Yasmine & Oliver tie the knot in STYLE....

Yasmine's beautiful Couture wedding gown was individually designed & fully custom-made just for her, with several personal fittings here in our Sydney studio. She showed us great trust & confidence, and the ultimate compliment, by flying down from Brisbane to Sydney for each fitting - we thank you for believing in us, Yasmine! Her gown is made from pure silk Dupion in a soft "Ecru" colour, with handmade silk flowers in pastel shades stitched to form a corsage-like strap, and a fabulous BIG silk flower at the hip. The skirt has layers of soft pleated tulle in scalloped ruffles, and her corset bodice was hand-rusched to show off her tiny waist.


Yasmine had a vision and Culture Bridal Couture made it a reality - we love these wedding photos, it all looks just PERFECT!! Oliver and Yasmine's wedding photos by www.xsight.com.au

Glam Awards Fever - my fave looks!

I always get so excited with the US Awards season - it's fashion overload!!! The hype & the TV coverage is so over-the-top (but entertaining in a voyeuristic way!), and seeing which stars choose which designers is a sport in itself!! This year i was pretty impressed with the vast array of different looks, themes, fabrics and styles embraced by the glamorous celebs - and its so good to see a continuation of COLOUR favoured over basic black. The gorgeous jewel-coloured gowns just POP in photos, and really do look so much more flattering and memorable than the drab black dresses these days.

After looking at THE ultimate fashion website, www.style.com , here is my personal selection of gowns i loved most from the Globes & the Oscars, all of which i can imagine brides being inspired by.

It's great to see women of all ages, shapes and sizes looking SO FABULOUS on the red carpet - of course they have a support team of stylists, beauty professionals, major design houses willing to loan amazing Couture gowns & jewels & accessories for free, in return for the PR... but hey, that's entertainment!

If only we all had more opportunities to frock up and wear full-length gowns (sigh) - here in Australia our lifestyle is so relaxed and casual, but thankfully we can still glam up for WEDDINGS (whether we are guests or in the bridal party) and enjoy the pleasures of feeling like a Hollywood Star for a day!

My faves - at the Golden Globes - Mo'Nique, Maggie, our own adorable Toni Collette, Diane Kruger and Drew... fab gowns, fab colours, their gowns suited their figures, looks and personalities to perfection!

My faves - at the Oscars - Sandra Bullock in silver Marchesa, SJP in Chanel (controversial - but i loved it!!!), Helen Mirren, as always she looked just divine (in Badgley Mischka), Gabourney in her Marchesa gown rocked it, Elizabeth banks in Atalier Versace was tres chic, and Anna Kendrick's softest pink Elie Saab gown was absolutely BEAUTIFUL - a stunning shape and so perfectly made, so delicate and feminine and just breathtaking - wow!! Til next time, xx Lisa

Karen & Graham's English Castle wedding...

Our beautiful 'Culture Bridal Couture' bride Karen got hitched to the very dapper Graham in true style in an amazing English castle in the UK recently... the castle grounds featured beautiful gardens with wandering deer, and quaint stone steps and little bridges, perfect for the wedding photos!

Karen's "Culture Bridal Couture" gown was fully custom-made in Ecru silk dupion, with soft sheer tulle straps, tulle flowers & metallic lace applique and Swarovski crystal beading throghout the fitted bodice. Her style was inspired by our signature "Mon Cherie" gown (see our website for that design), but with a more structured skirt shape, instead of tulle. The gorgeous handmade silk flower bustle at the back of Karen's gown added that "English Rose" feel, and the touches of pale gold in the beading complemented her Rose Gold wedding ring.

We LOVE these photos, Karen - and it looks like you all had an absolute ball on your wedding day - BIG CONGRATS from my team and I,

xx Lisa

PHOTO CREDITS:-
Karen's custom-made wedding gown by Culture Bridal Couture in Sydney, Australia
All photography in this posting from Karen's wedding photographer Gav Harrison - view his website at www.whiteroomphotography.com

Culture Bridal Couture has arrived - our new name!

Merry Christmas and happy Silly Season to all!

