The launch of net-a-porter.com’s Wedding Boutique might be the best wedding present you’ll get. Listen to (or, er, read) this: The insanely talented buyers over there combed through every single dress, gown, shoe, purse, piece of jewelry and lingerie on the shopping site to curate the perfect one-stop designer shop for brides-to-be. What does this mean? It means that you won’t spend hours quietly sobbing over the non-existence of a decent pair of white heels, because you can just pop on the site and choose from one of many chic pairs of white heels. It means, essentially, that stylish brides-to-be have their own personal shopper, someone who has seen literally everything designers have to offer and specifically picked out the best for you. The site, for goodness’ sake, even offers dresses chosen specifically for the kind of bride you hope to be (classic? bohemian? minimalist?), which, in turn, makes us think there can only be one kind of bride shopping the site in the end: a very happy one.

Just as fashion magazine often advise real women to buy leopard print boots or leather minis, so bridal magazines often advise brides-to-be to dress their bridesmaids in different colors and styles. Problem is, all are nice ideas in theory, and all look great on the glossy page, but most of us end up erring on the side of the tried and true, and opting for a pair of black boots over the leopard, for six identical navy bridesmaid dresses instead of a rainbow of differing styles. We don’t blame you (or us) for this; after all, better safe than sorry.

Better safe than sorry, that is, until you see how right things can turn out when you take a bit o’ advice from the bridal mags, when you decide to go for it and be bold. Case in point? Our friend Brooke’s wedding (see pic above), which took place this past December. Each of her bridesmaid wore a different Thread dress in a different bright color, and from this photo alone you can sense how cheerful and happy and joyful and festive a celebration this must have been, in no small part (we like to think) because of her beautiful rainbow of bridesmaids.

(Ed. note: Sorry about the title of this post. We just couldn’t resist.)

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Jane.

If you are a bride, and you do live in the NYC area, chances are that you have at least heard of the Wedding Library, if you aren’t already essentially living there, what with all the bridal and bridesmaid and stationary and floral (etc, etc.) appointments. You see, the Wedding Library is kind of a one-stop-shop for brides-to-be, as the owners, Claudia Hanlin and Jennifer Zabinski, have pooled their collective knowledge and resources to represent the best out there in wedding land, which, aside from the wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, stationary and flowers previously mentioned, also includes bands and photographers and caterers and everything in between. Pretty genius, right?

In any case, we at Thread will be holding a trunk show with the Wedding Library girls over at their gorgeous headquarters on 43 East 78th street between Madison and Park on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13. Our new spring collection will be on hand to view and order. See you there, pretties!

(Side note: Can we address how heavenly this photo of the Wedding Library looks? The green trees, the sunshine and the shadows, the (we imagine) birds chirping, the quiet breeze. Spring at it’s finest. )