Did I make a wedding dress mistake??

That totally depends: Is the entire wedding outdoors, just the ceremony, or all indoors with ac? What material is the dress? How many layers? What undergarments are you planning on? (for instance, full-torso Spanx are very hot.)

You can take measures to help stay cool, like sandals and an updo to keep your hair off your neck. And a short dress for after the first dance and dinner. (my sister was in your situation and her wedding was a VERY hot, muggy day with no a/c. She took all the precautions I've mentioned, and it was fine.)

What kind of fabric are the sleeves? And, will you be outside all the time? The best you can do is hydrate often, and try to have some sort of AC (even a portable one) near you. Also, I'm guessing you wouldn't be directly in the sun for long, right?

I've always liked the idea of a reception dress. Wear your gown for the ceremony and all of the dances "first dance, father daughter" get all of your photo ops out of the way, THEN CHANGE!

I am getting married a week before you! All the dresses that I loved and tried on were also long sleeve gowns. I was also worried about the heat. I ended up getting a dress with thin straps, but its very full so I am worried about my lower half getting hot! If you love your gown I wouldn't worry about it! If anything maybe you can get a shorter dress to possibly change into later in the reception? I have seen people do that before during summer weddings.

Is your wedding indoors or outdoors?

Hey all! Yay to the last post for august weddings!

The fabric of the sleeves are lace. Just like the rest of the body. I don't know the specific lace but it seemed "breathable" when I tried it on at the store.

We have a short ceremony outdoors but most of the reception will be indoor with AC (I assumed). With make-up & undergarments (which didn't occur to me), I was worried that I would be like a wicked witch of the west & melt.

How do you ladies stay cool with make-up??

I'm a S.E. MI bride as well where is the wedding? Is it 100% outside? It's most likely going to be warm out, August is typically hot. But if only your ceremony is outside you should be fine. If the whole wedding is outdoors you may want to consider a reception dress or maybe alter the sleeves. Could you maybe do 3/4 sleeves?

If only your ceremony is outside you should be good. I got married last august and when we where outside for about an hour taking pictures it was extremely hot - I was soo hot and I had a strapless dress - but totally worth it. I did air brush makeup and even with how much I was sweating for that hour once we got to the reception you couldn't tell at all. I also didn't wear any undergarments except panties so I would try and keep what you wear under the dress to a minimum to avoid to many layers. I'm in Northern IN so the weather would be similar to yours.

Another S.E MI bride and summer bride! My wedding is in July we are having the ceremony outside contingent on the weather. We are getting married by water , which will make it cooler. I agree with Rachel maybe 3/4 sleeves. August in MI can be brutal mostly with the humidity.

Hey ladies- Thanks for the reassurance!!! I think a girl talk was all that I needed. After this feed, I do believe that I will be OK since only the ceremony is outside. We do plan on taking some photos early in the day but believe me, I will have a hand-fan nearby at all times.

Good luck to all the beautiful brides out there!

Drink some ice cold water before you walk down the aisle, you will be okay! PS it sounds beautiful!

Do you have a picture of the dress? Depending on the look, you might be able to shorten the sleeves. A friend did that (I'm trying and failing at finding pictures right now) and she looked beautiful. It went from full arms to upto the elbows instead. So she had the sleeve look still.

We took videos. lol. This is the screen shot of the dress while I was practicing my walk!

I will not use the gray sash.

1. That's beautiful and fits you well. 2. You can totally get the sleeve shortened (3/4ths or elbow) and still look great!

Thanks! And it does come in petite so I will wait until my dress gets here to see how the whole dress looks. It shouldn't be that long on my sleeves!

Gorgeous! You should be totally fine if only the ceremony is outside.

Yay! I'm getting married in SW Michigan a week before you! I agree with the masses, if your reception isn't outside, you shouldn't be too bad. Our ceremony and reception are both inside with AC...I know I'll sweat anyways! I was hot even trying on the dress! Mine is strapless, bur the bottom is fairly full.

I grew up in Michigan and speaking as someone who is usually cold, End of August isn't that bad when it comes to heat. I think long lace sleeves are a smart choice. You mentioned the ceremony is outside, so I wouldn't worry that much.

I have some physical difficulties so standing can be a issue. We put a white chair up by us and off to the side a bit just in case I needed to sit during the ceremony. If it's hot that day, Brides can have fans too

Thanks ladies! I'm hoping for a cool day and that we all stay hyrdrated and not melt with the heat

Also- this is my back! Not fully button up. I got excited and wanted to share!

I just wanted to say what a LOVELY dress. I could never pull off sleeves but yaaaaasssss