Two wedding dresses?

Hi! I will be wearing two dresses. My white dress from Essence of Australia for the ceremony up until the first dance in the reception then changing into a traditional pakistani attire for the rest of the night. I originally had that thought too! I love my dress so much but we decided to have a photoshoot a couple weeks after the wedding as well in both attires so that gives me an excuse to put my dress on again! Maybe ask for some alteration for your original dress like a bustle or something that would allow you extra movement and such for the reception! Ive also seen brides stay in their dress all night then change right before the send off! So thats also an idea!

That's a great idea! We are having an 'after party' back at the hotel bar... that might be a good time to change out of my dress. My dress has a large slit up the leg and I think ill be able to move and dance, I just wonder if ill get annoyed with trying to hold it up and not stop on anything haha. Thank you! I might just have a dress ready in case but not make specific plans to change...

I am just wearing the one - and I DO have a big ballgown.

To provide my reasoning in case it helps you make a decision... I know it will be inconvenient to move around in, it's very heavy and might be hard to sit or pee in, but I'll likely never have another chance to wear a gown like that, so I really want to soak it all in. I also didn't want to take the time to get out of my dress and into a new one, as it takes away time with friends and family - dancing, talking, drinking, etc and I feel that that part of the day is going to fly by and I might not feel like I got to speak to everyone as it is.

I am a bit nervous about dancing in it, even bustled, in case I stand on it, and also because I won't get to practise beforehand with my fiance, but I'm prepared to give it a go, and I have heard that it can be fun to go see your venue before your guests are let in, to see all the decorations etc, and then to do a practise dance just the two of you when no one is there. Which... would be lovely if we get the chance!

I had two dresses. My ceremony dress was a fit-and-flare lace dress with an illusion bodice, deep v front and low back, and long train. My reception dress was a silk satin slip dress with spaghetti straps and a center slit.

I LOVED my ceremony dress. It was beautiful, very flattering, fit me perfectly, and was absolutely bridal. My ceremony dress had no stretch and was very fitted, so a bit challenging to sit in, but it was gorgeous. My reception dress was more comfortable and easier to dance in, because it was lightweight, looser fitting, and didn't restrict my movement at all, but I just don't think it was as flattering on me. It was elegant but just not as bridal, and I just don't care for how spaghetti straps look on me because I have very broad muscular shoulders and feel like I just look very blocky in dresses with super thin straps. I bought a second dress primarily because we had a Covid elopement prior to our wedding celebration and my husband had already seen my wedding dress, so I wanted to be able to "surprise" him with a new look. I also tried on my ceremony dress about a month before our celebration and realized it was a bit tight; even though I was confident I would lose a few pounds in time I felt like I needed to get a second dress "just in case". I honestly wish I had just wore my ceremony dress the whole night and not bothered with the slip dress, or that I had gotten a reception dress I loved more (one with thicker straps). I feel like I spent too much money on something I was never really happy with, and as a result I don't really like any of the photos from our wedding that were taken after my dress change.

Now I did have a friend who wore her sister's wedding dress for her outdoor ceremony and absolutely trashed it. It had rained a TON earlier in the day, and the bottom of the dress was saturated with rainwater and got muddy. Fortunately she had a reception jumpsuit and changed right after the ceremony and formal portraits. Her jumpsuit was so chic, so her, and super flattering. She says she kind of wishes she had just worn it for the wedding instead of her sister's dress because she liked it so much more, but she felt like she needed to wear a "dress" for the ceremony itself. It worked out for her because of the super wet conditions, and I hate to think what would have happened if she hadn't had a "backup" outfit.

I do think having the option to change - whether you become uncomfortable or your dress gets damaged somehow - is nice, but your backup outfit can be a outfit you wore to a previous bridal event (such as your shower or bachelorette), a specific reception dress, or an after party outfit. Whatever you decide, I would recommend not spending a lot of money, as some brides end up not changing and then have a second expensive unworn bridal outfit, and definitely making sure you really LOVE whatever outfit #2 is as much as you love dress #1. Both my friend and I wish we had worn the outfits we loved the whole time and not bothered with a second look.

PS: If you think you might want a silk satin slip dress for your second look and are typically a size 6, I'm selling my reception dress! It's the Reformation Cabot dress in ivory.

Thank you for this insight! Thankfully, I already have a gorgeous dress that I would wear as my second dress that only cost me around $50. I just want to be happy and comfortable all night while not sacrificing that 'bridal' feeling. Lots to consider. Thank you!

I don't think there is any harm in having that dress on standby if you already have it. You can decide in the moment if you want to change or not.

Our venue's bridal suite was a loft directly over the reception area, so I was able to change quickly and get back to our guests. That would be another thing to consider.

Same with my venue, the room is directly off the reception area and has its own bathroom etc so I will for sure be able to run off in the moment and change if I want to.

Perfect. If you already have the dress, I say bring it and decide in the moment. You are super smart for not spending a lot on it.

There was an $86 dress on Lulu's that I wanted but my size was out of stock and the restock date kept getting pushed back. It supposed to come in two weeks before our celebration and likely would have only needed hemming (which I could have probably done on my own, because it was a simple fabric and hemline), but about a month before the wedding the restock date was moved back to the month after our wedding. I didn't have much time to find another dress, so I bought something on Poshmark (which I couldn't return) and tried to make it work, but I just didn't love it. I should have just stuck with my rehearsal dress (which I never wore) or my after party outfit (that I also never wore) as a backup if needed!

Can't hurt to have a backup for peace of mind! I am with PP on that I will never be in a wedding dress again, so I am wearing the heck out of that thing! Maybe I'll sleep in it and wear it to breakfast the next day... JK!