Meredith is getting married this fall. She’s chosen her dress — a slender, vintage silk linen column, sort of a cross between something Empress Josephine and Penelope Tree might have worn. She’s selected the menu for the reception, chosen flowers, and is mailing invitations this week. However, she hasn’t yet found the right perfume to wear for the wedding.
Wedding fragrances seem to need to do a little of everything. A wedding scent should convey happiness, be present but not overwhelming, and complement the setting — usually a churchy blend of flowers, beeswax candles, organ music, and white organza. Most of all, the scent should be calm and joyful. If the scent is new to the bride, whenever she smells it, she will remember her wedding.
According to people I talked to at a handful of local bridal boutiques, Vera Wang and Estee Lauder Beautiful get a lot of play, but few other scents stand out as favorites. One bridal boutique sales associate said that she often recommends Patou Sublime or Cabotine Rose. At the Perfume House in Portland, Tracy and Pam say that Creed White Flowers, Givenchy Amarige Love, and Lalique are popular with brides. Franco at Luckyscent said that his wife wore Nanadebary Pink for their wedding. For a light, fresh scent, he recommended Beth Terry Mare, and for a sweeter, gourmand scent, he said that Ginestet Boytrytis and Lea St.Barth Extreme are often chosen for weddings (in fact, one of Luckyscent’s employees wore the St. Barth Extreme on her wedding day).
For my friend Meredith, pretty white flowers aren’t going to satisfy. She normally wears Serge Lutens’ Gris Clair or L’Artisan’s Méchant Loup. She’s an artist, slender and brunette like Natalie Wood in her Splendor in the Grass days. Although she may seem reserved to strangers, I have a feeling that if she could get married with a parrot or two on her shoulder, she’d do it. I’ve pressured her to try Annick Goutal Songes, but she says she’s looking for a scent that reminds her of “Isabella Duncan looking out at snow”.
Any ideas? What did you wear for your wedding?
Note: image via Images de Parfums.
I was thinking, oh I am going to say, Songes! But then I saw that you already recommended her Songes…Then my 2nd suggestion would be Chanel Gardenia. “Isabella Duncan looking out at snow”…yeah, I think it might fit in a way.
Me, I wore Ce Soir au Jamais.
Chanel Gardenia is a great suggestion! If a wedding perfume were chosen just by name, Ce Soir ou Jamais is perfect. (Of course, it's such a beautiful scent, too.)
How about Serge Lutens Chergui? Sparingly, of course. Another one would be Guerlain Attrape Coeur.
I'll go outside conventional thinking here and suggest a closer to the skin scent. Something sexy and feminine that doesn't compete with all the flowers. I think NR Musk for Her or Malle's Musc R. would both be perfect. On me, both can only be smelled when you're standing close and are fairly soft. They smell sexy, but not skanky.
I know for a fact that she likes Chergui. It would be a good choice, too, because both the bride and groom could wear it!
Whoops, one more thing…Attrape Coeur is beautiful, too (I was wearing it yesterday, actually) and a great suggestion for an iris lover. (And it's another one with a good wedding name).
Maybe Clair de Musc would be good, too. You have a good point about not competing with the flowers. Plus, a musk would be great for the evening reception (featuring acres of Italian Americans and the swinging sounds of Mike Daddio, if that helps anyone with suggestions).
Have to add my two cents: nothing to do with your friend, but Ormonde Jayne Frangipani strikes me as the all time perfect wedding fragrance.
For your friend, I was thinking Iris Silver Mist, except it just isn't at all wedding-ish. Songes was a great idea. FM Carnal Flowers would be lovely too.
She sniffed from my sample of OJ Frangipani and loved it! The groom (devotee of Passage d'Enfer) wasn't crazy about it, though. Iris Silver Mist is a good suggestion for a Gris Clair lover, and I know Carnal Flowers would be great, too (Meredith, are you listening?).
If her dress is sleeveless, as the description and Estee Lauder ad suggest, and she's not into white flowers (meaning fragrances too?), perhaps the oriental Lolita Lempicka, or several neglected classics, such as the green floral Ivoire by Pierre Balmain, Caron's Fleurs de Rocaille (note the plural Fleurs, it's much different from the update with no 's'), and Paco Rabanne's Calandre.
