Would love your opinion! Multiple wedding dresses?

In line with my culture I have three gowns. Two traditional mermaid gown and a Nigerian esque gown that I will change into for the traditional wedding festivities. Our weddings are extremely elaborate, festive and expensive. Love your choices especially the 3rd one. You will be a beauty. 💙💍💙

Often times, I think multiple dresses aren’t necessary, but in this case, I think it makes sense. Your GLL dress is beautiful, but I can understand your concerns about being underdressed at your reception! It also seems like there’s a significant cultural aspect for your fiancé’s family with having a big dress. I think you should absolutely stick with wearing the dress you love when it’s most important to you (for the ceremony) but since it sounds like you’re flexible, I’d look for a ballgown as well. Would you be paying for the second dress as well?

I'm not usually a fan of second dresses, but I think here it makes sense. That way you can wear the dress you picked and also have a look that matches the formality of your reception venue. And if it's the cultural norm to wear multiple dresses then I definitely think it's a great idea! All of your looks are really pretty!

I like the multiple dress idea! You get to wear what you want while also incorporating your traditions. I think you should wear the dress you want in the ceremony so if it's the champagne dress then wear that. You're already appeasing your MIL in other ways. You should have at least one thing (and in my mind the most important part) that's your decision.

For most brides, a second or third dress doesn’t make sense because a typical American wedding (ceremony and reception combined as it is one event) lasts 3 hours minimum and 5 hours maximum. Any time getting in and out of the dress takes away from spending time with guests as venues have strict timeframes. If you have a venue without a curfew to have to leave at a specific time and you want to have a much longer reception (say 8 hours minimum for the reception and guests have no issues with staying longer) than what conventional venues allow, then go for it. WW forum tends to frown on longer receptions even though it’s not an inconvenience when that is one of the few opportunities that many have , especially in the pandemic, to be in the same area socializing. Also brides say the typical 4 hour reception is gone in a blur and they wish it lasted longer. If you are having a longer 7+ hour reception, a dress change is appropriate if you choose to. For many women, a wedding dress is a once in a lifetime major purchase that is not inexpensive and they really don’t get to wear it that long for the price they are paying, so it isn’t practical to have a second or third dress, when you also factor in the time crunch of the event itself. It all boils down to personal preference because there’s no right or wrong.

It's YOUR wedding, not your MiL's. It's not your problem to "break her heart" over a wedding dress. She had her own wedding and if she's going to try to control your dress, what's next? That being said, you're going to another country and culture, and for that reason, it is a good idea to respect some customs. Since you're excited about a lot of them, great! But don't throw out the few things you actually want to represent YOURSELF and your culture in your own wedding!! It's not just an Albanian wedding. It's also American. And your fiancé chose you, just s you are. Be careful about losing your voice in your wedding; it can set the tone for the marriage as a whole.
I would wear the dress you love for your ceremony, and add/change into an Albanian outfit for the reception. And have a great time!!!

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Hi Katherine! I really appreciate your honesty and feedback. I totally agree with you as well. Thank you so much!!

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Hi Sloane! Thank you for your response! I really appreciate that feedback. I would love to see all your gowns!! You will be stunning! Congratulations

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Hi Lydia! Thank you so much for your response! I agree that I should just go for a bigger dress for the reception, also to respect the cultural aspect. This first occurred to me when his family was sending me photos of what they want to wear to my wedding (and they were fancier than my own wedding dress haha!) So I just thought-- if I wear my original dress, my own guests won't even know I am a bride! I was thinking to pay for it on my own, as my fiance and I are paying for the entire wedding. But, my MIL just told me that it's tradition for the MIL to buy the dress, so I guess if she wants the ballgown-- at least she would be paying haha!

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Thank you so much for your feedback, Paige! I appreciate it

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I agree with you! Thank you so much for sharing your opinion!

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I hadn't even thought about the time limit aspect! I should have clarified that Albanian weddings tend to go from 6 pm until 4 am! Haha so I think I would have a bit more time than the average American bride. Thank you so much for your feedback, Michelle!

If you want to, do it! You’ll have your American gown for photos, the ceremony, more photos and you could even wear it at part of the reception, changing into your Albanian dress at some point during the night. Guests will love it! I’ve attended several Asian weddings (Chinese & Vietnamese) and when the brides changed it was seamless and special.

View Quoted Comment Hey thank you for that. I am so so so excited!!! I have two fitting today and seriously so pumped. So for context The first gown is my ceremony. The second is the traditional one and the third is my reception. Our wedding would typically last two days but we have collapsed it so it is twelve hours total. I hope sharing this doesn’t hijack your thread. But I absolutely love every dress that you’ve picked out and I think you’re going to be absolutely stunning I can’t wait to see your pics from the day.

View Quoted Comment Yes! Send us some pics when it's done 😊

All those gowns look wonderful.

A friend had a full length wedding gown that then reduced down to a mini dress for the reception. I have not seen that type since then. Mostly the designers do a full length gown with a detachable train or overskirt.

Hey girl! Not sure if I’m too late in responding to this but here it goes!


I am of Albanian decent but was born and raised here in the states. My fiancé is also albanian. I honestly think that you should wear whatever you want! It is your wedding after all. You can still go with the cultural stuff on the days leading up to the wedding, but the actual wedding day should be what YOU want. I understand not wanting to disappoint your mother in law, but it’s YOUR day. You can wear the traditional albanian outfit the night before! That’s what I’m doing: doing the major cultural stuff leading up to the wedding, the day of our wedding will be mostly Americanized with some spats of Albanian. Go with what makes you happy, not everyone else!!