Wedding belles

No other dress can generate such emotion, tension, concentration and research. The average spend on a wedding dress in Ireland, where there are 30,000 marriages a year, is around €1,200 with many couples still prepared to fork out an estimated €27,000 on their wedding day according to a survey by weddingsonline.ie

In terms of style, Irish site bridalbible.ie identified 16 different styles of dress from classic and “playful” to bohemian and fashion-forward from 31 designers.

“Irish brides-to-be are in tune with trends and know exactly what they want,” says founder Claire Trinder. “Their fashion icons are Victoria Beckham and Amy Huberman.”

Echoing Marian Gale (page 10), she agrees that Kate Middleton and Kate Moss have had a huge influence on dress trends and the vogue for veils and lace.

Some of the trends are reflected in these ensembles from the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre which gave stylist Aisling Farinella (soon to be a bride herself) a free hand to draw stylish looks using dresses, jewellery, antiques and flowers from shops in the centre.

Some dresses cost over €3,000, and a diamond floral necklace is €6,900, but dresses can be rented from the“Collection” at Covet, from €175 (€425 to buy) and Knightsbridge jewellery has inexpensive alternatives to real sparklers.