The bride wore a minidress: Shorter lengths make a statement in bridal fashion
But her real statement look was the minidress with flutter sleeves, made by Sova Nataliia, that she wore for the reception.
'I picked the minidress about eight months before finding my ceremony dress,' said Zemliakova, 30, who works in pharmaceuticals and is based in Prague.
'The moment I saw it on Instagram, I knew that it was the dress. I wanted a look that felt elegant but still playful, something that would reflect my true personality and add a touch of fun to the celebration.'
No longer reserved for intimate nuptials or micro-weddings, minidresses have recently taken centre stage in many wedding wardrobes.
British singer Charli XCX wed George Daniel, drummer for the rock band the 1975, in July wearing a corseted minidress by Vivienne Westwood.
She was the latest of a growing number of celebrity brides to embrace the look.
Read more: She designs with love, for love: Nurita Harith speaks on her bridalwear journey
'Brides are moving away from formulaic bridal wear,' said Brigitte Stepputtis, the design director of bridal at Vivienne Westwood.
'Mini silhouettes resonate because they are playful but timeless.'
Designer Idan Cohen, who created the custom after-party dress that Demi Lovato wore for her May nuptials to singer Jordan Lutes, agreed:
'Many brides don't want to be seen as a princess for the entire evening, and minidresses can give them that moment of showstopper attention without the large gown,' he said.
Minidresses first gained popularity in bridal fashion in the 1960s, a period of social change. Celebrity brides like Sharon Tate, Yoko Ono and Jane Fonda wore them for their courthouse weddings.
Over the years, minidresses became a favoured look for city hall ceremonies and intimate weddings.
As bridal wear evolved, brides began wearing minidresses for the reception or after-party, as well as for pre-wedding events like bridal showers and rehearsal dinners.
Recently, choosing a minidress has become as important as choosing a traditional gown.
'We're definitely seeing more brides choosing a mini for their formal ceremony, often paired with a detachable overskirt for added drama, which they can remove for the reception or after-party for a true minidress moment,' said Giselle Dubois, the CEO of Spina Bride, a bridal boutique in New York City.
'It's a modern, budget-friendly alternative to a full ball gown and lets them carry the look into the rest of the night.'
Many brides, she said, look for minidresses with the same construction and elevated details as traditional wedding dresses.
In some cases, they are looking for the mini to outshine the gown.
'A large number of our brides come to us specifically for minidresses for their reception or after-party,' Dubois said.
'Most have already found their ceremony gown and are looking for something as special as their ceremony dress. They often want something bold and unexpected, such as a mini with fringe or feathers, a bubble skirt or architectural silhouette.'
Christy Baird, the founder and owner of Loho Bride, a boutique in Los Angeles, has also seen a rise in demand for minis.
'As brides are leaning into more modern, personalised weddings, they're favouring minidresses to allow them to express a different side of their style,' she said, adding that she had seen the trend on runways at bridal fashion weeks and on social media.
'As weddings become less traditional,' she added, 'The minidress is becoming more of a bridal staple, not just a quirky outlier.'
Minidresses have long been a favourite silhouette with almost every designer, from couture to ready-to-wear.
Designers often take inspiration from traditional wedding gowns, adding details like long trains that drape on one side, detachable, oversize bows and long sheer or lace underskirts.
This summer, they have been busy creating even more options for brides.
In June, Andrea Osei Bride debuted a capsule collection of blue minidresses. Halfpenny London introduced a capsule collection in collaboration with Net-a-Porter.
For her June wedding, Cassie Thorpe, a 32-year-old from New York, wore a structured minidress by Berta, accessorised with a puff-sleeve cape, cathedral-length veil and crystal-embellished legging boots.
She said she chose to wear the minidress for her black-tie celebration because she wanted a statement piece.
'When I first tried on the dress, I didn't want to take it off,' Thorpe said.
'The silhouette was simple and felt classic and timeless, just shorter. I knew I didn't need a long, traditional gown or a second dress because this was the one.'
Thorpe recalled the reaction from her wedding guests: 'The full look offered all of the drama that I wanted when the double doors of the church opened. Everyone stood up and turned around to look at me as I walked down the aisle.'
Read more: From vintage vibes to exaggerated hips, a look at the latest bridalwear trends
She liked that she was able to adjust the look throughout the day and that she didn't have to worry about having a long train or a lot of material around her groom all night, she said.
'The dress felt very effortless to wear, and I had easy layers that I could remove for the reception and after-party,' she said.
Lesley Brickman, a Los Angeles-based bridal stylist and the founder of The One Gown, said the mini look 'instills a sense of carefree fun and spirit. It can really inject new energy into the festivities when the bride steps out on the dance floor in a fabulous short dress'.
For her second look at her May destination wedding in Provence, France, Helen Owen Kalter, 32, changed out of her floor-length gown by Galia Lahav and into a French-lace minidress by Maëlle.
'Beyond wanting a minidress so that I could dance freely all night, I felt that a more playful dress would bring fresh, fun energy into the second half of the evening,' said Owen Kalter, the founder of the Phlow camera app and a lifestyle and travel content creator based in Los Angeles. – ©2025 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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