Spring West Weddings is now out!

It may be grey outside but spring is definitely on the way. And with this in mind, the spring edition of West Weddings is full of gorgeous articles and features inspired by sunshine, macaroons, flowers and other such lovely things.

Our real weddings features ceremonies in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol; we take a look  at new gowns from Ian Stuart, Mark Lesley, Essense, Kate Sherford and Justin Alexander; we look at cufflinks for men; and Sharon Diamond gives us her take on this season's trends.

Our cover shoot took place at The Grange in Winterbourne, which was a beautiful setting for our fab frocks from new bridal shop Allison Jayne and gorgeous groom's attire from Anne Harding.

You can pick up West Weddings for free in a number of places across the South West, as well as being able to access it online at www.west-weddings.co.uk. Happy reading!

The death of the strapless dress?

You know wedding season is coming up when searches for wedding hats have increased by 235% in the last month. How do we know this? Well, Twenga, the new-generation search engine which enables shoppers to see items from different retailers across the world in one handy place, has released data today about what brides in 2011 are looking for online.

The dress silhouette of the moment, according to the research, is the princess cut, closely followed by the mermaid and empire line. Perhaps marking the end of the strapless dress' dominance over the last few years, the most popular necklines are off the collar, scoop and v necks.

Veils are also up in popularity, with Twenga noting a 113% increase in searches for this item.

Pronovias is the most searched-for brand, but Ronald Joyce and Justin Alexander, in second and third place, have seen a rise in their popularity. In fourth is Benjamin Roberts and  budget-savvy brides have resulted in Nicholas Millington coming in fifth.

Of course, with two Royal Weddings coming up in the next six months - as well as fashion royalty Kate Moss - it will be interesting to see how the dresses chosen will influence other brides' choices. Just as copies of Oscar gowns go on sale immediately after the ceremony, so too have Royal Weddings traditionally led to dress styles being emulated within days of their first glimpse - something that began in Victorian times. Whatever Kate, Kate and Zara opt for will soon be showing up in Twenga's search results.