight ruching tulle layer that softly lays beneath the lace and creates an enhanced slimming illusion. She is finished with thin delicate mesh spaghetti straps that lead into the even more glorious back.

Deep plunge with illusion tulle and ruching
Deep plunge with illusion tulle and ruching

Abigail’s back is a statement by itself. She has a perfect low scoop shape that gives even more of a sexy appeal by allowing the bride to show some skin! The thin straps lead down to a gorgeous illusion lace back that is closed with buttons (yes, another bonus detail!). Going further down the back, Abigail has a long stunning train with a leaf-edged hem lace that allows the train to lay perfectly shaped!

Dramatic and romantic cathedral train perfectly edged in lace
Romantic and dramatic train perfectly edged in lace

Abigail is available in three stunning colors: ivory/mocha (shown in photos), all ivory, and all white. The ivory/mocha version of this dress shows off Madi Lane‘s signature color while also enhancing all the lace detailing, making sure the lace can be seen up close and far away! The all ivory and all white versions show off the sparkle of the dress, while also keeping the more traditional look on this bohemian lace dress.

Leaves, vines, and shimmery floral lace appliques really pop over the mocha charmeusse lining
Leaves, vines, and shimmery floral lace appliques really pop over the mocha charmeusse lining

She’s Great For: Abigail is great for spring and summer weddings! Her floral and leaf applique perfectly fits the warm weather while her sequins and glitter will shimmer in the bright sunlight. Despite all her glamorous detail, she can keep a light and airy composure that will be comfortable in all levels of heat!

What Makes Her Special: What makes Abigail special is her unique detachable bubble sleeves! Those sleeves can completely transform her look by adding the perfect touch of fun! They further add to the complete bohemian uniqueness of the dress , and they serve as the perfect “WOW” factor that will leave the guests stunned!

Darianna Bridal & Tuxeedo's "I Said Yes To the Dress" sign on Abigail's gorgeous lace train
Our “I Said Yes” sign on Abigail!

A Letter To Our Wedding Guests

Dear Wedding Guests,

We love you all so much and this day has been so special to spend it by your sides. Some of you came so far and for that, we are truly grateful. The whole day was everything we could’ve ever wanted – the weather, the venue, the attire, everything! However, it would’ve been really great if we got the moment to sit down and eat our dinner together undisturbed.

We spent our entire day surrounded by so many people and snuck away for only a few minutes to eat some tasty cocktail hour menu items after our pictures together. Those 10 minutes were all we got to just soak in the moment of finally being married completely alone.

A Sweetheart Table where wedding guests need to give the newlyweds a little privacy to eat and recharge together and undisturbed
A Sweetheart Table for the newlyweds

Our dinner was served to our sweetheart table, a table just for the two of us, and yet we had a handful of conversations with wedding guests who just came up to chat as we concluded our dances on the dance floor. Our dinner was sitting there waiting for us and everyone who was talking to us didn’t even see it, but we did.

Again, we love you all and we are so thankful you could be there, but when you see the bride and groom’s table with their meal on it – do not interrupt them. We’re exhausted at this point, the point of sitting down to eat our first meal as married. All we want to do is sit down and eat the amazing food we picked and paid for – we also want you all to eat the meals we spent months planning for.

In short, let us eat our dinner. Talk to us when we’re up dancing and running around. Give us a moment to just relax and recharge to go all night long with you all. We’re trying to do our best to give everyone the attention you need and deserve, but we also want to have the time and space to just be together and soak in the moment of celebrating our marriage.

Much appreciated,
The Hangry Newly-weds

PS One more thing. If you see us having a conversation with another guest please don’t interrupt or pull us away, wait to grab us for a picture until our conversation is over.

Featured Wedding Dress: Verona by Mia Solano

Meet Verona!

