Saying ‘I do’ in a bikini: genius or terrible idea?

Turns out Pamela Anderson is a style trailblazer; the former Baywatch star wed drummer Tommy Lee in a white bikini back in 1995 and now nearly 20 years later ‘bridal bikinis’ are a thing.

Mara Hoffman is the latest fashion designer to embrace bridal swimwear.

Her first bridal collection includes a white bikini and embellished one-piece suit designed to be worn “by the sea, barefoot in the desert or under a canopy in the forest.”

The “Peitho Embroidered Bustier Bikini” will set brides back US$342, which does seem expensive for a cossie, but when you compare it to the average cost of a wedding dress in Australia – around $3000 – it’s a bargain.

Hoffman created the line with low-key brides in mind, “I imagine a bohemian free-spirit who might not be interested in planning out what she will wear for a year and a half,” she said. “The great thing is that (swimsuits) can be worn long after.”

Ditching the heavy lace and layers of tulle for a bikini is not the conventional choice, but it does make sense for destination weddings in tropical locations.

“I’d say 25 percent of my brides get married in a swimsuit,” says Katie Tarta, a who runs a Caribbean wedding planning company on the island of St. John. “They arrive and are confronted with the reality of the weather, and a dress that’s too heavy,” she says.

Hoffman isn’t the only designer creating wedding bikinis, the company Beach Bunny Swimwear recently partnered with model Chrissy Teigen on a line of bridal swimsuits. The Victoria’s Secret model says she collaborated on the line as she wanted a swimsuit her husband would find sexy. Though the recently married 27-year-old opted for a traditional white dress at her nuptials to singer John Legend in September.

It’s been an interesting year for bridal trends; 2013 saw pink become the new white, peplums make a resurgence, and skin was definitely in with crop tops and bare midriffs showing on the Spring bridal couture runways. But if you’re more horrified by bridal swimwear than the queen of etiquette June Dally-Watkins would be, don’t panic.

You probably won’t see a bride walk down the aisle in a two-piece at the next wedding you attend. Given how most feel about swimsuit shopping we don’t think it’s going to take off anytime soon.

Alright, let rip, what do you think of this trend? Wildly inappropriate or genius? And would you wear it?

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