Weddings 2015: Say 'I do' to two pieces

So your wedding ceremony is at a cathedral, but your reception is a hoedown at a farm.

Or your nuptials will be performed by a justice of the peace, and the celebration is an intimate dinner for friends and family at a swank restaurant.

Maybe you have plans to have your commitment ceremony blessed on the beach followed by cocktails and dancing on the hot, white sand.

Can just one gown suffice?

It doesn't have to.

Thanks to matrimonial separates, there are as many dress combos for during and after the ceremony as there are traditional and nontraditional venues.

This is why the two-piece ensemble is the wedding look du jour. Think classic, corset-and-frothy-skirt combo for the traditional bride, or lacy, cap-sleeve crop top with matching bottom for her retro sister. (Feel free to mix and match those.)

"Whatever the bride's personal style, there is a separate - or faux separate - look that fits it," said Lori Conley, divisional merchandise manager for David's Bridal, the Conshohocken bridal gown company.

"It lets her create an individual look and really put her personality into it," said Lindsey Robers, merchandise manager at BHLDN, the bridal subsidiary of Urban Outfitters in South Philadelphia. "They allow her to build her entire wedding-day ensemble."

The two-piece trend - along with low backs, deep Vs, high slits, and white-and-ivory lace over nude and champagne satins - comes from recent award seasons' red carpets, the genesis of many modern bridal trends.

Remember the envelope-pushing, midriff-baring Miu Miu Kerry Washington wore to the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards when she was pregnant with her daughter, Isabelle? The following May, Rihanna stunned in a two-piece Stella McCartney at the Met Gala. And it seemed Taylor Swift bared her abs at every red carpet event that year.

Eventually, those evening-wear looks migrated to bridal runways in October, when the industry's powerhouses Reem Acra, Monique Lhuillier, and Carolina Herrera became among the first designers to send two-piece confections down their fall 2015 runways. (These are the same gowns women are buying for their weddings now.)

And during the April bridal presentations, a host of other designers, including Peggy Nestor for Oleg Cassini, Vera Wang, Elizabeth Fillmore, and Nicole Miller sprinkled two-piece gowns - or ones that simply looked that way - into their collections.

Now, even J.Crew's website has a section dedicated to bridal separates. Ann Taylor offers wedding separates, too, and there are pages of zooty listings on Pinterest and Etsy with tons of tulle.

"Wedding fashion has become so modern and inspired by what's happening now," said Ivy Kaplin, owner of Lovely Bride, a by-appointment bridal salon in Old City. "It's so much different than it was 10 years ago, even five years ago."

Experts in the bridal industry say the millennial bride's fearless mixing and matching of white, ivory, sparkling, blush - even slate - wedding separates for her special day speaks to her desire to be independent rather than live up to sartorial expectations.

That means she might pair a beaded, cropped top with a high-waisted skirt and cape for a conservative ceremony. And for the reception, she'll ditch the cape and skirt for a pair of cigarette pants. How's that for making a trend work within your wedding budget?

"Brides don't want to be confined to one look anymore," said Priscilla Costa, a Philadelphia wedding dress designer who in the last year has witnessed an increase in brides requesting separates. "With these pieces, they can wear one piece, or both again. It's not just modern, it's convenient."

Despite the red-carpet allure of many of today's bridal looks, these individualistic wedding gowns have demure roots.

At her royal wedding four years ago, Kate Middleton wore a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen long-sleeve lace gown, a look that reflected the duchess' chic sense of style - and from that moment on, the once-standard strapless princess gown would be stamped oh-so-cookie-cutter.

Since then, the retro bride - with her 1920s lace, '30s A-lines, and '60s minis - and her boho counterpart would rival the princess look.

However, just because there are all these two-piece gowns on the market doesn't mean all women are itching to expose their midriffs like Kim Kardashian did in the sleeved Givenchy she wore the day she married Kanye West.

Most of the gowns in store now, Kaplin says, are more about giving the illusion of skin rather than showing the actual belly button.

Some gowns, like many designed by Costa, feature a bodysuit tucked into a billowing skirt. Others, like Lhuillier's separates, feature overlapping tops and bottoms so not even a hint of flesh is revealed.

And David's Bridal and BHLDN offer sheer vests - called popovers - that can be worn modestly with camisoles, and a choice of A-line, mini, or trumpet skirts.

A sliver of well-toned abs, though, undeniably makes for a much-talked about wedding.

"After all," Conley asked playfully, "what's more different than wearing a cropped top to your wedding? That's something your mom would have never done."

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