ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Left, Prasanna Prabhu prepares to walk in a Bollywood wedding fashion show during the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge Indian Wedding Show and Tasting Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. Right, Punjab Sweets offers Rose Burfi, a rose flavored fudge, to participants at the TPC Snoqualmie ridge Indian Wedding Show and Tasting Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012.
Hrithik Roshan was offered a role, played by South Superstar Siddharth, in ‘Rang De Basanti’ and…
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This week’s episode of Flipping Out has Jeff Lewis, as Jenni’s “main gay,” swap his interior design hat for a wedding planning one. In the interest of full disclosure, I must let my feelings for Jeff’s design and Jeff himself be known. As far as design, I love every house he does. I think he has a great talent for working with spaces and clean lines that promote modern living. I don’t think his design style has a lot of breadth, but it does have a lot of depth . . . in other words, if someone wanted to remodel their home French Country, I’m sure Jeff would slap them across the face and stomp out of the room without ever looking back (for good reason . . . who does French Country these days?) but if you want modern and you have beaucoup bucks, Jeff is your guy. Jeff as a person – witty, abrasive, often insensitive, driven, truthful, and lacking some degree of self-awareness. It’s this hodge-podge of personality traits coupled with a keen design sense that’s kept Flipping Out on television for the past five seasons.
Jenni, Jeff’s trusty Executive Assistant, is getting married to her perfect Greek match, Jonathan Nassos! She is planning her princess wedding (I cringe when grown women want to be “princesses” on their wedding day . . . how old are we? Do you also want to live in Barbie’s Dream House?) in Chicago and asks Jeff to come along to help her with design decisions. It’s a safe bet to say that Jeff and Jenni have some major differences regardng the direction her wedding. Jeff thinks Jenni is batsh*t crazy for spending so much money on a wedding and Jenni is enamored at anything and everything, including waterwalls, 650-person ball rooms, and lamb balls that her wedding planner, Craig, can whip together (a “wedding gangbang” as Jeff puts it). I worry that Jenni doesn’t have the ability to step back and assess what is an over the top complete waste of funds. But, that’s what she brought Jeff in to help her with and “help” her he does. Jeff has an opinion on everything including why on earth she would want a giant-sized ballroom to hold a relatively small number of guests (WRONG), why she wants to invite everyone from the wedding to the rehearsal dinner (WRONG), why she would want reception tables inundated with flowers, candles, plates, glasses, favors, etc., and lastly, why she would choose dry crab cakes as part of the wedding menu. Jeff voices his displeasure on her choices in his typical insensitive way and calls her an out of control train wreck. Of course, he could’ve been a little kinder and gentler in his delivery but Jenni knows that while Jeff can be crass and insensitive, he is trying to keep her best interests at heart and his opinions don’t come from a bad place. He confirms this by saying he genuinely wants her to have the best wedding day possible . . . and makes no jokes before or after that statement.
Is Andrew annoying or is it just me? He seems like such a nervous personality and knowing that he needs a full time job to receive his trust fund when he is 45 doesn’t make me really like him any, for some reason. I’ll be interested in checking out next week’s episode because judging from the preview, Jeff unleashes on him for something the nervous nelly does.
While Jeff is with Jenni and Andrew in Chicago, Gage and Zoila are holding down the fort at Jeff Lewis Designs. Gage continues to hack away at Gramercy, trying to get the house completed so he and Jeff can move in and start their lives as planned. Zoila continues to “supervise” Lupe who seems to do most of the housework these days. Over the years, I’ve had a special place in my heart for Zoils . . . but over the past couple seasons, I’ve gotten slightly annoyed at times. She’s gotten more sassy (which, you need to some extent to deal with Jeff, I concede) but less productive as well . . . no wonder Gage and Jeff are constantly reminding her what a superstar Lupe is. Maybe that will ignite a little flame under Zoila. . .or maybe the telanovellas will continue to win out. At any rate, the season previews from last week hint that Jeff is starting to get seriously frustrated with Zoila and considers firing her. We will see if that ends up happening (I doubt it because she is like the mom he never had in many ways and even Jeff is beholden to a certain degree of sentimentality and loyalty).
Next week’s show promises us some drama and tears with Andrew and lots of yelling from Jeff. Ahhh – the Flipping Out I know and love.
Season 6, Episode 2: Showdown in Chi-Town (originaly aired September 11, 2012)
Flipping Out airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Bravo.
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After Sharmila Tagore, Manish Malhotra has spilled the beans regarding Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s wedding.
The fashion designer, who has confirmed that he is designing the actress’ attire, says he will stick to the bride’s simple, yet elegant taste.
