should i buy 2 wedding dresses?
A lot of brides have had two or more wedding dresses at their weddings. The question for you is, do you really need 2 for your own wedding? If it’s a small intimate wedding with a dinner reception after, you don’t really have to. If it’s a big wedding, with a big wedding reception, you can have more than 1. There are no rules, so if you want it just for the sake of it, go ahead. It’s your day! You do you!
My personal reason for only wanting one wedding dress or gown, and I know some brides would agree with me on this, is because I want to be able to wear it the whole night, or until at least before the party starts. By party, I mean dancing the night away with the DJ playing some banger tunes. You only get to wear your wedding dress that one day. You paid so much for it. You picked it, out of all the other gowns or dresses out there. You love the way you look in it. With all that said, I’d say maximize the time you’ll wear it. There’s nothing wrong with wearing the same dress throughout the whole event.
Here are some reasons why I think some brides prefer to have more than one wedding gown or wedding dress:
Culture - different cultures have different wedding traditions. An East Indian wedding (I’m not an expert on this, this is just based on East Indian weddings I’ve attended) would typically be more than a day’s event. Sometimes it lasts the whole week, which is so cool, but so expensive, I bet. You might need different outfits for the different days, that’s excluding the main wedding ceremony. I’ve seen East Indian weddings and the bride have not worn any of her dresses twice, for any day. Chinese weddings have Tea ceremonies, where the bride and groom dress in traditional Chinese outfits. Then they change to the gowns for the traditional wedding, if they are having a traditional one. It all depends on the culture and race. Most Asian parents fork out the money for their children’s wedding, so I guess money is not really an issue? I had to pay for my own, so I only had 1 wedding dress. Not that I needed more than 1, because I had a small intimate wedding, but I also am ok with having only one wedding dress. It really depends on what you, as the bride, wants.
Comfort - some bridal gowns, especially the mermaid style gowns can really restrict your legs. It’s very beautiful and elegant. It highlights the bride’s figure, but I imagine it can be somewhat hard to move? But you know what they say, beauty has a price! The thing is, it’s going to be really hard to do a father - daughter dance, or a first dance as a married couple, if you’re wearing something that restricts your leg’s movements, especially if you have a surprise hip hop dance, which is very popular nowadays. Brides who has 2 dresses would change into another wedding dress, maybe shorter in length, or has a style that allows for big leg movements. There is a type of wedding dress where the lower part can be detached to the gown, so that it becomes like a mini skirt. Its called an overskirt wedding dress. This is a way cheaper than actually getting 2 wedding dresses. Once the party starts, you just detach the long skirt and viola! You are in a mini skirt wedding dress.
Different venues - some wedding ceremonies can take place in a beach or any outdoor location, and when it’s really hot and humid, of course the bride would want something that shows some exposed skin, or maybe a short length gown, to help with the heat. And then, after the ceremony, the reception venue is in a fancy formal looking hotel, where the short wedding dress doesn’t really fit anymore, or maybe it looks way too informal. So then the bride will change into something appropriate for the venue. The overskirt dress or gown will work with this situation, only in reverse. You put the long skirt at the reception instead. I’ve seen a wedding like that. It was like 2 different events all together, but both locations were awesome.
Money to spend - Some brides really prepare for their wedding at a very early age. Those are the girls who clearly dreamt of their wedding since they were probably little girls. They start saving early for their dream wedding, or at least their dream wedding dress or dresses. IF you can afford it, then why the hell not? It’s what makes you, the bride, happy.
Style - there are so many stylish people out there. I’m not one of them . I could barely find anything that fit me when I was looking for my wedding dress. Some brides can pull off anything, and those are the brides that could have 2 or more dresses, just because they look good in everything they try. The dresses will be completely different from each other, but both looking like the bride’s first choice.. I envy those brides. And it’s not about the body type or the size of the bride. It’s about the confidence to pull off anything they wear. I don’t have that kind of confidence to be honest.
How to get 2 different wedding dress looks at a minimal cost
First of all, try the overskirt type of dress. It’ll be a lot cheaper than buying 2 different wedding dresses. Specifically request that from the bridal store you’re going to, when you make an appointment. If you can’t afford the overskirt style dress they have, maybe opt to buy just the overskirt. I’ve seen some at Etsy. I just don’t know about the quality. If you find a really good one at Etsy and you buy it, bring it the bridal store when you look for a dress so that you can see if it fits the style that you want. You can also ask the attendant how much it would cost to alter the dress you’re buying from there, so that the overskirt can be attached and detached.
If you really can’t afford to have more than 1 wedding dress, and the overskirt style is too expensive, maybe just use an old wedding dress from one of your friends who already got married. It will be your something borrowed. Or try visiting some thrift stores, sometimes when you look really hard you’ll find some hidden gems on there. Maybe you’ll find a vintage wedding dress tucked away in the racks.
