Winter wedding – beating the big chill

Astra Bridal - warm winter wedding

It may be warming up now, but any bride – and her bridesmaids – celebrating the big day soonish will still going to be fighting the chill factor. To help fend off the cold, a stole can help, while providing a touch of thirties Hollywood glamour.

Wedding Cafe NZ came across this little fur stole and chocolate dress number at Astra Bridal recently and couldn’t resist snapping it. Don’t worry about bunnies or possums, no real fur was used in the making of the stole, despite its downy appearance.

"It’s all made of feathers," says Astra Bridal's Lori McPherson. She says the chocolate dress featured underneath it was very popular last year when the international fashion theme was earthy colours. We thought it might be nice for an eco-themed wedding – for either the bride or her bridesmaids to wear – but Lori says she has yet to come across a Kiwi girl who wants an eco-wedding. Seems this is still more of an overseas idea.

However, what is emerging is a vintage dress theme, says Lori. Astra is restyling some of its large dress stock, adding recycled bits and pieces, to create a more vintage style, as it's becoming so popular. The dresses may be more suitable for bridesmaids than brides, however, as most brides don’t want a recycled dress, even if in a recession. But, with many bridesmaids now buying their own dresses, and wanting to be able to wear them again, it may be worth checking out Astra’s stores as they have such a huge range.

While much of the stock is traditional white, it features other colours too, including a dusty blue we spotted recently and a striking red embroidered style. "There’s a certain girl who will do the red dress," says Lori. We didn’t ask quite what she meant, but we reckon a bit of chutzpah would be called for.

Now, black bridesmaids dresses, they’re another matter altogether. Lori says they’ve been "popular forever" and are an option both for an evening wedding and because the bridesmaid who’s shelled out for such a dress really would get to wear it again, and again.

Astra Bridal