Here at Culture Shock Couture, we've had the busiest Spring/Summer season EVER with so many gorgeous wedding gowns being created for our recent brides. 2009 has certainly been a big year for weddings - and we've seen our brides choose a big variety of gown styles, from the beautiful flowing Grecian-inspired gowns, to lots of stunning French Lace designs, and our always-popular Oriental-inspired looks, too. As the year 2009 draws to a close, my team & I are feeling pretty happy with ourselves... it's such a great feeling when we see the fruits of our labour (ie- our beautiful custom-made wedding dresses) being fitted for the last time on our brides, and the big smiles ( & sometime even tears of joy) as they look in the mirror and see how AMAZING they will look on their wedding day!

A couture bridal gown is the result of many months of hard work - a unique style individually designed especially for each bride, her colour & fabric selections, then measure-up & patternmaking, then expert tailoring, fine hand-stitched embellishments & detailing, and generally around 4 or 5 personal fittings. It all comes together magnificently to result in a totally unique and perfectly-fitted gown that is ALL ABOUT THE BRIDE - not only should it look & feel incredibely beautiful, but it should also express each bride's unique personality & passions. A couture gown should represent that bride in every way- her loves, her beauty, her lifestyle, her heritage and her spirit too!

With all that in mind, we have some VERY exciting news - Culture Shock Couture is about to have a new name! Since I launched my bridal label back in 2001, it's been called "Culture Shock" and my designs have always (and will continue) to embrace different cultures from around the world. However, my label has also evolved over the past 9 years, and my designs are so much more diverse now, with lots of rusched and draped looks, beautiful Retro-inspired gowns and heavenly vintage-themed French & Italian Laces also infuencing each wedding dress we create.

In order to represent everything we do, i have decided to re-name my label "Culture Bridal Couture" and we have a FAB new

logo and website to celebrate our evolution! Yayyee!! But don't worry, it's still our same experienced & caring team, & we will continue to be devoted to each and every bride we have the pleasure of working with! We pride ourselves on our personal service, relaxed & friendly atmosphere, highest quality fabrics and workmanship, and most importantly our totally original bridal designs that have evolved to truly offer Australian brides a fabulous alternative to the "big white meringue" on their wedding day!
So, i hope you like our new name, and my team & i wish you all the very best for a FABULOUS Christmas and a wonderful, exciting and fun-filled New Year!
Peace & love & Christmas Pudding, xx Lisa Merton

PHOTO CREDITS FOR THIS POSTING:-

Top Left image of our"Mon Cherie" pink/latte tulle gown, photo by Dario Gardiman

Top Right image of our bride Yasmine's wedding, photo by www.xsight.com.au

Middle Left image of Vicki's island wedding, photo by www.milkandhoney.com.au

Bottom Left image of our Grecian-inspired bride Anthoulla, photo by Andrew Kennedy

Bottom Right image of our Japanese-inspired bride Alannah, photo by www.milkandhoney.com.au

Latest BRIDE magazine featuring Culture Shock!

What a busy wedding season I am having this year - more Culture Shock brides than EVER before, so it's been an exciting, energetic, highly productive and rather exhausting few months for my team & I!


And to add to our current "buzz" of excitement, the latest BRIDE magazine has hit the newstands, with page after glossy page of the latest Culture Shock Couture gowns being featured - woo hooo!! This issue also highlights one of my recent brides' wedding story, a fabulous 4-page spread with the lovely Allana and her husband Nima both looking soooo happy and FABULOUS!


The fashion pages are bursting with beautiful photographs, all shot by the amazing Peter Collie, at various locations around Sydney and beyond... for one of the editorial stories the BRIDE team travelled to Coalcliff, NSW, and shot in the most divine waterfall and parklands (without even getting my sample gowns marked at all - well done, guys!!)


I've attached some of the photos here, which also feature the skilled hair & make-up artistry of Paul Bedggood, including an AWESOME up-do which i just adore.



