Sample sales are a GREAT way to save money on your wedding gown. Remember, these are NEVER worn, designer samples. They have very little wear, as we take great care of our sample dresses.

Good news, right now, we have lots of ever-popular and chic Watters Sample gowns for sale! These are all current dresses as seen on their website, and many are Spring 2012!

(Pictured Below)

Watters Vivien, size 8, Ivory: Vivien features Layered Deconstructed washed silk organza mixed with  Tulle: original price $2600 /sample sale: $1849                                                                    you save $751! (belt not included)

  Watters Malibu: size 12: color “white/Ivory”  Malibu features Silk Taffeta and silk organza, with handmade silk taffeta flowers. Original price $2940                                                                                   sample sale: $2,058   You save $882.00!

Wtoo Brides Desdemona, Ivory, size 8. Desdimona features a sweetheart neckline, modified a-line skirt, detailed with cascading three dimensional handmade flowers; Original price $1062 SAMPLE SALE: $539.00

Desdemona/lili bridals sample sale

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For questions on sizing, for Watters size chart see here:

size 8: bust 37 Waist 29.5 hips 39.5  size 10: B 38 w 30 h 40.5  size 12:B39.5 w 31.5 h 42

For information on how to measure, see here

If you have inquiries on these dresses, please don’t hesitate to call us: Remember these are NEVER WORN dresses, they are NEW store samples, and hardly tried on!

call (818)774-9700 or

email: sales@lilibridals.com

We ship all over the United States!

happy shopping!

We are pleased to announce a SALE on select Terani Prom dresses!

Terani P192 coral/ multi; size 2 , original $358 sale price $229!

Terani P192

Terani P138 color: Red  size: 10     Color: Lavender   size 14

original price$320: SALE $159.00!

Terani P188, Aqua size 4, original $378 SALE $199.00

Limited to stock on hand, listed above.

All sales are final. We ship anywhere in the continental U.S.

Please call (818) 774-9700 or email: sales@lilibridals.com

I am not a numbers person, but I do like statistics. I love to check Google Analytics for our store website (www.lilibridals.com) to see how people are finding us and such information  as where they’re from, what their search words were, how many minutes they spent on our site, etc.

You know what is the number one searched term that leads to our website?

“Stylish Mother of the Bride Dresses”

Yep. It seems that moms literally from all over the world have a hard time knowing what to wear to their children’s nuptuals!!

The thing is, moms can be young, or not so young, slim, or not so slim, but most share one thought in common, and that is:

“I don’t want to look like an old lady!”

That fine line between needing to cover a figure issue and keeping a dress from looking ‘matronly’ can unfortunately be crossed as soon as you add some sort of covering to an arm. I can attest to the most overheard line in our store: ” I hate my arms!”!  If I had a nickel for every time I heard these words….

But therein lies the risk….once you cover an arm, you risk looking like the grandma of the bride, not the mom…(oh, the horror!!    )

So there is an art to showing the figure, yet covering what you don’t like…not an easy task for the customer, nor for the average retailer who is trying to please that customer!

BUT, we at Lili Bridals are prepared, and EXPERTS at this task!

To follow, I have complied a of guide few of our favorite mom’s dresses, that don’t look like you’re wearing your mother’s dress….and tips to flatter your figure…This will be part one of a series of posts to follow, that we will call “The Mother Of Bride Guide”

Montage by Mon cheri style 211913

Montage by Mon Cheri 111911

This dress is great for slim or larger women up to size 20! It shows a small waist, but can cover up a tummy or hips beautifully!

A hand-beaded silk chiffon sheath with matching bolero. Works especially well for women who are up to size 14 and want to cover their arms. A young and sexy Mother’s dress, if there ever was one.

Montage by Mon Cheri 112919

Stretch Net with 3/4 sleeve…Great v-neck ‘opens’ one up, and gives an illusion of being taller and slimmer.  Draping at hips and tummy camouflages, well… hips and tummy!

Capri by Mon Cheri 2902-2

Knee Length silk burnout dress. Need to cover your arms, but have great legs? This is a fantastic choice!

Capri by Mon Cheri CP11238

Got good arms AND good legs? This is a great dress for an afternoon beach wedding, or rustic outdoor wedding

Hope you enjoyed PART ONE of our Mother-of-the-Bride-Guide…more to come!

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment below!

Looking at her figure, (fantastic), her haircut (short and wavy), and her stylish way she dressed (she is a hairdresser with a great sense of style) One dress came to mind..a bias cut, cowl neck gown in charmeuse and lace by Hong Kong designer Anasul Y. Sure enough, Andrea’s eyes ‘twinkled’ when she took one look at it on the hanger.

