We’ve got you covered this winter….

Wrap up this winter with a jacket or cape from the Linzi Jay collection

We have a beautiful selection of

  • Fur Wrap- Adult and Children
  • Bridal Capes
  • Watteau Cape
  • Bridal Jackets

Browse the full collection here https://www.linzijay.com/jackets

Team LJ xx

 

How to Choose a Bridal Veil

How to Choose a Bridal Veil

Why wear a wedding veil?

Historically, a veil was worn to protect the bride from evil spirits.  These days bridal opt for a veil as a statement piece or to complete their bridal look.

With so many veils to choose from, how do you choose the right one for you?

Here are our top tips for finding the perfect veil

1) Think about your dress – Does your dress have lots of embellishment on it?  If so you may want to opt for a plain veil or one with just a few scattered components.  If you have a plain dress you might want your accessories to add the wow factor, so more elaborate veils with heavy beading or lace could be for you.  You don’t want to overdo it, don’t forget sometimes less is more!!

2) Asses where the key parts are on your dress – If you have detailing on your gown the last thing you want to do is wear a veil that covers it all. Therefore shoulder length veils might be the better option, allowing you to still wear a veil but not hide way any of the beautiful glisten radiating from your gown

3) Think about the reality of wearing your veil – Longer length veils with ornate beading can often be quite heavy. So think about wearing it all day, if you are hair sore or don’t like wearing accessories in your hair it may pull and feel uncomfortable on your head, so lighter shorter lighter veils will be better suited

4) Match the colour – There are so many different shades of ivory, champagnes, whites, pinks, beiges and gold’s out there, so you need check the veil matches accordingly.  You would be as well to take your dress with you when choosing your veil or even requesting a veil swatch to take home and match up to your dress.  Be sure to test in natural daylight as artificial lighting cannot give an accurate colour match and when you are outside look a different colour completely.

5) Do you prefer a traditional style – Some brides like to wear the blusher over their faces for the big reveal once they have met their partner at the alter.  If this is something you think you would like, a two tier veil is a must, that way the bottom tier can adorn your back and the top tier can be worn over the face.

6) Look at your face shape – Look at what type of face shape you have. A veil frames your face, so your face shape is an important denominator in choosing a veil. Consider the following advice for your face shape:

  • Round face – A round face is virtually as wide as it is long and looks full in appearance. When choosing a veil look for a style that will help make your face look longer and slimmer. It is preferable for your veil to reach at least shoulder length and for it to have some volume on the top of the head. Avoid veils with too much fullness at the sides of the face.
  • Square face – A square face is typically wide and angular looking. When choosing a veil look for a style that will soften your face and add length. It is preferable for your veil to reach at least shoulder length and for it to have some volume on the top of the head. Circular and cascading styles can help soften the angular nature of your jaw line.
  • Oval face – An oval face shape in slightly longer than it is wide, similar in appearance to an egg shape. As this face shape is well balanced, you are free to experiment with different veil styles. However, it is a good idea to avoid going extreme in either volume or width, to help maintain your proportions.
  • Rectangle face – A rectangle face is longer than it is wide and tends to appear narrow and angular. When choosing a veil look for a style that has width around the face, but no height at the top of the head.

7) Find out your body type –  Your veil has the ability to help correct the proportions of your body shape.

  • If you have a large bust or stomach, you will benefit from wearing a long veil that extends to fingertip length or below. This is because it will help elongate your upper body.
  • Pear-shaped women tend to look best in veils that end at shoulder, elbow, or waist level. These lengths draw attention to your smaller points, rather then the width of your hips.
  • Full-figured women should ideally stick to one tier, narrow width veils to avoid adding extra volume to the look of the body. Tall women can typically carry off longer veils, but shorter women tend to suit veils that are waist height or above.

8) Which hairstyle will you be wearing – If you want to wear a more elaborate heavy hair accessory or veil, then a supportive up-do like a bun, roll or chignon would be better for holding these in place.  Lighter pieces will be better if you want to wear your hair down, there is less support and structure so heavy pieces will most likely pull and feel quite uncomfortable and cause headaches.

9) Consider the weather – Think about the practical side of wearing your veil.  If you are getting married in the winter with horrendous rain and winds a long veil is probably not the way forward. You dont want a soaking wet veil all dirty from dragging through puddles of rain. On the opposide side if you are getting married in hot, humid weather layers of veils could be quite warm and stick to the skin. Cathedral length veils are stunning but also require a lot of assistance throughout the day, so make sure you have lots of people willing to help you get it right for the ceremony and your photos.

10) Have fun!! – Your wedding day is one of the most important/special days of your life; don’t get caught up in the stress of it all.  Leave plenty of time, do your research, try different styles and make sure you are happy before you buy.

Click here for the Linzi Jay veil collection

Tips for buying bridesmaids dresses

Tips for buying bridesmaids dresses

Buying your own wedding dress can feel stressful enough, so imagine how overwhelming it can feel to find the perfect dress for your entire bridal party. From dealing with different shapes and sizes to different taste preferences, brides often find the process more difficult than they anticipate. Luckily, many tough parts of the experience can be easily eliminated with a little bit of forward planning and can help make bridesmaid dress shopping as smooth, and fun as possible.

1. Be upfront about budgets

Don’t be scared to set a budget for bridesmaids dresses, they can be a big part of your budget so better to have expectations set before visiting a bridal shop.  You may even find the bridesmaids might offer to contribute some of the costs to find the perfect dress.  Being up front about your budget means the shop assistant can help find something to suit and avoid the disapointment of trying on different dresses only to find out they are way out of budget

Don’t forget to factor in costs for alterations!!

2. Do some research first

Get an idea of the styles your bridesmaids would like before your appointments and it’ll make the process so much easier than searching through rails of dresses to find the perfect style. This usually ends up with an “anything will do” purchase and regretting the choice afterwards.

That said, a lot of weddings now opt for different style dresses in the same colour to make sure every member of the bridal party is comfortable and happy with their choice.

Another popular choice is to mix and match colour schemes, this is great for different skin tones and hair colours.  What colour suits one girl may not suit the another.

3. Allow plenty of time for delivery 

Unless you are buying off the rack, you need to budget at least three months from when you place the order to when you receive it. Our factories are based overseas, so you need to allow plenty of time for manufacturing and delivery.  Setting realistic timescales means you wont have the added stress of your dresses being on the last minute.

Orders for the entire bridal party are also placed at the same time to ensure quality control and colour match.  If you decide to add another dress at a later date, there may be a slight colour difference as it may need to be cut from a different roll of fabric

4. Have your bridesmaids professionally measured

Make sure your bridal party are all measured in the shop, although it may be difficult to get all of your bridesmaids together (especially if they live away).  It is better to be safe than sorry and can eliminate any worry that your dresses might not fit when they arrive in.

If possible, try to avoid your girls measuring themselves

5. Make multiple appointments at the boutique

Don’t bring your entire bridal party into the shop the first time you start looking for dresses.  Instead just go with your parent or your best friend and have them help you narrow down your initial choices. Once you’ve chosen your favorites, then ask the rest of the party for their opinions

6.  Extra length on dresses 

If you have a tall bridesmaid she will probably need extra length if you opt for a long dress, especially if she’s wearing high heels.

7. Wear the right underwear 

Trying on dress with the wrong underwear can make all the difference to the shape and fit of the gown.  A well fitted bra and good support underwear could make all the difference to a dress you may not have even dreamed of wearing.

To find a stockist of Linzi Jay bridesmaids dresses click here 

Happy Shopping!!