As a designer, it's really rewarding and invigorating to see my gowns so beautifully photographed and styled in ways that I may never have thought of myself! When i design wedding gowns i guess i have a vision of the kind of bride that might wear that particular cut, shape, fabric or colour - and then i see someone totally different to my original vision (like the
models shown here), wearing the gowns so perfectly, as if designed just for them - it's such a great feeling and never fails to surprise or delight me!

Grab a copy of the latest BRIDE magazine, Issue #60, (look for the green cover) at your local newsagent, or visit their website at www. bride.com.au

Catch you soon, now back to all those gorgeous gowns we need to finish...

cheers, xx Lisa

Tamaiya and Dan's GORGEOUS wedding

It's such a fabulous & extremely satisfying feeling when my team & I receive our client's wedding photos... often it's months after they have come for their final fitting, and we have said our "goodbyes" to the gown & the beautiful bride we created it for. Then we receive a CD or a set of prints in the post and....WOW!

It's just so thrilling to see everything come together - our gown, the bride with her groom (whom most of the time we have never met!) her accessories, lovely hair and make-up & stunning flowers, and all the fine details & specific elements of the whole day pieced together as one, like a magnificent jigsaw puzzle finally being completed!

So I'd like to share these photos with you, from our recent bride Tamaiya. She married Dan in the breathtaking "Hunter Valley Gardens", a few hours from Sydney in wine country - and was blessed with the most perfectly sunny day! The Japanese pagoda where their ceremony took place, surrounded by the wonderful Autumn flowers and foliage, not only suited her Oriental-inspired theme, but also provided shade for all the guests and bridal party.


Tamaiya's 4-piece Culture Shock Couture gown was custom-made for her with a STUNNING cherry-red vintage kimono, featuring white blossoms, black dip-dyed edges and delicate hand-painted detailing. The custom-made white silk faille gown underneath was our base, layered on top with a detachable fitted waistband, and a separate bustle/train, and a jacket to finish it off - these 3 pieces all made from that very same kimono. We accessorised her 2 bridesmaids with matching narrow sashes at the waist, also from Tamaiya's kimono.

Looking at these wedding photos gives me great pride in the design, workmanship, quality and originality of everything that Culture Shock stands for... it's always a team effort and as long as we have brides who are daring enough to try something a little different, we will always be here & ready to create gorgeous & unique bridal gowns! A special thanks to all my team, who work so hard to achieve these wonderful results... I certainly couldn't do it without you all, keep up the amazing work!

bye for now,
xx Lisa

Sneak preview - ORIGAMI COUTURE GOWN

We recently did a FABULOUS photo shoot of a brand new COUTURE BRIDAL sample gown that I am absolutely thrilled with! Fresh from my studio workroom, this totally original Culture Shock design will soon be appearing in bridal magazines and on my website, too. We have named it the "Origami" Gown...

My team & I created this pure silk wedding gown with the ancient Japanese art of Origami (paper folding) in mind... we used a metallic silk for the bodice, which we folded, draped and tucked into an asymetrical neckline. The diagonally-shaped waistband actually wraps firmly around the body and ties at one side with twisted silk cording, and little hand-made fans, to visually slim and cinch in the waistline, and there are several deeply folded vertical pleats in the skirt, to add length and height to the bride's figure. The gown has a full train at the back, which can be hooked up for dancing, etc.

The overall effect we were aiming for in this new design is a SCULPTURAL SILHOUETTE with a fuller A-line skirt, so that brides with OR without curves can happily wear this beautifully flattering style with confidence and ease. With a hoop petticoat underneath for hemline fullness, this Couture wedding gown is "traditional"in a way, but with a funky, modern Oriental-inspired twist. AND its actually very comfortable to wear!

The brand new Origami bridal gown sample is now available to try on in my Sydney showroom, and can be ordered & custom-made in any colour and size, with a 4-6 month turnaround. For more info, email me via my website!

cheers, xx Lisa

The photo's here appear with thanks to our WONDERFUL style team -
PHOTOGRAPHER William Siauw from "PiXeL Photographics"

MAKE-UP & HAIR- Danielle Hampton from "Make Up By Danielle"

MODEL - the lovely Tereza

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