Published: April 08, 2009 01:42 am      

The big search

Finding the perfect wedding gown

FAIRMONT — When Lindsay Marsh of Bridgeport was searching for her wedding gown, she had narrowed the choice down to two. One was at a Pittsburgh-area store and the other was at Coni & Franc in Morgantown.

She wanted a strapless dress, but the one she liked at Coni & Franc had a halter top. Not to worry. A seamstress was able to “disassemble the dress a little bit” and change the top into a strapless, sweetheart neckline, with the help of shop owner Connie Merandi.

“Connie knew I wanted a strapless dress and that I loved the dress so much,” Marsh said. “So I said, ‘Can we cut this off and make it strapless?’”

Merandi has spent years not only helping out wide-eyed brides find the dress they want, but also to figure out which dress they should want.

“A girl may have it in her head that she wants one thing,” Merandi said. “What happens over and over is we let her try on what she wants to. Then we select what we think is good, and that’s when they look at you like it’s something magical.”

Ask area bridal stores what is trendy for wedding gowns and the question almost becomes, “What isn’t trendy?” But a few popular items emerged, and one would be that many brides seek out strapless dresses.

Patty Cinalli, a clerk at Ginger’s in downtown Fairmont, said in addition to strapless, many brides also seek out the aforementioned halter top dress.

“They just like the way they fit,” she said.

She also has noticed more brides selecting informal gowns that would be appropriate for beach weddings, or “just to keep the costs down.”

“But there are still a lot of princess dresses,” she said.

Another trend shop owners have noticed is that more brides are stepping outside of the idea that a wedding dress should be white. And not only are they ramping it up with similar colors such as eggshell or champagne, but even going into reds and blues.

“Right now there are a lot of colors,” said Rina Potesta, owner of The Fashion Scene in downtown Fairmont. “I have one girl who is thinking of getting married in deep red. Nothing white.”

Brides who are walking into dress shops now actually are usually buying for fall weddings, Potesta said, and in those situations, the champagnes and lattes really do work well, she said.

Plus, as Merandi pointed out, white will not be the best color for every bride.

“Maybe white is not the most flattering color for them,” Merandi said. “So then we go to a diamond white or champagne or ivory. We also have warm gold and mocha or mocha accents.”

Merandi also encourages brides who want color in their dresses to sometimes consider accenting with color instead, depending on what will look good on them.

“You can add a ribbon or a belt so that it separates the color fabric from the skin,” she said. “We also can do color in a tiara.”

Many customers try on several gowns until they find that perfect gown, and the veteran clothes sellers have seen the typical reactions.

“They smile and they jump up and down and say, ‘This is it, this is it,’” Potesta said. “It is nice to see a young girl get all excited. You should be before the wedding.”

Most brides buy the dresses off the rack and have any alterations made to the gown, rather than order from the manufacturing company.

“I don’t duplicate dresses,” Merandi said. “I always have new styles coming in. I’d rather have every dress that walks out the door be unique. That’s why I’m always getting new styles.”

Of course, practicality also can play a part in gown selection. Even at 5’11”, Vicki Huffman did not avoid wearing a higher heel because of the groom — he’s nearly 6’4”. But her dress, which she bought at a good price, did not leave a lot of room for tall shoes.

“I got a $1,200 dress and I paid $99 for it,” Huffman said. “I’m tall, but if I was going to take the deal, I had to take it as it was. So I didn’t have any room to play with in terms of having a longer dress.

“It probably wasn’t the dress that looked the best on my body, but it fit the budget well.”

Once a dress has been selected and the alterations, the bridal shop often can also store it. This is practical, and for more reasons than one might guess.

Merandi can think of several, including the woman who wanted her cat included in her bridal portrait.

“The cat played with the lace, so we were repairing that,” Merandi said.

Merandi also wants the brides to avoid trying on the dress over and over again before the wedding, which can lead to another repair situation.

“They love their dresses and they want put them on and flit around the house,” Merandi said. “I tell them, ‘Sweetheart, you don’t want to try on the dress every two weeks. It’s going to be worn out by September.’”

Merandi is strict but not heartless. She will store gowns, but she allows the brides to visit them — and they do.

“I want them to build their dreams so they can envision what it looks like,” Merandi said. “That makes for a lot more fun.”

E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.