Spring has sprung at Cosmopolitan Bride

As Spring slowly starts to show itself – hurrah! – we are also excited to see the Spring releases of some of our favourite bridal magazines, including the ever popular ‘Cosmopolitan Bride’.

One of the best sources of inspiration will always be the red carpet, and Cosmo Bride serves up a range of ideas guaranteed to meet the needs of any bride in “Spotlight on You” (page 30). This issue, Elizabeth Banks is very much channelling our lovely ‘Nicole’ gown (page 31), and with its slim skirt and high neckline, it is simple elegance defined in a gown.

Featured in “Love Story” (page 91) is the Karen Willis Holmes Ready-to-Wear ‘Dakota’ gown. With its pretty cap sleeves and lace overlay, this gown has a lovely vintage feel to it.

In the beautiful editorial, “Sealed With a Kiss” (page 116), the Karen Willis Holmes Ready-to-Wear gown, ‘Allegra’ (page 124), looks fantastic with statement, black accessories. We love the lace bodice and extravagant tulle fish-tail shape of this gown.

“Anatomy of a Dress” (page 148) provides brides with a great breakdown of a gown to help them understand what they are getting in terms of value when purchasing a gown. The Karen Willis Holmes Couture range has been mentioned in this article, featuring the ‘Maddison’ gown (page 158), and the ‘Chantilly Lace Bodice’ and ‘Pleated Ruffle Skirt’ combination (page 159).

We are always thrilled to see one of our bride’s weddings splashed across the glossy pages of Cosmo Bride, and Shannon and Gregg (page 184) are no exception. We thought Shannon looked amazing in our Ready-to-Wear ‘Sharon’ gown when she married Gregg in November last year.  And what a perfect day! Gorgeous location with fantastic weather – couldn’t ask for much more than that!!

Beyond the beautiful gowns, Cosmo Bride has some fantastic articles in this issue that we are loving here at Karen Willis Holmes!

“Love Blossoms” (page 49) contains some stunning floral arrangements and ideas, which will help any bride in her quest for the perfect bouquet  – keep your eyes peeled as we will be featuring one of our favourite florists on the blog soon.

These days there are so many politics surrounding gifts for weddings, “Cash or Gift” (page 99) provides you with all the best ways of broaching the situation politely but also so that you can get what you really want and need (instead of 3 new toasters).

Planes (or helicopters), Trains (or water Taxis), and Automobiles… “Ride of your Life” (page 164) offers up some fabulous alternatives for every bride to consider to show up in serious style for their big day!

For more amazing advice and ideas for your big day, head to your local newsagent and pick up your copy of Cosmopolitan Bride today.

Winter Wonderful… Cosmopolitan Bride Winter 2010 Issue

Given that bridal publications generally only come out four times a year at most, it doesn’t get much more exciting than when a fresh copy of Cosmopolitan Bride hits the news stands. Guaranteed to provide every bride-to-be with a wealth of information, including inspiration for all elements of the wedding such as invitations, cakes, cars, then there is the advice on dealing with all the tricky wedding politics, and all of this is surrounded by a sea of stunning gowns for every bride. Ladies (and gents) take it from us, the Winter 2010 issue of Cosmopolitan Bride does not disappoint.

First off Franki Hobson, the Cosmopolitan Bride Queen-Bee (also referred to as the lovely editor), kicks us off with her letter to the readers offering honest, helpful advice that every bride should consider and keep in mind during her planning journey. Two key points that we would reiterate here at Karen Willis Holmes are as follows:

1. ‘The Dress’ may not actually be ‘The Dress’ 

Franki wisely discloses the fact that many girls when going to try on gowns have a particular style in mind, but often find that there is a completely different style that is actually more flattering for their body shape. Like Franki, we advise that you definitely try on a few different styles to find the right match for your figure, because no two gowns ever look the same on any two people, so please trust us when we offer you a few extra options to try – you never know what you might find!

2. Prioritise your planning.

Again, pearls of wisdom shared to benefit the bride-to-be, two key elements that have the ability to determine the rest of your wedding are the venue and your dress. Once these have been decided upon, you can really begin to visualize the big picture. We often find it easier if brides know their venue before coming into the store to pick their gown. Some venues have a historic feel that works well with a vintage-looking gown, or a beach venue can sometimes call for a more relaxed style of gown. Whatever your venue, we can help you try and find the perfect dress for you, but the more of an idea you have the better off you are for making decisions and being able to eliminate gowns along the way.

After Franki’s disclosure of wedding expertise it didn’t take long for the pretty pages and informative articles to begin flowing. One of our favourites is ‘Award-winning Dresses’ (page 32), which offers a fabulous double-page spread, showcasing gown matches straight from the red carpet. Four Karen Willis Holmes gowns are featured offering alternatives to a shimmery number adorned by Katy Perry (Claudia), a stunning fishtail gown as rocked by Melissa George (Maddison), the fairy princess look a la Miley Cyrus (Ribbon Corset), and finally a simple strapless style worn by Penelope Cruz (Joy).

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Claudia’, ‘Maddison', ‘Ribbon Corset’ and ‘Joy’ gowns.

Cosmopolitan Bride love to feature Real-Brides, which frequently offers the most inspiration to those planning their wedding. To be able to see all the elements come together for the big day can make such a difference and help you to start visualizing your wedding. 

One of our brides has been featured in this issue - Samantha Gibbens with her husband True (page 94) shared their amazing wedding experience with the magazine and its readers. Samantha wore our Joy gown with the Cleo overlay and finished it off with a gorgeous black sash that was hand-beaded by her grandmother – a lovely, sentimental piece on her wedding day.

We have featured Samantha’s wedding photos on our blog before, but this spread really captures all the elements and shows how lovely the wedding was.

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Joy’ gown with ‘Cleo’ overlay

“Your Head-to-Toe Bridal Wardrobe sorted” is a bit of a one-stop-shop article. It provides excellent ideas for brides when it comes to finding the perfect gown, underwear, accessories, veils and cover-ups. Karen was able to offer some of her expert advice in this article, with tidbits of information to help brides in their quest for the perfect dress. The Bacall gown from Karen Willis Holmes was featured here as an option for hourglass figures.

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Bacall’ gown.

The Paris Feather Vest was also featured in the cover-ups section. This piece is an excellent option for brides wanting something with a bit of drama and to save them for the chill of the cool night air. This vest looks fabulous over a simple, streamline gown.

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Paris Feather Vest’

The editorial in this issue is simply exquisite with a tennis themed shoot “Love All” (page 120) showing a range of gowns hard at work, including Karen Willis Holmes couture gown Ava.

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Ava’ gown

Another gorgeous editorial came in the form of ‘Field of Dreams’ (page 62) with a gorgeously soft and romantic feel being channeled with the Karen Willis Holmes Violet gown.  

Karen Willis Holmes ‘Violet’ gown

In addition to the divine editorials, there are plenty more beautiful pages for us to pore over, including pretty bridesmaid options in ‘Gelato Girls’ and ‘Bright Babes’ (page 28),

Great advice is offered for the woman with plenty on her plate already with ‘The Busy Girl’s Guide to planning a Wedding’ (page 44) – which will assist every bride in keeping her plans in check, especially when utilizing the ‘Wedding Planner’ that is also provided (page 203).

Whether you need help locking down your vows, getting your skin in perfect condition, or finding a fantastic honeymoon to suit your budget, Cosmopolitan Bride has all the help you need in their 258 page Winter issue.

Now we have to contain our excitement and countdown until the release of the Spring issue.






All images have been scanned from Cosmopolitan Bride Winter 2010