Asked if he is designing Kareena’s wedding dress, Manish confirmed it, saying: “That’s right! You ask her the details. But yes, it’s mid-October, everyone knows this now.”
“There is a very small function which is (with) family and friends. Then there is a reception in Delhi, so (I am designing) for both the occasions,” the 47-year-old said here Friday.
Saif’s mother, veteran actress Sharmila has so far maintained that the D-day is Oct 16. However, neither Saif nor Kareena, have confirmed it.
Malhotra says the preparations are on in full swing, and Kareena wants to keep it simple.
“Kareena, always as an actor and as a personality, never likes too much of embroidery and jewellery. She is beautiful and she is very aware of that.
“I don’t think there would be too much of embroidery or shine, it’s going to be more old world charm…lots of nice fabric, but not too much,” he added.
Saif and Kareena have been dating each other since 2007.
By Rebecca Rolwing
When it comes to wedding stationary these days, even the most strait-laced couples are venturing into new territories.
With a rainbow array of colors and endless modern designs and typography styles, wedding invitations are no longer confined to the world of black script fonts and ecru colored paper.
“The days of plain, rectangle shaped, formal invitations are long gone,” said Beth Mungle, marketing director at MTI Printing in Cape Girardeau. Couples are now using everything from vibrant color schemes, unique fonts and whimsical designs, to even incorporating photographs to add their own personal touches to their invitations.
“There is a new freedom with wedding invitations that allows every couple to let their personality and style shine through,” Mungle said.
This year, she said, MTI has seen a big trend with bright color schemes including yellow and gray, hot pink and navy, and tangerine and turquoise with bold uses of fun and whimsical typographies. A new, popular trend at MTI for invitations is the use of Quick Response (QR) codes.
“Couples are using the codes to send guests to RSVP websites and even as a way to automatically add the ceremony to guests’ electronic calendar,” she said.
Cheryl Sullivan, sales/customer service representative at Concord Printing in Cape Girardeau, said couples want their invitations to be unique and offer guests a sneak peak of what’s to come.
“The invitation is your first glance of what to expect at the wedding,” she said. “If it’s beach theme, pool party or a country/cowboy theme, even the color of ink that is chosen — it all tells the tone of the wedding.”
Sullivan said a trending invitation at Concord is the Seal-N-Send, an invitation with the RSVP card attached by a perforation.
“The invited guests fills out the card, tears it off and sends it back,” she said. “This means no envelope for returning the RSVP card as well as less postage because the card is postcard regulation size.”
Pocket invitations, which include three staggered cards often used for directions, RSVP card and hotel reservation information along with the invitation, is another popular invitation choice at Concord.
Mungle said MTI recently worked with a couple to design a custom, oversized invitation that narrated the story of how the couple met, fell in love and got engaged in addition to the necessary wedding day information. It was “by far one of the most unique and memorable invitations we’ve produced,” she said.
Along with invitations, Mungle said MTI has also seen a lot of new trends with save the dates. Interactive save the dates with lottery style scratch cards are among some of the most popular trends. Photograph and magnet save the dates are a popular choice and the use of QR codes that direct guests to a wedding website are also becoming very popular on save the dates.
Sullivan said having a running theme throughout the entire wedding stationary is something couples generally like to do.
“They correlate the save the date cards, the shower invitations, the wedding invitations as well as the thank-you cards,” she said. “It seems the bride and groom pick a theme, color scheme, etc., and it follows through the entire adventure.”
NEW YORK – Pop star Avril Lavigne, the designer, is making big plans for her wedding dress when she marries rocker Chad Kroeger. “Either it’s something I’m going to design, or partner up with, collaborate with another designer,” she told reporters Monday after presenting the spring collection of her Abbey Dawn clothing line at New York’s Fashion Week.
Of the Nickelback frontman’s proposal after a whirlwind romance, Lavigne said: “It was really natural, and we met in the studio and were friends for a while, and one of our last days in the studio was when he proposed, and it was super romantic and it had a lot of meaning behind it.” Lavigne, 27, was mum on the subject of her ex, Brody Jenner. She had one of his sisters, 15-year-old Kylie Jenner, to open and close her downtown runway show.
Lavigne debuted Abbey Road in 2008 and also sells signature perfumes. Her rocked-out clothes for spring include human skeletons in black on the front of stretchy striped dresses and in white on others.
