Help deciding

I think that’s completely on your preference. Personally my dress was a pretty penny so I’d rather get all the use out of it that I can because there will never be another occasion that I will wear that dress.

If you have the money for it, then go for it

Yea ma’am! This is what I’m doing.

Of course! Being comfortable and able to move around at your reception is important.

It's totally up to you. Second dresses are a matter of preference and have nothing to do with whether or not you've been married before.

I LOVE my wedding dress but ended up getting a reception dress for our wedding celebration because I wore my wedding dress for our Covid elopement and have since gained a few pounds. So the dress still fits but it is a bit more snug now (to the point where I almost can't sit down in it) and my husband has already seen it so it is no longer a surprise. Getting a second dress to wear for the reception allows me to have a "new look" that he hasn't seen before and be in something a little more comfortable for eating and dancing. I had been on the fence about whether or not to get a second dress for a while, but not being able to sit in my first dress when I tried it on a few weeks ago kind of sealed the deal for me!

I am planning to wear my wedding dress for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and first dance, but change into my second dress after that, before dinner. I'd love to wear my wedding dress a bit longer (through dinner and doing rounds to visit our guests at their tables), but I'm just not sure I'll be able to comfortably enjoy a meal in it.

I bought both my dresses off resale sites so fortunately didn't pay full price for them. Together the dresses are worth close to $3000 new but I spent less than $600 on the pair with alterations (which is still less than my husband spent on his attire) so it felt like getting a second dress was justified.

You can do anything you want if you have money to spend. Most women only get married once and they wear a $500-2k dress maybe 4-5 hours out of their lifetime. So a lot want to wear it as long as they can so they will make sure the dress is lightweight, easy to move and dance in when trying them on before buying.