From the dress to the day, Rachelle Spencer’s wedding trends are lighter, flowy and adaptable.

Spencer and her husband, Martin Huffstutler, own Dress for a Day Bridal Boutique in Bowling Green.

“We’re seeing a lot of brides who are liking the light flowy feel. I’m seeing a lot of dresses with the sheer sleeves, and a lot of them are actually removable, so it fits like a around the arm and can slide down, or it can be taken off and be sleeveless,” Spencer said. “I really noticed this since COVID, a lot of brides are doing things that are a lot less formal. Not as many ball gowns.”

Spencer demonstrated how that sleeve can be pulled down the arm, to look almost like long and lacy gloves. The idea is adaptability, from formal to “a lot less formal,” or even dual dresses in matching styles.

She believes the concept has emerged from the pandemic shutdowns, where weddings had to be canceled, moved or quickly changed.

Her front window, along West Wooster Street, features a display with the center mannequin wearing a dress with a long sheer train, with a completely removable sheer overskirt, which will add volume, but still looks light. It would probably then be removed for the reception and dancing.

“You can see how much that would change things. You can just whip that off and there’s an entirely different dress underneath,” Spencer said. “It gives you volume and a different look.”

She said the overskirt is really an accessory, and there are many options in her store for accessories, including gloves, veils, headpieces and wraps to dress customization that might go a bit beyond what the seamstresses might do, and she works with several in Perrysburg.

Some women will go to the next level with a convertible dress that’s genuinely multifaceted.

“You can actually take one dress and make two outfits out of it. For example, there will be a cocktail dress underneath, with maybe a detachable skirt. So you can get a couple looks out of one dress, which is kind of fun,” Spencer said.

Multiple locations for the wedding are also part of the latest trends.

“We see a lot of brides that are going for a much more intimate setting,” Spencer said. “We’re seeing a lot of brides and grooms doing the wedding by themselves, and then doing a celebration later with the family, or a reception, with a justice of the peace.

“They’re still doing destinations, involving immediate family and close friends” Spencer said. “Or, sometimes, they will travel. It may be just those two, and they will do the honeymoon at the same time. Then they come back. It can be a couple weeks, or a couples months, when they’ve decided to do a reception. A lot of folks who do that type of set-up like to have two dresses.”

That is where the dual dress concept comes in. The style will be the same, for photo purposes, but the wedding day ceremony is usually much more formal.

“We’re just seeing a lot of variety in the ways people are getting married. I’ve had a lot of people doing it on the family property, the backyard, just much less formal settings,” Spencer said.

The dual dress concept fits with the destination concept.

“We’ll have people come in say they are going to Colorado to get married, and it’s going to be on a ranch,” Spencer said. “So they will want a certain type of dress to get married out there and then in two or three months they will be coming back to have a big reception with their friends and want a different kind of dress for that environment.”

She said that the trends are great, because brides are “savvy shoppers. They have done their homework. They have all the internet to check out and they know what’s going on.”

The store has more than 650 dresses in stock, along with 250 special occasion dresses, as well as flower girl and first Communion dresses.

“We really have fallen in love with the area,” Spencer said of Bowling Green. “The location feels comfortable. It’s elegant enough to feel bridal, but not too stuffy. We want our clients to feel comfortable. That’s very important to us.”

Dress for a Day Bridal Boutique is at 100 S. Main St. and can be found on the web www.adressforaday.com.