New faces on SNL
When “Saturday Night Live” returns this weekend for its 38th season, there will be some familiar faces missing, but there will also be three new hopefuls in the cast. They are Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong, who all hail from Chicago, where they have sketch and improv backgrounds. The trio will round out a cast that saw two of its biggest stars, Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, depart at the end of last season. Additionally, Abby Elliott, daughter of “SNL” alum Chris Elliott, left the show over the summer. The season premiere will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane, above left, with Frank Ocean as musical guest.
ULTRA FIT: Two Twin Cities residents prevailed among dozens of ultra-fit men and women from all over the country who tested their athleticism and strength in a timed competition for the titles Alpha Male and Alpha Female. Brandon Schwartz, 31, of Chanhassen, and Jen Nordic, 37, of Excelsior, won their respective National Alpha Showdowns on Saturday at the Life Time Fitness center in Colorado Springs. The athletes ran through three challenging gauntlets in tests of power, strength and endurance. Schwartz and Nordic received more than $1,000 in prize money and promotional items for the victories.
Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal opened Sept. 8 in Hyde Park.
A University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate opened a new bridal boutique this week in Hyde Park.
Amanda Topits opened Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal, located at 3319 Erie Ave. The store offers a variety of exclusively designed wedding gowns with appointment-only personal service for brides and their guests. The store also sells bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, veils and bridal accessories.
“We are focused on offering our bride the best possible experience while helping her find her dream dress,” Topits said in a news release. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that every bride deserves.”
Wedding gowns at Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal range from $1,500 to $9,000. The designers featured at the store include Alvina Valenta, Blue Willow and Tara Keely.
After graduating from UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, Topits worked for Glamour and Elle magazines, various fashion groups, and bridal stores in California and Cincinnati before opening her own boutique.
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FACE-OFF’S “Filipino Bridal Heritage Exhibit” is on its last day today at the Power Plant Mall’s North Court, Rockwell. At the entrance is a gown designed by Salvacion Lim Higgins for 1974 shoot with supermodel Anna Bayle.
Last week’s Face-Off Filipino Bridal Collection 2012 was as much a look at brides of the future as it was a glimpse of brides from the past.
In the event’s “Filipino Bridal Heritage Exhibit” sponsored by Champion Infinity, today’s brides and fashion watchers saw not only how rich the country’s bridal design heritage was, through several wedding gowns worn by such prominent personalities as actress Susan Roces, singer Anna Fegi and model Rissa Mananquil. They also witnessed Filipino creativity in the handiwork of such masters as Jose “Pitoy” Moreno, Ben Farrales, Nolie Hans, Philip Rodriguez, Mike dela Rosa and Auggie Cordero.
The ongoing exhibit is on its last day today at Power Plant Mall at Rockwell, where it moved from Dusit Thani Manila. (Face-Off fashion show was held at Dusit last Sept. 5.) The Rockwell exhibit also displays the flower arrangements and table setting of event organizer Jo Claravall.
Added at the Rockwell exhibit were two iconic gowns designed by the trailblazing designer, Salvacion Lim Higgins, the founder of Slim’s Fashion School. One gown was designed for a 1974 shoot of supermodel Anna Bayle—a white draped jersey. The other gown was for a show in the Middle East—an Arabian-inspired draped gown in gold lurex jersey.
The Rockwell exhibit also features bridal gowns by younger designers such as Randy Ortiz, Rhett Eala and JC Buendia.
Some of the gowns, like those of Farrales and Moreno, had been featured in bridal shows. The rest of the pieces were worn by real brides, including Bianca Brandner for Eala; Angela Poblador for Buendia; Mananquil for Randy Ortiz; Katherine Marie dela Rosa Johnston for Mike dela Rosa; and Fegi for Rodriguez.
THE EXHIBIT features gowns by JC Buendia, Mike de la Rosa, Randy Ortiz.
Moreno displayed the wedding gowns of Roces and Mariter Jalandoni Macapagal. The two dresses couldn’t have been more opposite in their styles.
Romance written all over it
While Roces’ gown was a partially beaded minimalist number with a Spanish mantilla-inspired veil of French lace that doubled as a train, Macapagal’s gown had romance written all over it, with its floral motif and embellishment of pearls and sequins.
Ortiz’s piece for Mananquil was a décolleté ball gown with a Chantilly lace bodice embellished with semi-embossed and embroidered flowers. It came with a layered and draped bouffant skirt in tulle, and was also adorned with semi-embossed flowers.
Cordero’s piece was made of silk linen with re-embroidered lace in various shades of silver and gray. The skirt had a semi-bouffant silhouette, taffeta-lined bustle train and petticoat with black lace.
