Wedding Wednesday: My Wedding Dress(es)

Before I start sharing the photo recaps of our wedding ceremony and reception, I thought that my wedding dress deserved a detailed blog post of its own! I first wrote about my wedding dress shortly after I purchased it last winter. But that entire post was written without any photos of the dress, since the wedding hadn't happened yet! And then a second dress (reception dress) came into the picture as well. Basically, I have a lot to catch you up on dress-wise, and it seemed right to do that before starting wedding day recaps! 😊

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I wrote about this last year when I first shared about buying my wedding dress, but oddly enough I was kind of dreading dress shopping as a bride. Wedding dresses seemed so exorbitantly expensive to me, and I just couldn't fully let myself get excited to shop for something that costly that I'd only wear for one day of my life. I know that probably isn't the reaction most people thought I would have (since I do enjoy fashion and getting dressed up), but it was my truth at the time!

As I planned to start dress shopping last winter, I thought about what types of styles I'd be most interested in. I decided I wanted something more classic and traditional vs. trendy and loud. I wanted an A-line dress that was mainly satin, and didn't have a ton of embellishments. I did see the front of the dress either being v-neck with straps, or strapless and straighter across the chest. I envisioned a lower or open back, and potentially even a big bow in the back! I was very inspired by blogger Sydney of Summer Wind's wedding dress from her wedding a few years ago. I felt hers was the perfect balance of timeless and classic yet a tiny bit modern. I also liked this dress from David's Bridal, and wanted to stop by the local store in Virginia Beach at some point to try it on.

I won't re-tell the full long story of my wedding dress today since you can read the whole thing in this blog post: but the TLDR (too long didn't read) version is before I ever went to a wedding dress store, I found myself browsing a small wedding dress sample sale at a local bridal show last January. The first dress I tried on was $150... and I knew within a few seconds of putting it on that it would be my wedding dress! Now I can finally share the first photo of me in my dress with you. 😊 You can see below too how it was a makeshift "changing room" at the convention center that the bridal show was at, ha! But I think my face just shows sheer joy.

January 2024 - The day I unexpectedly found my wedding dress!

I was honestly in so much sheer shock on day that I found the dress. I know it sounds corny, but it truly seemed to me then like God had sent me this dress! He knew I was stressed about wedding finances and really didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dress, and brought me one with style elements that I really liked that was only $150! The dress was way too big in the bust so I knew it would need alterations, but it wasn't anything undoable. My mom, Ryan, and and some friends actually did encourage me to still make appointments at local wedding dress boutiques to make sure this was what I wanted, but I was quite stubborn and refused to do that. 😊 The way I found this dress just seemed too divine for it not to be my wedding dress!

The next time I tried on my dress was in May, when my mom was in Virginia Beach. We went veil shopping at a couple of local bridal stores, and I brought the dress with me to all of the places to try on with different veils. I found a very simple but elegant veil at Silk Bridal Studio in Virginia Beach. Silk is also the same dress shop that had provided my wedding dress to the sample sale that I found it at! I also found my wedding earrings unexpectedly that day at Silk. My mom wasn't with me in-person at the sample sale when I found my dress, so we had fun taking the classic "Said Yes to the Dress!" picture together at Silk. I am glad I got a picture like that with my mom, even if it was technically four months later.

That same day with my mom is also the day that I unexpectedly found my wedding reception dress... but more on that later in this post!

May 2024 - Said Yes to the Veil! And finally got a dress shopping photo with my mom.

The next time I tried on my dress was another four months later! I had my wedding hair trial in late September, and after that appointment I brought my dress over to my in-laws house, and tried it on with my hair, makeup and wedding earrings to see what it all looked like. This was actually the first time that I started noticing some things about the dress that I realized wouldn't have been my ideal style choices if I'd purchased a full-priced wedding dress from a boutique. I started wishing that the neckline was lower or differently shaped, and I also started wondering if I still liked the fact that the back of the dress had a high-back with lace. I had always envisioned myself in a lower backed wedding dress. Was I still really glad that I had found a beautiful wedding dress for such a good price? Yes! But do I also thing it's a normal thing to have doubts about such a fashion choice for such a monumental day, especially when it was literally the only option you ever tried? Also yes! Hopefully that makes sense! I also hadn't shown the dress to anyone except my mom and MIL. I decided early on that I wanted to surprise my bridal party with my dress on the wedding day, and while I have no regrets about that, I think at this part in the process I was getting nervous without any friend input.

What did give me full clarity and peace over having this be my wedding dress was knowing that Ryan would love it. He has different taste than I often do in women's' fashion, and he tends to like more simple and classic pieces (vs. a lot of the fun and loud items in my everyday closet). I had a gut feeling that he would absolutely love me in this dress, and that made me happy to think about.

My dress got altered in October! Only a month or so out from the wedding day. I was glad about that though, because I knew it meant it would fit me very accurately since it wasn't getting altered too early.

September 2024 - Putting my wedding dress on for the third time after my hair trial.

October 2024 - Trying on my dress after it had been altered! This is the first time that the lace back fit me properly and wasn't huge on me.

And then our November wedding day was finally here! Below are some of my favorite professional photos of my dress from our wedding photographer:

Some of my favorite wedding photos of myself in my dress were actually taken via iPhone! My matron-of-honor Caroline gets all of the photo credit for these. The picture below of my solo on the beach is actually my favorite solo photo of me taken on my wedding day (even more than the professional pictures!).

I also wanted to include a few photos of me with Ryan and other people, because I feel like the dress shape is at its most flattering to me when I'm standing next to one or more people. I don't know if that makes any sense or it's my eyes playing tricks on me?! But I feel like the waistline especially looks best when I'm next to people.

Oh! Much as I suspected, Ryan loved my wedding dress. 😊

And a few photos of the back of the dress. It had what I thought was a perfect length train! Not crazy long, but long enough to make a statement in our church photos. When the dress got altered I had bustle hooks put in, and it was easy for Caroline and my wedding coordinator Ashley to put it up for the reception and our first dance.

And finally, I had to share a little bit about my second dress! I never saw myself being the type of bride who would do a dress change for the reception, but I stumbled upon this cute short dress by chance. I found in May when my parents were visiting Virginia Beach, and we were actually at David's Bridal getting my mom's mother-of-the-bride dress! This little white dress with crystal straps caught my eye on a rack, and my mom encouraged me to try it on. She thought I would really enjoy having a second dress that that it would be easier for dancing. Ironically, this little one cost the same amount as my formal wedding dress: $150! Must have been my lucky number in the wedding attire process. 😀 The style of this reminded me a lot of the dresses that my favorite female country artist, Megan Moroney, wears for her shows!

Since I saved so much money on my actual wedding dress, I was able to get this one too. Now that the wedding has come and gone, I am relieved I had something short, breathable, and easy to dance in for the reception! My mom was definitely right in advising me to get this. I'd also recommend a shorter reception dress to any other brides who like to tear up the dance floor as much as I do.

I never got a formal portrait photo in this dress. I changed into it just as the dance floor was getting going, and I truly didn't want to stop for a second! But here are a few photos from the dance floor that I think capture it fairly well. (How fun with the white and blue bow boots too?! I wore those for dancing, and then put my wedding heels back on for our grand exit.)