I get asked everyday “What is a ‘bias cut ‘gown? Click Here for a great description.

Bias cuts became popular in the 1930′s by French designer Madeleine Vionnet. She is one of my all time favorite designers. Her gowns clinged to the body, in a sultry sexy way, but they weren’t tight.

Here are some  images of bias cut gowns that were made famous by Hollywood stars such as Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow:

Jean Harlow, from "Fashions of a Decade, the 1930's" by Maria Costantino

Another example of Jean Harlow in a stunning bias cut gown.

The question was…would Andrea love it on? The thing is, bias cuts are VERY hard to wear, as the fabric is VERY clingy. It will show any bump, bulge or even pantyline one has..so FYI ladies, Spanx will be your BEST FRIEND if you choose to wear a bias cut gown!

Andrea slipped the gorgeous gown on. I think she instantly knew. It was then confirmed by her mother and 2 closest friends…and once again bridal shop salesperson intuition was right on! Isn’t it cool when that happens?

                                                   Taking one look at Andrea in this gown confims it: I need to get back to Yoga!

Anyway….Andrea found her dress, and as you will see, she ROCKED it!

Andrea chose “The Sepulveda Home in Los Angeles as her venue, which has a 1920′s-30′s plantation vibe. She also had no flowers, only feathers, ala a 1930′s supper club. Her husband Alex wore a seersucker suit. And her pug Oliver was her ringbearer…er, PUGbearer.( he even wore a ring-pillow backpack!)

Without further adieu…here are some pics!

Mint Julep, anyone?

and the picture that says it all! Wow.

Thank you to Andrea for sharing her amazing pictures with us!

Happiness always!

Photographer: Laura Heffington

Venue: The Sepulveda Home

Dress: Anasul Y, from Lili Bridals

Bethany and Janek had a real vintage-inspired wedding, and Bethany made the most perfect and beautiful bride!

Bethany Chose Allure Bridals style 8800, which can be seen here:

A gorgeous bias cut gown of Charmeuse under

Venice lace and tulle overlay….

Enough stalling…here are the amazing pics of Bethany and Janek’s wedding!

photography by Seth Jacobson, from Rhode Island. Thank you Seth,  for sending us these GORGEOUS images of our gorgeous bride Bethany!

We are in awe of our bride Katie Bann’s rustic Santa Barbara wedding!

Katie wears Watters ‘Austin” ( what an incredible dress!) paired with a silk organza rosette sash by Marisa Bridals. She tops it off with a flower-feather comb by Lori London Bridal Millinery. We LOVE IT–your look is perfection, Katie!!

LOVE the shots of her and her hubby in the field, so romantic!

We are proud that Katie’s wedding was featured by the awesomest bridal blog Style Me Pretty”…http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/12/21/santa-barbara-wedding-by-lavender-twine/

Held at Orella Ranch in Santa Barbara, with photos by Lavender and Twine…

Thank you for sharing these incredible images, Katie, and thank you for making us look so good!

We are excited to share the news that an article I wrote was published in the Huffington Post ‘Weddings’ section:

The article received many positive comments, and I feel this is a ‘must-read’ before going bridal gown shopping…..enjoy!

“What about the Bride…?”

Being an independent bridal gown retailer for most of my life (I am the third generation owner of my family’s bridal salon), I have seen many changes in our industry.  The biggest change has been the onslaught of discount internet websites and huge warehouse chain stores.  Other trends such as high necks and pouffy sleeves came and went (thankfully).  Destination weddings are a welcome breath of fresh air (literally).  And what about the current mini-trend of brides purchasing used, or as many prefer to call them   ”pre-owned” wedding gowns? (Really?)

With that said, the most curious change has been the shopping patterns of today’s brides.  By that, I don’t mean how they spend their hard-earned money, but instead, HOW these women literally shop for a wedding gown.

It used to be that a newly engaged woman would bring only her mother (or closest female relative) with her for this important, hopefully, “once-in-a-lifetime” shopping experience.  It used to be a very intimate, emotional and special time for a mother and daughter.  After all, isn’t it “every mothers’ dream” to one day shop for a wedding gown with their daughter?

I’m not sure who sent out the memo to every bride across the country, but the trend has now changed…  Today’s bride feels compelled to invite everyone she knows– in addition to her mother—to shop for her wedding gown!  I call it “Posse Shopping”.  I have seen as many as 13 to 15 people come in to my store with one bride to help her shop for her gown!  These situations are not only overwhelming for the store’s sales staff, but also prove to be especially challenging for the bride.  So challenging, in fact, that many times she makes the WRONG decision when choosing her gown.