WEDDING gowns by Ben Farrales (far left and center) and by Pitoy Moreno are on exhibit at Power Plant Mall. Those byMoreno were worn by Susan Roces and Mariter Macapagal.
For Fegi, Rodriguez fashioned a 1950s-inspired number with a serpentine silhouette made of fully beaded Chantilly lace with a detachable beaded tulle under-blouse and taffeta train.
The exhibit also has its share of iconic pieces, such as Farrales’ sampaguita-inspired piña gown with a visible petticoat adorned with cultured, hand-embroidered pearls. When the veteran designer presented the gowns in shows here and abroad, he embellished the look with dozens and dozens of delicate white flowers strung together and cascading from the model’s parasol.
To give visitors an idea how the brides looked during their special day, organizers also added sepia-toned photos of them in their bridal regalia. Guests, for instance, saw a young Roces exchanging wedding vows with the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. one fine day in 1968. Alex Y. Vergara
PHOTOS BY JIM GUIAO PUNZALAN
EDMONTON – Lace, pearls and crystals course through Isabela Milan’s blood.
For the past 35 years, the Edmonton wedding gown designer has followed in the footsteps of her female predecessors. Her little, self-named store located in Bonnie Doon Mall is part of a long, winding history of glittering bodices and ruched fabric that can be traced back all the way to 1830.
Although wedding dress styles have changed since then, Milan hasn’t completely given in to modernity. She continues to devote herself to the traditional wedding dress that harkens to a time of princes and princesses, chivalry and tradition.
“(My inspiration) comes from royalty,� Milan says over the phone from her shop. “In every part of history, the women dress very feminine and very appropriate. I have all my inspiration from the palaces and cathedrals (in Barcelona). Europe is an incredible inspiration. I don’t go back every year, but I go back once in a while.�
This season marks Milan’s third on the Western Canada Fashion Week runway. Born and raised in Barcelona, an area of Catalonia with medieval history and architecture, the 60-year-old seamstress first learned to stitch and unstitch at the age of four from her grandmother. Today, Milan creates everything from bridal and ball gowns to prom, graduation and quinceanera gowns. She has even spent more than 20 years designing dresses for the Miss Universe Pageant.
Milan’s current 12-piece collection, which will be showcased at WCFW on Sept. 20, finds itself borrowing from Celtic tradition. Milan says her gowns were inspired by Canadian Celtic singer Loreena McKennitt and will feature “more fantasy� than usual. Adorned with lace and beads, belts and capes, each will reach the floor as it simultaneously reaches back in time to showcase a touch of Celtic history.
Although fashion runs in the family, Milan’s career in design wasn’t always supported by her family (a more lucrative career in fashion importing and exporting was preferred). She was discouraged by many people, but stayed in it because she loved it.
As a result, she’s supported her children’s interest in being part of the family business. All three of her kids grew up in the store; even her boys learned how to sew. Although Milan says they need to “learn a little more patience,� they’re fully capable of starting a men’s line when they’re ready.
When it comes to taking over the family business, however, it’s Milan’s daughter Nina — already designing under Milan’s label — who is being groomed for the job.
“(Nina is) the new one. The next one. She deserves every bit.�
Nina, along with a handful of students taught by Milan at her private academy, has been invited to New York Fashion Week in the spring. Milan couldn’t be happier, and always makes it a point to provide them with a simple piece of advice she grew up following.
“I tell my students that learning doesn’t occupy any space. Learning is always good no matter what, along with dreaming. You have to dream what you want in life before you can get it. Everything in this world was a dream at some point in somebody’s mind. If you can dream, you can design and you can make things other people never did.�
Photos of the Marchesa dress Blake Lively wore for her secret wedding to Ryan Reynolds will soon be revealed, Marchesa designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman told Life Style.
“Blake’s just such a beautiful bride! The gown was very beautiful; you’ll get to see it,” Craig shared with Life Style.
Although they didn’t say when we’d finally get to see pictures of Blake’s gown, according to the designers — who showed their Spring 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week yesterday — the stylish star knew what she wanted from the start.
“[Blake] really knows what she wants, and Georgina did a few sketches; it was very much like a bridal fitting,” Craig says.
So what was it like designing the dress for the Gossip Girl star’s top-secret nuptials?
“It was amazing,” Craig said of working with Lively, according to Time Style and Design. “She’s a good friend, and we were absolutely honored and thrilled to have been asked.”
Blake Lively all dressed in white
While the designers wouldn’t reveal any more details, if Lively’s dress is anything like Marchesa’s spring collection, we can expect an ethereal airy gown with jeweled details adding a glam touch.
