Photos: Fairchild Archive (Rose Byrne); Conde Nast Digital Archive (runway)
BRIDES editor-in-chief Anne Fulenwider appeared in a Good Morning America segment today to give GMA the download on extreme wedding dress trends. Of course, they aren't so terribly extreme to us—we just call them the daring new ways to be a bride. As Anne pointed out, "more and more, we're seeing weddings be a reflection of a bride's personal style, and she wants her wedding dress to reflect her personal style." The five trends GMA reflected are:
Pants
Though arguably the most controversial of the latest crop of trends, designers from Theia to Pnina Tornai showed pants on their runways—and even more are likely to join the panted bandwagon next season.
Sleeves—the lacier the better
Inspired by the wedding gown of 2011, a wave of new dresses feature long sleeves reincarnated from Duchess Kate's Alexander McQueen lace-sleeved design. (Kristen Stewart also deserves a bit of the credit, thanks to her Twilight Carolina Herrera gown.)
Color
Vera Wang famously sent out a collection of black and nude gowns for Fall 2012 hoping to free brides from a strictly white wedding palette. But black isn't your only option. Dusty purples, buttery yellows, and soft blues all popped up throughout the season, joining Wang's call for bolder, brighter brides.
Slits—the higher the better
"We're seeing a very sexy trend in bridal where brides really want to show some skin," Anne said. "We're seeing this in really high slits." Taking their cues from ready-to-wear runways, bridal designers spiced their collections with daring slits to show off brides' legs and statement shoes. (See this season's hottest slit dresses in our slideshow.)
Unusual Headpieces
While not the most unusual part of Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries, the reality TV star's glittering headpiece at her grand, black-and-white wedding defined a new look for brides. From fascinators to '70s-style headscarves, there are a slew of ways to wrap your head around this trend.
—Phillip B. Crook