Top tips for brides and the latest selection of wedding dresses from one of Ireland’s best-known designers …
The Wedding Salon at The Merrion is an annual highlight in THE GLOSS events calendar. At this year’s sold-out event, host and wedding planner extraordinaire Tara Fay provided guidance for the big day based on close to thirty years’ experience. Leading dermatology consultant Dr Rosemary Coleman presented expert advice on skincare, make-up artist Christine Lucignano and hair stylist David Cashman showcased the best bridal looks, with tips on choosing and styling your wedding dress by Sharon Hoey, along with day two and mother-of-the-bride looks from Sharon’s AndTate new spring/summer 2025 collection.
One of Ireland’s best-known designers, Sharon Hoey‘s Merrion Street bridal boutique is the exclusive stockist of beautiful wedding dresses from Jenny Packham, Alice Temperley and Suzanne Neville, as well as her own stunning creations. Sharon introduced three beautiful wedding gowns modelled by AndTate house model Rosalind Lipsett, and models Yomiko and Audrey, as the starting point for a discussion about choosing the right wedding dress. A salon showing of the stunning new collection followed, which includes brilliant looks for wedding guests and mothers of the bride or groom in classic and flattering styles.
5 Top Tips:
1. Be open-minded and try on a few styles to begin with. You may have an idea in your head, but it may not suit you. The in-house specialists can offer alternatives to work with any shape.
2. Sample sizes generally go up to a size 12 in the boutique, but their long openings mean that those above a size 12 can still try them on to get an idea of how they look before placing an order for a custom made dress.
3. Nine months is plenty of time to order a bespoke gown, with the possibility to order six months in advance for ready-to-wear styles in standard sizes, updated in final fittings.
4. Sharon advises brides-to-be against bringing more than one style advisor to fittings. “Choosing a dress should not be done by committee. It can be helpful to have someone who you trust with you for advice, but consider carefully who that is, and definitely don’t bring more than two people.”
5. It’s helpful to bring a pair of shoes or heels that you are comfortable in (both Tara and Sharon agreed that they love the trend for fun colourful heels peeking out from a gown!), and she advises full nude underwear instead of a thong.
The final piece of advice before an appointment: do not wear fake tan, under any circumstance!
BRIDAL
Yomiko wears Sabrina drop-waist a-line gown by Sharon Hoey.
Audrey wears florescence lace ballgown by Suzanne Neville.
Rosalind in silverball floral embroidered lace gown and tulle cape by Suzanne Neville.
Photographer: Conor Healy / Picture It Photography, @pictureitpix
