A very formal addition to your wedding gown would be
Wedding Dress Trains
After you've decided on the style of wedding dress you want, with the perfect neckline and sleeve, the last piece to add is the train. One of the main determining factors in the length of your train is the formality of your wedding. The shorter trains are perfect for informal or semi-formal weddings. The longer, more elaborate trains are best suited for the formal and ultra-formal affairs.
The most informal train is the Brush Train, sometimes called the Sweep Train. It is just slightly longer in the back of the dress than in the front and just brushes the floor behind your dress. This train is perfect for that lovely beach wedding or the semi-formal ceremony and won't add a lot of volume to the back of your dress.
Slightly longer than the Brush Train is the Court Train. It travels about garden wedding dresses 3 feet from the waistline and adds a little more volume than the Brush Train to the back of the gown. It's also great for most ceremonies, formal and informal. It's not, however, recommended for your garden or beach weddings.
The Chapel Train has become a most popular train, due to the elegance it adds to the dress, while still allowing it to be appropriate for the semi-formal affair. This train extends approximately 4 feet from the waist and is very often used by Vera Wang on her designer creations with lovely embroidery appliques and beading. The more elaborate the embellishment of the train, the more formal the gown becomes.
A very formal addition to your wedding gown would be the Cathedral Train. The Cathedral Train trails 7 to 7 1/2 feet behind her waist and makes an incredible statement when the bride makes her entrance. Often, top bridal designers, such as Vera Wang, will design dresses with removable Cathedral Trains. That way, after the pictures and receiving line, the bride can have her train removed and enjoy the reception.
The Royal Train is absolutely breathtaking when seen trailing 9 to 10 feet behind a gorgeous designer wedding gown. You will be in the church while your train is still coming up the steps. Only the most formal of ceremonies is appropriate for the Royal Train, also known as the Monarch Train. The picture of Princess Di walking toward the alter is a perfect example of the regal Royal Train. Now picture it on your Vera Wang original with silk organza bodice and light ivory silk satin with an interlayer of lace leading to the train. But keep in mind, With this much added material, you'll need additional attendants to assist you.
The last train is unique and different from the others in the way it attaches to the dress. Not at the waist, but at the top of the dress; at the shoulders or the back, depending upon the way the top of the dress is cut. It can be any different length, from the same length as the dress to extending well beyond the back hemline. This is the one type of train, if made with a sheer fabric, that would be lovely on a Vera Wang sheath dress for a beach or garden wedding.
Wedding Gowns The Wedding Dress Train
These days, not as many wedding dresses have trains, at least in America. Many brides have realized that extra fabric on a wedding dress ends up costing them a little more. That, plus the fact that they can see that part of their wedding dress all that well, and it drags on the ground, has made the train an extra accessory that some brides decide to eliminate.
However, there nothing as elegant as the train on a wedding dress. Every royal bride has a long train as an integral part of their wedding gowns; that shows the regality of the bride, who deserves to feel like a queen on her special day. Wedding trains bring glamour, especially if it looks like it was part of the original design, as opposed to an add-on.
In general, there are six types of trains that wedding dresses can have. Let take a look at each one.
The royal train is the longest of all trains, and of course, by the name, you know this is the type of train that the royals will have as their wedding dresses. Royal trains are extreme; they go back at least 10 feet, and obviously were planned to be there, as the silhouette theye attached to are blended so that the gown is seamless. This will definitely make the bride the center of attention.
The next train is pretty long also, and it known as the cathedral train. This train extends between 6 to 9 feet, and, as the term indicates, this was the traditional wedding train for religious ceremonies for centuries, and is still worn by today brides for mainly Catholic ceremonies.
The next train that white and red wedding dresses comes into religious favor is the chapel train, which nly?extends from 4 to 5 feet. This train was also a traditional religious train, but not for as extensively religious ceremonies as the cathedral train.
The court train comes in around 3 feet, and traditionally this was for weddings of feather homecoming dresses lesser royals such as duchesses and countesses, though it was regal in its own way.
The sweep train is one that barely touches the ground, kind of weeping?the ground but not by much. This is probably the most popular train with today brides.
The last train is more of an attachment than originally part of the wedding dress. Known as the watteau, it attaches to the top of the wedding dress at the shoulders, then falls to the length of your dress, or further.
Of course, wedding dresses don have to have trains, but it just adds so much glamour to the occasion that we hope more brides decide to return to the days of long and elegant trains.