I'm a big fan of the older fragrances, including the Carons (although the mousse de Saxe can turn sour on me), and I love your suggestions. Bellodgia is a good possibility, too, and I can really imagine her in Calandre. Thanks!
Bellodgia indeed, it's a delicate spicy floral. In my early twenties I wore Guerlain's Jardins de Bagatelles, which both women and men liked because it smelled “clean.”
It's so hard to decide on a wedding perfume.
I am taking breaks between smelling classic and new fragrances. Even having something created to your own likes would be nice, and it would always be a special scent. Right now I'm looking at Pure White Linen by estee lauder as a first choice.
That's a nice one, especially for a summer afternoon wedding. It would go well with champagne!
The original White Linen was lovely. The Canadian ballerina Evelyn Hart wore it in the 1980s, especially when dancing Giselle. Now Lauder has several variations on White Linen, which I don't know. Another late 1960s floral fragrance I recall fondly but haven't seen in years is Guy Laroche's Fidji.
A new light yet opulent floral, perfect for a wedding, is Burberry Tender Touch. Maybe the two fragrances marketed under the name of another great interpreter of Giselle, Carla Fracci and Carla Fracci Giselle. Sniffed them at Nordstrom's.
I wore Anne Pliska. Maybe she would like the new Amirage wedding fragrance Amirage Mariage.
:O)
You must be a dancer, you know a lot about ballerinas and perfume. I can see where a ballerina would want to be choosy about what she wore depending on her role.
V, both good suggestions. I recently sampled Anne Pliska for the first time and really liked the quiet musk in the dry down.
How about the gentle honey of the ne Fleur de Rocaille (if it behaves on her skin as it does on mine, SL Miel de Bois would have her smelling of honey. What could be more fitting?)? The fizzy happiness of Miss Rocaille? The loveliness of Aimez-Moi? Or even better: the heartbreaking beauty of Guerlain's Chamade? (I wear Gris Clair and Méchant Loup as well, and all of these would work for me).
Fantastic suggestions! I love the way you describe them, too. Thank you.
I'm such a secret sentimentalist. I really feel like one should pick a fragrance that already has special meaning to the couple. Like, maybe the fragrance you were wearing on the first date, or something like that.
But for your friend, perhaps she should consider Mitsouko in parfum? It's got some depth, but isn't too much for a wedding day party. Or Ma Griffe vintage parfum? It's such a classy, cool scent (cool like hip, not cool like ice water) and when it works with your skin chemistry, it REALLY works. She might look into the Vow Fragrance line, too. Each year's scent is unique, so there won't be a ton of people wearing it, but when you purchase it, you register your bottle with the company and you can still order *your* year's frag.
I know what you mean about choosing something that already has emotional significance. I like that idea, too. The Vow fragrance line is new to me–I'll have to look it up. And now I'm longing to smell vintage Ma Griffe. Great suggestions, thanks!
Cristalle!
Hey, I think Robin just did a review of that one, too! Thanks.
Wow! What a wonderful group of suggestions! I have so much to work with! (this is Meredith, trying out blog-land).
I particularily liked the HONEY ideas… I love Meil De Bois, and will try out ne Fleur de Rocaille upon opportunity. The Guerlain Chamade is also very intriguing.
I, too, am an extreme sentimentlist, and have been considering wearing what I wore when we first met…. unfortunately I think that it was the Shisheido Relaxing fragrance which seems just too cool and watery for a yellow/gold /wood nighttime event in the early fall…. Although, in a way, if the environment is warm and messy (yellow, gold, brown, violet), but I am cool and simple (tailored ivory, carrying lily of the valley), a cool, open fragrance could heighten the effect. Hmm…..
Meredith! People were fabulous about giving suggestions for you. Don't forget the Chergui idea, too–it has a wallop of honey and both you and D could wear it. And, if you change your mind about Songes, you could always come over for a test squirt.
Initial by Boucheron struck me as a perfect wedding fragrance. It's elegant and sophisticated. For a more casual wedding, Lovely by SJP could work, too.
Both are good suggestions, thanks. I kind of surprised they haven't come up until now!