Included in these small armies may (or may not) be:  The bride’s mother, sister, mother-in-law-to-be, maid of honor, sister-in-law-to-be, her mother’s best friend, ALL of her BRIDESMAIDS, her 2^nd cousin once removed on her father’s side, her 10 year old niece, the gay male friend with “INCREDIBLE” taste… you get the picture.

The following are familiar scenarios that occur in bridal salons all across the country, be they large or small:

Scenario 1, Group of 7:  The bride really loves a dress she puts on in the dressing room.  She admires it in the mirror and is excited to show her group the lovely vintage-looking lace gown she’s so beautifully wearing.  She emerges from the dressing room and hears a chorus of “Oh, nooooo… Take it off!”, “That’s not you!”, “That dress looks like my grandmother’s curtains!!!”, “Next!” And then, her mom simply says, “I think you can do better, honey.”

Downtrodden, she drags herself back into the dressing room, wishing she had come alone.

Scenario 2, Group of 10:  All of her bridesmaids and her first cousin.  Her bridesmaids are hung over from the night before and are chatting and giggling about the hunky guy one of them met at some dive bar they visited last night.  Her cousin’s boyfriend just broke up with her and she’s a complete trainwreck.  Heartbroken and jealous, she can’t get past the fact that she should be the one getting married, not her cousin.  As the bride emerges from the dressing room in a lovely choice, her cousin blurts out, “Oh my Gawd, I would NEVER wear that!”  The rest shout differing opinions, and give advice left and right.  After a few more dresses, some appear to lose interest while others talk on their cell phones.  None of them are asking which gown the BRIDE likes best.  Consequently, the bride leaves confused and disappointed, and wishes she had just come with her best friend.

Scenario 3, Group of 8:  The bride’s strategy is to take a poll of her posse’s favorite dresses.  Four vote for the satin ball gown.  Two vote for the dress at the store they all went to last weekend.  One vote for the dress that the bride loves the best, a mermaid.  Satin ballgown has the most votes… the bride isn’t really a satin lover but she trusts her friends’ taste.  After all, that’s why she brought them, they have good taste. And, they know what looks good on her, right?  Maybe the mermaid isn’t the best choice for her, even though in her heart she REALLY loves it.  In the end, she purchases the satin ball gown.  A month later, after many tears and sleepless nights, the bride calls the store to see if she can cancel the order because she thinks she’s made a mistake.  But it’s too late.  The dress is already in works.  She either has to buy a SECOND dress that she really loves, or she lives to regret her decision every time she looks at her wedding photos.

Get the picture?

When did brides become so insecure in their decision making?  Maybe there’s just too much information and pressure for brides out there with the internet, bridal bloggers, staged photo shoots, celebrities and reality shows all trying to influence her?  Is every bride afraid they will have their own personal Joan and Melissa Rivers at their wedding saying, “What was she thinking?”???

The experts and other brides will say that shopping for a gown can be a stressful time.  Society’s pressures make it even more so today.  I am not saying that brides shouldn’t take anyone with them to shop for their gown.  I’m just saying that they should resist the need to please everyone else, and instead make sure they please themselves.

Here’s my advice…

When a bride goes on her most special shopping trip, she should only bring her most trusted core group.  It’s ok if this is just one special person, or few special people.  But do try to keep the group to no more than three.  Most importantly, a bride should never forget to listen to her heart.  She should always choose those friends and loved ones who will not project their tastes onto hers.  She should bring along the ones who know her taste, will listen to her, be truthful yet respectful and… will help her choose the right gown for HER.  After all, it is still about the bride, isn’t it?!

So imagine how important this knowledge is when it comes time to purchase quite possibly the most important article of clothing you will ever wear, your wedding dress!

In this Lili Pad post, one in a series, I will share just a few of the ‘pearls’ of wisdom that I have learned over the years on how to use the gifts that nature has given you to help choose your perfect wedding dress…

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Eyes: did you know that the whites of your eyes should be a determining factor in choosing the color of your bridal gown ?
Whites and Ivories come in many shades…colors depends on the type of fabric ( satin, Organza, lace) as well as the content: (Silk, or polyester) Which color is best? When deciding between colors…not only the color of your skin should be a deciding factor, but also the Whites of your eyes! Hold the color swatch up to your face and your eyes..the color that most closely matches the whites of your eyes is usually the best color to choose!