Designer: Mia Solano

Verona by Mia Solano is a beautiful A-line wedding dress with cap sleeves, plunge neckline, and lovely 3D shimmery vine lace
Verona is a captivating and romantic wedding dress

Why We Love Her: Oooooh, fair Verona. There’s a good chance Shakespeare had this dress in mind when he chose the setting for the most well-known and romantic story of all time! Our Verona is sweet, flirty, and drop-dead gorgeous. She’s constructed of layer upon layer of pure artistry. She has a flattering a-line silhouette; her bodice is fitted to the natural waistline, then her skirt gently flows down with lovely pleating.

Bodice of Verona showing the beautiful 3d lace patterns over the shimmery tulle underneath
The 3-D lace adds a lovely detail

Verona’s bodice has a V-neckline with a modest plunge. Delicate cap sleeves add a regal yet whimsical feel to the gown. Soft and delicate 3-D flowers and leaves cover the bodice, and they are lightly adorned with pearls and small beads. There are also some sequins on the bodice, giving this dress a gentle sparkle.

The skirt is a-line with some slight pleating. She flows like water without being bulky like a layered ballgown. The 3D lace continues down the skirt in a vine-inspired vertical pattern; this elongates brides and is really very flattering with a layer of sequin tulle with the most unique pattern. Sequins are stitched on in a swirling pattern interspersed with large floral designs. This provides an alluring sparkle to an already gorgeous dress. 

Verona back is a pretty scoop shape
The scooped out back gives it a beautiful shape

Verona’s back is just as show-stopping as her front. She has a deep scoop shape; the openness of it is flirty and fun, and the cap sleeves keep her classy. All of the 3D lace and beading details continue through the back of the skirt, down through the chapel train that sparkles like magic!

As good luck would have it, she is available in Ivory/Champagne (as sample), Ivory/Mocha, and Ivory/Ivory. 

Verona's train is lightweight and sparkles
Verona’s train has beautiful detail and sparkle

She’s great for: Brides getting married in outdoor spaces! She is perfect for weddings at wineries, arboretums, gardens, and manicured estates; however, she is so gorgeous she will light up any kind of venue. With the chapel train; you get the drama of the train without having too much dragging on the ground outside. 

What makes her special: Darianna Bridal and Tuxedo is the only store on the East Coast to carry this designer, Mia Solano! As a very exclusive brand, you won’t run into the risk of seeing many other people wearing her gowns. Besides being exclusive, Verona in the sunlight is quite possibly one of the most captivating dresses in our store. She is whimsical yet elegant. In a word: radiant. This Verona is very fair, indeed.

Online Chat and Text Chat Etiquette

Have you ever done an online chat with a company? How about texting a company’s telephone number to communicate with it? Super helpful to get immediate service, right?

Six years ago, Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo added the ability to do an online chat with us. In addition, we set up our actual store telephone number to be able to receive text messages from customers! A few years ago, our service provider added the ability for us to initiate a text chat with customers directly.

We always knew about online chat systems but when we realized that our store’s landline could send and receive text messages, we were convinced this would be the best service on earth.  And we were correct!  We send and receive thousands of text messages to and from our customers every month.  The system is on about 16 – 17 hours a day and we the owners and founders actually answer all chats and text messages, even when the store is not open!  Yes, this is a commitment timewise, however we see how convenient and important this service is.  Our brides and grooms tell us how much they love the ease of communicating with us and we love being able to provide immediate answers to you.

So with thousands of text messages and chats each month, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make this service more efficient for you.  In addition, we’ve received some interesting text messages and chats over the years, to say the least!

The following blog will help you communicate more efficiently with your bridal and tuxedo store.  Our advice and tips are purely from what we learned over the years with customers attempting to text or chat with us.

Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo has an online chat function on our website for immediate assistance!
Click the chat button on our website and be connected to the owners directly!

Our Chat and Text System is NOT a Google Search!

Every month, we receive text messages from customers as if the person is trying to do a Google search.  Here’s an actual example of a text message sent to us: “mother of the bride dresses near me”.  When texting or chatting with us, you are actually communicating directly with the owners and our daughter, in real time! We don’t use computers or bots to answer, you are actually speaking to a person when you text or initiate an online chat with us.

If you type in your text message or the chat box words that you would normally type in a search engine, we will most likely ask you to clarify what you are asking or what you are looking for.  We read every text message and chat and will be able to have a conversation with you as if you are talking to a friend or family member, it’s that simple!