I have such a hard time with what many people consider “wedding” scents, because often they are super florals with white flowers—fragrances I wouldn't normally wear or even could bear for extended periods of time! The fragrances by Estee Lauder are a bit too metallic for me, as is the popular Vera Wang scent. I can understand not wearing something exceptionally overpowering for such a ceremony (including the reception where you don't want to overpower the food! Haha…) but just because a designer shows images of brides in their scent ads, or the scent is by a famous bridal designer, it doesn't mean it's necessarily representative of what you want to project on your day. The wedding is about you and your sweetie, afterall. Just like your gown represents your taste, so should your scent! As an aside, I've never preferred Vera Wang's gowns over many others. Sometimes the best gown or scent is from an unexpected source!
I'm not knocking the posting!! I get the idea of wearing something special and beautiful for the big day. It's just that ads can be very persuasive!!
Your points are very well taken. Maybe Meredith can borrow a bottle of perfume from me–you know, the “something borrowed” bit. I've got to have something she likes in my gallons of perfume!
This medium can be a pain–I hope my posting didn't sound testy :).
Haha–excellent idea! I know I could bathe the population of a small island in my stock…
Not a bit!
when Beautiful advertised on the telly, it was a wedding.
after reading your review on Jean Patou Joy Angela it got me thinking about what to wear for special occassions, my cousin Ryan got married this year in May. (the bride wore her signature, CK euphoria).
it was when I finally saved enough money to buy flowerbomb and I screamed(well not really) down the phone to Debenhams to get me the refillable flowerbomb in time. I ended up getting the refillable gift set from Harvey Nichols because Debenhams failed to obtain it. I did get in time and wore it on the day. his brother Calvin is getting married this coming April and I also wondered what to wear for that, probably flowerbomb again.
I turn 18 on the 1stJanuary and thought, a big birthday, MY own big birthday I can’t just wear my signature scent. so if I can afford Angel aswell as Christmas presents I will wear that.
and then I thought what about my wedding? if I am ever lucky enough to get married. which brings me back to Jean Patou, I didn’t read one comment that mentioned the eau de parfum, is it a new release? (I’ve never smelled any of them) I would like to mix the edp with the pure parfum. I don’t really like rose scents so that wouldn’t work. but the one fragrance I would wear on my wedding day and will probably decide on is Tom Ford black orchid (if it’s still around), it’s loud and in-your-face, perfect and it smells to me like actual real proper perfume, not the synthetic stuff on the shelves these days. and it lasts for like 3days so I wouldnt have to worry about re-applying.
I’m one of those people who can’t wear a signature scent for a big occasion of my own like that, because I would always associate the fragrance with that day. that is why I don’t wear perfume for funerals(not that I’ve been to many). so I’d get something I’d never wear again, ever since smelling black orchid I struggled to think of when I would wear it, so I’ve picked my wedding day.
I’m also the kind of person that would think about dictating what the close geusts would wear, like parents and grandparents etc. and even maybe want to spray the flowers with Flora by Gucci.
I asked my mum what she wore for her wedding, did she buy something especially, did she even care like randomly picked something from the dressing table on the day or did she wear no perfume at all? she said she couldn’t remember what she wore. though she is pretty sure it was Anais Anais by Cacharel. my Grandma on my dad’s side passed away so I may never know what she wore for her wedding day unless my grandad knows (oh and I’ve been to see him today). but I’m going to see my grandma on my mum’s side tomorow so I can ask her.
I hope you like my essay 🙂
I really enjoyed your essay! I love it that your asking your family what they wore at their weddings. Please report back if you find out what your grandmother wore.
When you get married, who knows what you’ll choose? Black Orchid is a great idea, but maybe you’ll meet your soulmate on a tropical island, so you’ll want to wear something tropical. Or you’ll meet that special person in the mountains, so you’ll feel like wearing something that smells like a forest to remind you of that day.
I know just what you mean about not wanting to wear a signature scent for it, though!
well I asked my grandma on my mum’s side and she said she couldn’t remember. she said it was probably “evening in paris” because thats what everyone wore then.
at first when I came here to comment I mis-remembered and thought she said midnight in paris, but Google turns up the new fragrance by Van Cleef & Arpels. and seen as she said just about everybody had hardly any money back then it must have been “evening in paris”(it struck me then), I googled that and the brand is Bourjois, so it must be.
and yes, your signature is what you wear nearly all the time, so you want something spectacular for your wedding. I still think black orchid is perfect. though your right Angela, I hadn’t thought about those things.