Hair: Straight, smooth, wavy, or curly?
We can use our hair to help us choose a gown…Just mimick the patterns and lines that nature has provided…

Is your hair wavy or curly? Then steer yourself over to the lace dresses, or patterned fabrics…

See how curly or wavy hair is enhanced by the lace?

Silky smooth and shiny hair? then choose a satin, or Charmeuse gown…the fabric mirrors the natural sheen in your hair…and is most flattering..

Silk Charmeuse Gown by Amy Michelson--see how the fabric mirrors silky hair? Gorgeous!

See where I’m going with this?

Back to eye color….and on to Bridesmaids dresses…
Some brides come in with no preconceived notions on what colors to choose for their wedding….Some describe the wallpaper, or even the carpet of the church, or hotel and say they want to match it…oh please, NO NO NO!

I suggest you look in the mirror…what color are your eyes? Blue? Green, Brown? How about choosing a color that reflects your natural beauty–your eye color….You can never go wrong ( unless your wear those creepy colored contacts ! yuck   )

Then the whole look of your wedding is not only beautiful, but helps you look more fabulous too! (and that’s never a bad thing, am I right?)

But look really CLOSELY at your eyes…they are not just generic “blue”, brown, green…

Are they blue-green? Hazel? How about seafoam dresses?

Amsale Maids in 'Ocean: A great color for Blue-green eyes!

Are your eyes chestnut, or like mine, nutmeg?

This is a GREAT color:

Watters Tissue Taffeta in 'Timber"

Blue-grey eyes? This is a great example: Look how beautiful our bride Alexandra Remback looks next to her shimmery Charcoal grey maids by Watters. Of course Alex has Blue eyes…

Alexandra Remback and her girls...the silvery- Charcoal mimicks her grey-blue eyes

See how the bride is enhanced by the girls, and by mirroring her eye color in her maids color….Alex is all the more beautiful !! (ummm,  if that was even possible?!)

So those are a few of my pearls of wisdom on choosing important elements for your wedding…And remember….stay natural, stay true to yourself, and stay tuned for more!

Love,

Lisa

This is the time of year for sample sales…everyone’s FAVORITE two words! .And here are some CUTE little numbers for your bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, casual wedding,  or  reception dress….and all are on sale!

I LOVE the way this Casablanca short number with Laser-cut flowers and feathers shimmies when you walk…talk about a dancing dress!

Casablanca 2015 Original $780/ sale price $379

And here is a close-up of these really cool laser-cut flowers: they really move and shimmer when you walk..never seen a dress like it!

WToo Brides has a Whimsical, fun dress called “Kyra” that is simply adorable. Layers and layers of tulle adorn the skirt, and make this a perfect alternative wedding gown, or reception dress!

Wtoo Brides Kyra short $820 / sale $379

And finally, a cute champagne cocktail dress from Sue Wong, we call it the

“Falling Leaves Dress” : adorable for your shower, rehearsal dinner, or casual reception dress….

Sue Wong N1163

Happy Shopping!!

It’s a Sample Sale !!

Once a year we have a blow-out sample sale to make room for our new collections…and that time is here again!

Here is a ‘sampling’ of the gowns we have on sale:

Designers include: Lazaro samples, Alvina Valenta samples, Pronovias samples, Watters Samples, and many more!

Remember, these dresses are NEW , NEVER worn. Dresses have only been tried on by a few brides in our shop. These are all new samples that are in fabulous condition, and we take great care of our gowns. ( there may be slight dust at then hem, which is negligible)

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Alvina Valenta 9002

Sample Size 12, color: White/Vanilla lining

SOLD!

SAMPLE SALE:$1599.00 ( you save $1,499)

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Alvina Valenta 9100

Size 12, Ivory

Original Price $3850

SAMPLE SALE: $2,499 ( you save $1,351!)

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Watters Bride “Lithgow”

SOLD!!!!

Size 10, Ivory

SOLD!!!

Watters Bride "Lithgow" ( belt sold separately)

 original $1690

Sample Sale: $1199.00  (you save $491)

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 Watters Bride ‘Sahara” SOLD!

Size 10, Ivory

layers and layers of silk satin-faced organza

 Original $2170

Sample sale $1,299.00 ( you save $ 871!)

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This is only a small portion of our samples for sale. We will be adding more and more dresses to our ‘Back Room” every day! Stay tuned for updates!

If you live near our store, just North of Los Angeles, we would love to set up an appointment with you. If you do not live nearby,  we can ship the dresses anywhere in the U.S.( all sales will be final) Please email inquiries to: sales@lilibridals.com. Or call: (818)774-9700.

**We are glad to provide photos and more detailed information of the actual sample gowns upon request.

Happy Shopping!