So our advice is to be very clear about what you are looking for.

Text Chat Advice

If you initiate a text chat with us, be specific and tell us how we can help you.  Tell us your name, what you are looking for and how we can help you. 

If you send a picture, please tell us what the photo is and how we can help you with it.  Random photos that are delivered to our text chat system don’t help us help you without adequate explanation.  Are you looking for the dress you sent us?  Are you looking for a similar tuxedo to the one you sent in the photo?  Giving us your name allows us to be more personal with you.  If you are looking for our hours, it’s very efficient to text or chat us by writing: “Hi, my name is Lisa.  Can you  tell me your hours”?  You’ll receive an immediate response with the exact information you are looking for, thus saving yourself time.

When you start a text chat with us, all we can see is a phone number and nothing else.  Your name and what you are looking for would help you receive a quicker and more complete response.  Oftentimes, a customer will text us “did my dress arrive?”.  If all we can see is your phone number, we unfortunately don’t know who you are and what kind of dress you purchased.  If you give us your name and / or tell us that you purchased a wedding dress, we will be able to more quickly look up the information for you.

Try to Finish the Conversation

Whether you’re doing an online chat or a text chat, try to stay with the conversation.  We often have someone text us or write to us through the chat system and then they stop communicating in the middle of the conversation.  Eventually the system times out and the conversation automatically ends.  Texting us is not like texting your friend who looks at his or her phone throughout the day and can pick up with the conversation later in the day. 

For your privacy, our system will end the chat when there is inactivity for a certain period of time.  We understand that you may get side tracked or you may be at work, so a starting new conversation later is no problem.  However, the systems are designed to end the text or online chat after there is no activity after several minutes.

We Aren’t keeping Your Information

As we mentioned before, we receive and send thousands of messages every month.  We don’t have the time to look back at your phone number or chat information, other than to answer your questions, set an appointment or say hello.  If we could post a day’s worth of chat in the blog, it would go on for a hundred pages!  Your information is safe with us.  As a family owned business, the most precious thing we have, other than our employees, is our time.  We just don’t have time to go back to your phone number or chat information.  Your information is also automatically purged from the system to help with privacy.

Online Chats

Online chats work a little differently.   When initiating an online chat, you are requested to fill out your name and email address so that we can communicate with you in a more personal manner.  Again, you are talking to a live person when you chat Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo.  Our goal is to answer your questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible.  The more information you give us, the better we will be able to answer your question.  If we don’t have an immediate answer, we will tell you that we will text or email you later.  This often happens when the staff is busy with other customers or if we are texting or chatting with you outside of business hours.  We may need to answer your questions when we are in the store again.

We Are Available About 16 Hours a Day!

We leave the chat and text system on for about 16 hours a day.  We will answer you virtually immediately.  If our system is turned off for the night, you will receive an immediate message that we are offline. However, when we turn on our phones or our computers, we will see your message and be able to answer you.  No messages are lost and we will get right back to you.

Be Patient

When we receive an online chat request or text message, we are often responding from our iPhones.  We typically respond very quickly but sometimes we need a minute to grab our phones or open the system on a computer.  We promise, we will answer you pretty quickly but sometimes we are at the gym (yes, we have the chat system with us no matter where we are!) or finishing up with a customer.

Changes are Coming

It is not often that you see a small family business, like ours, offer live chat or text chat.  While online or live chat has been around for a long time, being able to text a company’s telephone number is relatively new.  Text chats are not as common and we don’t think everyone is perfectly comfortable with it yet, but with the substantial increase in volume of text messages we send and receive every month, we feel that text chatting will become more common in the next two years.  Obviously, this hasn’t stopped our millennial brides and grooms from texting us!  They love using the service and we love providing it.

Go Ahead and Try Texting or Chatting with Us!

Now that you can initiate an online chat or text the owners of Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo, why don’t you give it a try!  Our phone number is 215-491-8500.  Or click on our chat button and Wendy, Franco and Daria will be at your service!