Let's Not Forget About Our Other Half!

At Maya Couture, we often find that tuxedos are the part of the equation that is left until the very last minute.  While brides have their gowns, their maids have their dresses,  and their flower girls have tulle coming out of their ears, the men's attire is left by the wayside.  This is usually for one of two reasons:

1. "I told him he's in charge of tuxedos."  Great!  We love when men come in the store and they take charge of what they're going to wear on the most important day of their lives.  95% of the time, grooms are wonderful at picking out exactly what they want and trying to get their guys measured and paid in a timely manner.  The downside is that oftentimes their groomsmen haven't been married and don't understand the urgency of getting measurements and payment out of the way in order to guarantee your tuxedo order.


2.  Lack of knowledge.  Whether it's not knowing the time needed to order and get a tuxedo in, the value of the product that you're renting, or what vest and tie will match, lack of knowledge can cause brides and grooms to shy away from picking out the men's attire for the wedding.  Thus, the tuxedo blog is born.


There are a few key points to remember in choosing and ordering your tuxedos:


1.  Please be aware that tuxedo/suit exchanges are often necessary.  Because these are tuxedo rentals, they are not a custom fit.  Tuxedos and suits have to go through a tailoring process just like bridal gowns and maids dresses, and we have a very small window to do all the alterations and exchanges within.  You and your party should be prepared to come in more than once if adjustments and exchanges are necessary, and be patient with the process.  This is to ensure you are properly fitted and look perfect for your special day.


2.  Please understand that we are very limited in what alterations we can make to rental items.  We can only let out or taken in jackets and pants if time permits.  If time does not permit us to make alterations, we will order you a new item which will arrive the next day unless we call in the exchanges after 5:00pm - then there could be a 48-hour turnaround.


3.  If anyone in your party lives out of state and is arriving the day before or the day of your event, it will be difficult to ensure that they are properly fitted.  To make sure we have plenty of time for exchanges and to make it more convenient for your out-of-state groomsmen, we can ship their rental to them directly the week of the wedding at their request.  Any exchanges can come to the store and be picked up by another member of the party or shipped to your wedding location.  There is not an additional fee for this service.


4.  In an ideal world, your groom, groomsmen, ushers, dads, ring-bearers and all the wonderful men in your life will have been measured and paid at least two months prior to the wedding so that we can ensure the accuracy of your full order.


Jim's Formal Wear, our tuxedo provider, offers a great service in their "Build a Tux" program on their website at www.jimsformalwear.com.  Check it out with your fiancee, then make an appointment to come see one of our consultants to start the tuxedo process today!

Strapless Alternatives

Ever since the epic wedding of Princess Kate & Prince William, brides have been inquiring as to the trend changes that we've been seeing in wedding gowns.  While a strapless gown looks great on any bride, we're seeing more and more styles come out that have straps, whether it be a one-shoulder strap, beaded spaghetti straps, sleeves, jackets, or cap sleeves.

Essense of Australia just sent the store some beautiful gowns that I'm going to use as examples.  The first is one of my personal favorites, Essense of Australia D1210:

 The bodice of the dress is beautifully beaded with small floral appliques throughout.  What I love about the gown is the sheer straps- they're beautiful and delicate, but still substantial.  The gown can also be altered to be strapless if requested.  This dress is perfect for a girl who isn't very busty due to the shallow bust-linen and deeper v-neck, and the cummerbund waistline is perfect to show off the smallest part of your silhouette.  Additionally, keeping things modern, the gown has pockets!

The next gown is Essense of Australia D1245:

The beauty of this gown is that it's the perfect fitted gown for a girl of any size- whether you are a 2 or a 20, the way the gown is rouched will be gorgeous on your figure.  The sleeves are just an added bonus- because the detail work goes below the bust-line and wraps around the shoulder, it highlights the bust, again, great for girls who aren't very busty, or for girls who are busty and want a gown that has straps without a deep "V" to over-accentuate their cleavage.

Maggie Sottero's "Bernadette" offers a beautiful alternative with lace cap sleeves, a higher neckline, and a gorgeous cut-out in the back:

 

Bernadette is made with gorgeous beaded lace, with beaded embellishment under the bust.  This gown is great for shorter girls- the lines of the sleeves and the placement of the embellishment will elongate your body.

A lot of brides lately are looking for a more "fun" look.  Pronovias' "Alison" is a great way to mix classic and fun with it's flirty one-shoulder ruffle:

 Alison has beautiful clean lines, and is even more beautiful with an accenting beaded sash of your choosing.  We also have two other gowns in the store that mimic this ruffled one-shoulder look.  If you don't like the ruffled look, flowers are also very "in" right now, and Val Stefani has created this beautiful gown (D79793) for an alternative:

Made out of a beautiful silk, this gown boasts a removable floral strap that complements the floral accents at the skirt.

There are a ton of brides lately that are looking for a short gown, and Moonlight has the perfect one with straps- with a lace bodice and a bow at the waist, the gown is full with pockets.  The most crucial part is finding the right pair of shoes!

There are much more where those came from... we've made an effort to stock the store with beautiful alternatives for those brides that don't want a strapless gown, and new gowns from our Fall 2011 collections are coming in daily.  I'm excited to continue to share them with you via the blog and Facebook- be on the lookout!