When it comes to weddings, the dress is one of the biggest and possibly most difficult decisions. There is no shortage of beautiful wedding dress styles and designs; searching for the perfect dress feels challenging. What can be a huge help is having the right words to describe your style and how you want your wedding dress to make you feel on your special day. Doing so will help you understand the suitable designs for your dream wedding.

One of the most common phrases we hear when bridges begin searching for their dress? Traditional versus Modern bridal gowns.

If you're unsure which style, traditional or modern, would suit you, we'd love to share our expert knowledge to make things easier and help you gain the direction you need.

Where to Begin

Before you search for the dress, you should consider your wedding theme. Will you have a casual, formal, modern, or traditional wedding? Also, what sort of dress type will you be most comfortable wearing?

Ask yourself these simple questions:

• Do you want your dress to look either classic or timeless?
• Do you want your dress and its design to be unique, a trait found in modern dresses?
• How do you want to look and feel on your wedding day?

The answers to these questions will be the basis for what dress style is ideal for you.

What we wear has the power to influence how we feel. Choosing garments we love changes how we carry ourselves and interact with the world, improving our mood and outlook. Fashion is much more than fabric; on your wedding day especially, feeling as fantastic as you look is essential.

Your wedding dress is the most essential article of clothing you'll ever wear, and how you feel in your dress can determine how you feel throughout your wedding.

Traditional Bridal Gowns

What is the iconic hallmark of a traditional or classic wedding dress? Timelessness. The traditional bridal aesthetic will help you ensure that you will love your dress before, during, and years after the wedding. Traditional wedding gowns are designed to withstand the test of time and fashion's many trends. Classic wedding gowns shy away from anything too ornate or on-trend yet showcase expert design that seamlessly fits into any year or era—relying on immaculate tailoring, rich textures, tasteful embellishments, and enduring necklines.

But what makes a bridal gown traditional and classic?

The Ball Gown Bridal

For a good reason, the Ball Gown bridal dress is also known as Princess Gowns, as these gorgeous dresses are instantly recognizable for their regal appearance. A bridal Ball gown has a full, voluminous skirt paired with a fitted bodice. The skirt generally stars at the natural waist, and this silhouette creates a beautiful hourglass shape.

The fitted bodice may be strapless, like our style in RB612, or maybe a gorgeous V-neck with a half cape, like our style RB6116.

Mermaid

The Mermaid gown elegantly fits your body through the hips, with the skirt flaring gorgeous just before the knee. A Mermaid wedding gown is bold and luxurious, merging sophistication with just the right amount of drama. Adding lace to a Mermaid wedding dress gives a touch of romance to a dreamy-gown fit made for your big day. One of our favorites encompassing the above is our Sweetheart Mermaid Florencia in style RB3155.

A-Line

The A-Line wedding dress has been a staple of brides for decades. Its perfectly balanced and subtle lines and a fitted bodice that highlights the waist and gradually flowing skirts make it easy to see why it's considered a traditional and classic gown. A-Line wedding gowns showcase a semi-voluminous skirt that gradually flows outward from the waist and delicately commands attention in its utter beauty and graceful silhouette. A-line bridal dresses can come with striking cut-outs for a more modern feel or a vintage and classic romantic tale with touches of lace.

Our favorite romantic A-Line bridal gown is our V-Neck, A-Line Couture D'Amour in style MB412.

Modern Bridal Gowns

Modern bridal gowns embrace textures, tailoring, and designs that are up-and-coming or brand-new and can be particularly fast-moving, depending on fashion. Every season of Modern bridal offers something new and exciting for brides to pull off the latest look for their wedding day and is especially perfect for brides looking to set aside the old or create their own wedding traditions.

Many brides are deciding to skip the big dresses and go for pieces such as bridal jumpsuits or reaching for bridal gowns in nontraditional colors like red, black, or pink. Modern bridal gowns often showcase big bows, unusual ruffles, bold floral prints, 3D appliques, and unique mix-and-match cuts with or without voluminous sleeves.

Wedding Jumpsuit

Many brides are turning to bridal jumpsuits for a unique, fun and stylish alternative to the dress. Every style, from modern to simple, to boho and daring—there is a perfect design awaiting the bride-to-be when choosing a wedding jumpsuit. Feathers and fringe, ruffles and strappy, or strapless and fitted bodice—there's an ideal silhouette for every bride.

We love jumpsuits that can be multi-purpose as well, so not only can a bridal jumpsuit be worn to your wedding, it can be re-worn for any formal occasion, like our One Shoulder Jumpsuit in White Multi, style 50083, for example. Sequins and stunning hand-sewn crystalline details will have you dazzling everyone as you walk down the aisle.

A-Line with Side Slit

While the A-Line Wedding Gown is a classic, adding a side slit is a modern and sensual addition turning tradition into brand-new looks. What truly sets aside the modern A-Line style of bridal gowns is the wide range of colors they now come in. You don't have to settle for white if you do not wish to! There's red, black, pink, and blue—nearly any color you dream of is available for modern-day brides looking for gowns.

We love our Strapless A-Line Lo'Adoro Bridal in Red, style RB5020 using Mikado fabric for a stunning structure and shimmering pleats with a side-slit and dramatic cathedral train.

Ball Gown Ruffle

What turns the classic Wedding Ball Gown into a modern fantasy? Ruffles! Ruffled tulle skirts, especially with Cascading or Circular ruffles, are currently on trend, and no wonder! This is a modern princess's dream with airy, flowy, dreamy ruffles that make you feel like floating down the aisle on a cloud of air. Our experts love our Sweetheart Bridal Ball Gown in style RB6113, which perfectly captures that flowing feeling.

Modern Vs. Traditional: Which one?

After reading about our modern and traditional bridal gown shapes, ask yourself the last and most important question. Which feels more in line with your taste and style, and which do you see yourself wearing comfortably? The dress or jumpsuit that draws you in the most is your answer.

We hope our article has been a fantastic tool in helping you understand whether you should choose a traditional or modern wedding gown.