Here's your guide to a fresh new season of glorious gowns galore!

This was no ordinary season. Designers turned tradition on its head and delivered novel nuances and surprises galore.

In this new topsy-turvy wedding world, necklines went super high and backs went dangerously low. Ravishing red became the it color for human and vampire brides alike and baby soft pinks and blues managed to charm once again.

1. BARE BACKS

Time to toss those brassieres out the window ladies! Designers took a backwards plunge this season with the most naked, open, draped, cutout backs we've ever seen in a single season.20 Winter Wedding Dresses We Love.

Whatever clever way designers manage to bare your back, just make sure it's ready for all that exposure. Tone your back muscles with yoga and weights. Exfoliate and moisturize back skin (with the help of a loved one) so it glows. A faux-tan and gleaming body shimmer add the finishing touch. And remember, if you're going backless on the big day, lose the bra several hours prior to be sure no phantom straps ruin the view.

2. PASTELS

Got a sweet tooth? Then this season's perfect for you! Inspired by the soft, soothing colors of Ladurée Macarons, pink frosted cupcakes and icy blue Jordan Almonds, designers must have been looking right at the dessert table for inspiration this season.

Don't be afraid to show off your girly, sweet side in cotton candy pink or a creamy caramel color. Too much sugar for you? Then add touches with a mouth-watering mint sash or a peachy flower corsage. Accessories can also sweeten your look with blush satin peep-toes or a clutch in petal pink satin. We love these delicious sorbet shades. Yum!

3. LONG, SHEER SLEEVES

Sometimes an abundance of bareness also brings with it a high contrast. Case in point this season as designers unleashed many gowns with long, to-the-wrist length sleeves. While some gowns had sleeves in completely opaque fabrics like silk crepe, most sleeves were in lighter weight, sheerer fabrics. Lace, tulle and chiffon covered the arms in a delicate playful take on reveal-conceal. Many stretch tulles came beaded and embroidered, giving an almost tattooed effect.

We love that brides now have so many choices, but the wonderful thing about these new long sleeves is how cleverly designed they are. You might be covered, true, but most of the fabrics are transparent so they don't look or feel heavy and the brilliant touches of embellishment add a whole new twist of formality and design to your wedding-day look.

4. SCREEN SIREN

Greta Garbo. Jean Harlow. Rita Hayworth. Those dames lit up the silver screen in ways that have captivated and inspired for generations. They had perfect, glossy hair and immaculate brows, lips and powdered faces. They seduced with come-hither looks and body language. Their gowns were slinky and draped over their curvy,Yolan Cris 2013 Chelsea Escocia long wedding dresses with sleeves. womanly bodies with legs and arms exposed. These women knew how to work a dress and a room.

Designers were clearly influenced by the past icons of film noir and the silent screen days. Sexy, louche gowns in silk crepes, heavy bias charmeuses, stretchy matte jerseys and goddess-like chiffons cut the perfect figure for this look. Deep, cowl necklines, exposed shoulders, backs and arms put skin on display. Touches of lace, pearls and crystal beading add the necessary wow factor, but just as important are the accessories.

Don't forget that fluffy marabou boas, jeweled satin stilettos, Art Deco crystal, onyx and jade jewels, and a fringe-beaded soft purse can take your look from daring to absolutely divine. This is the moment to let your inner icon take center stage.

5. TULLE

The official fabric of ballerinas, fairies and die-hard romantics everywhere, tulle is essentially a simple lightweight netting. Tulle is the stuff of tutus, big full ball skirts and underpinnings that adds volume without weight, but tulle also underwent a transformation this season in new narrow shapes covered in layers of tulle or fully-fashioned in tulle.

Three dimensional textured ruffles, swirls, free-form flowers and shredded layers appeared in tulle. Simple light tulle layers flowed over gowns and appeared as capes for big dramatic moments.

Designers love tulle for its weightless quality and its transparency. Stretch tulles worked wonders as see-through, dramatic necklines, many elaborately beaded and embroidered, as well as for sleeves of all lengths.Many fashion styles of evening dresses from china and gowns. We love tulle for its sheer beauty, its delicacy and for its mystery as it covers and uncovers all at once.

6. UNDER WRAPS

Put that pashmina away, its so five years ago. If you need a little warmth on your wedding day, there are fresh new options for wrapping yourself up in style.Looking for a higher-end, sweetheart neckline wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline?

The new light organza and tulle toppers are ideal for springtime ceremonies. They're just enough to take the edge off a slight breeze while adding a nice touch of drama. Fur, marabou and knitted boleros, shrugs and capes will do the job with major style for those fall and winter weddings. Don't overlook the more dramatic pieces like little furry jackets (in both real and faux fur), or a fun flurry of feathers.

Your wrap doesn't have to be matchy-matchy with your dress. Consider adding another element to your look if your gown is on the simple side, like color or a cluster of crystals. Try a piece that adds drama to a clean moment or a quiet piece that doesn't compete with a bolder style.

7. OFF THE SHOULDER

When American designer Donna Karan designed ‘the cold shoulder' dress in the 1980's she gave women the confidence to expose a body part that is sexy without being controversial and beautiful no matter a woman's size or shape.

This season wedding dress designers were channeling their inner-Donna as they collectively bared many a shoulder in the current collections. Some looks were modest with necklines hitting right at the tip of the shoulder bone exposing just a bit of skin. While other dresses defied gravity and appeared to be falling off the shoulder altogether. How did they do that?

Whether you're going cold-shoulder or slightly more lukewarm, you will only flatter when you flash this bit of skin.

8. HIGH NECKS

Don't want to go low? Sick of strapless? No worries, there are plenty of high necklines that will frame your face to perfection. Halters, jewel-necks and bateaus that run not-so-deep have got you covered this season.

A high neckline can also be particularly poignant if you're going backless or baring your legs in a playful mini. Think of this as a new take on hi-lo dressing.

9. ILLUSION

Add a little bit of mystery to your look with some delicate bits of sheer, stretch illusion. Sleeves, necklines and backs are shrouded in this pretty peek-a-boo fabric. We love illusion that's layered in beading, scrolled, winding embroideries and flyaway feathers.

10. OTT (Over-the-top)

Why settle for less when you really want more? Well, this season you don't have to. Bridal designers are giving you more beading,Gorgeous V-neck Wedding Dresses gowns are a modern and elegant alternative to strapless. more volume, more pouf and more fabulous with their major statement making, head turning, awe-inspiring looks.

Oscar de la Renta's enormous ruffled tulle cape dares you to live large. Lazaro made his ball gown out of cotton candy, we're pretty sure of it. Vera Wang's lipstick red ball gown is so passionately bold that you might need a license-to-thrill just to wear it.