Randy’s hot wedding tips
SAY YES: STAR OF TLC STAPLE SHOW TALKS DRESSES AND DESIGNS
Let him help pick your perfect gown for your big day.
Part fashion show, part bridal story and part family therapy, Say Yes to the Dress explores the magnificent Kleinfeld Bridal store in Manhattan, featuring celebrity brides, including Grammy winner Elle King.
Every year, the consultants at this premier bridal boutique face practical and emotional hurdles to deliver the perfect dress in time for a bride’s big day.
In this series, we meet the next generation of consultants and ambitious young interns, brides from all around the world and, most importantly, the amazing gowns themselves!
Lead consultant Randy Fenoli shares his keen insight into the wedding dress business. What is the deciding factor in the bride saying “yes” to the dress?
I think a bride should always choose the dress that makes her feel the most beautiful, because when she feels beautiful, she’s going to stand taller. Her shoulders are going to go back. Her smile’s going to get wider and she’s going to walk with an air of confidence down the aisle. For me, confidence equals beauty. Now here’s the challenge, though, with bringing an entourage. A bride really needs to have a conversation before she steps into the salon with her entourage and say: ‘My budget’s $1 000. So, unless you’re willing to put up the other $9 000, don’t pull a $10 000 dress.’
Describe the latest trends?
I get asked that a lot and I’ve been happy to say that sexy is very in right now in America – lots of sheer panels, sheer midriffs, low backs. But there’s something for everyone out there today, whether you’re a traditional bride, want to be chic, understated, sexy, look bohemian, be all blinged out with crystals, or be a fairy tale princess, there’s a designer and a dress out there.
What kind of trends can we adopt from the runway or the everyday fashion? For example, break the rules when we are speaking about the bridal gowns, and what trends are inappropriate for a wedding?
You have to take your venue into consideration. Are you getting married in a church or synagogue, and who’s going to be attending the wedding? Is it going to be your grandmother, your aunts, and your in-laws, or is it going to be just friends at a beach wedding where you’re going to party all night? I think what you wear and how appropriate it is depends on the venue and the guests. Revealing, for example, like breasts or the whole legs?
Oh, yes. There are dresses that are completely nude that have a bathing suit liner where you can completely see the entire body and they didn’t line over the bust or other areas – which I think is completely inappropriate. Nobody wants to see someone half-naked walking down the aisle. This is a beautiful, elegant, sophisticated ceremony with tradition and I think it should be treated as such.
What are the most common mistakes made by brides while choosing the wedding dress?
Number one: you really need to set a wedding budget – and I say budget because you should have the flowers budgeted, the DJ or the band, the venue, the invitations, the dress – everything that you need. But if you find a dress and let’s say it’s a few hundred dollars over what you wanted to spend, then maybe take some money from the band or venue. Cut out something – even the guest list. You don’t want to wake up the day after the wedding and be in debt. Number two, brides need to set down some ground rules before they enter the bridal salon to make sure that they choose the dress they feel the most beautiful in and not try to please everyone in their entourage. They need to keep an open mind when shopping for a wedding gown. They think they know what they want to wear and will say” ‘Oh, I don’t like lace, and I don’t want beading and I don’t want strapless’ – and they end up with a beaded, lace, strapless dress.
Join Say Yes to the Dress on Sunday, at 6.10pm on TLC Entertainment (DStv 135).