Multiple wedding dresses...

erintlyon

I've heard people talk about wearing multiple wedding dresses for their big day...I'd like to hear your thoughts on having a 2nd gown for the reception vs. the ceremony.  Have you done it or are you going to? What types of dresses did you choose for the "reception" dress (short, long, what type of necklines)? And how much did you or would you be willing to spend on one?

The reason I ask is that our May wedding will be a private wedding ceremony on a Friday evening (in which I'll be wearing my wedding gown).  After the wedding, we will be having a wedding dinner.  The next day is our wedding reception and I will be wearing my wedding gown for that part as well (or at least most of it).  I'm looking for a different dress/gown that could be worn after the ceremony to the dinner so that I don't get anything on my wedding gown before the reception the next day.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or personal experiences.

Thanks!

buttercup1958

erintlyon said:

I've heard people talk about wearing multiple wedding dresses for their big day...I'd like to hear your thoughts on having a 2nd gown for the reception vs. the ceremony.  Have you done it or are you going to? What types of dresses did you choose for the "reception" dress (short, long, what type of necklines)? And how much did you or would you be willing to spend on one?

The reason I ask is that our May wedding will be a private wedding ceremony on a Friday evening (in which I'll be wearing my wedding gown).  After the wedding, we will be having a wedding dinner.  The next day is our wedding reception and I will be wearing my wedding gown for that part as well (or at least most of it).  I'm looking for a different dress/gown that could be worn after the ceremony to the dinner so that I don't get anything on my wedding gown before the reception the next day.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or personal experiences.

Thanks!

I'm slightly confused by your timeline? Why isn't your "wedding dinner" and reception at the same time? I'm not trying to be snarky or mean but I don't see the point of having two different hosting events. On the dress issue, I couldn't imagine having two dresses, but if you wanted to do that I think buying a nice white dress from macys can be a good option for your first reception. BTW that means your dinner since the reception is usually meant for hosting and thanking guests from coming.

SmileDamnit

I can't speak to the belated 'reception', but I can definitively say that I will absolutely not be wearing a different dress to my reception. First and foremost, because I flipping' LOVE my dress and want to stay in it as long as possible. Secondly, it just seems a waste of money to me to have 2 dresses (unless it's warranted based on cultural aspects of the wedding, etc.). Apparently a lot of people do it, though, so each their own.

erintlyon

The reason for a wedding dinner is that we are only having our immediate at the wedding ceremony, which is at 7 pm on Friday evening.  We will be eating together after the ceremony (aka wedding dinner)...Because it is a small wedding, there won't be a rehearsal/rehearsal dinner so essentially this is taking the place of that.  Because we both have large families, we still wanted to have a reception and because I love my wedding dress, I want to be able to wear it at the reception too.  I want to have a different dress for the dinner so that I don't risk getting anything on my wedding gown, and was hoping to get feedback on styles and suggestions...

JoanE2012

I had one dress.  One beautiful dress that I spent alot of money on.....no way in heck was I changing.  I wanted to wear it as long as I could!   I also find wearing multiple dresses to be AWish.

AddieCake

I am not a fan.

manateehugger

Nope, I had a budget and I was blowing that whole budget on one beautiful dress. I'm not taking that sucker off all day.

I think this is a silly trend designed to get brides to fork over more money. I don't understand the point of a reception dress, unless it's a short sexy number you change into at the very end of the night to do a last hurrah and then leave the reception. 

PrettyGirlLost

erintlyon said:

The reason for a wedding dinner is that we are only having our immediate at the wedding ceremony, which is at 7 pm on Friday evening.  We will be eating together after the ceremony (aka wedding dinner)...Because it is a small wedding, there won't be a rehearsal/rehearsal dinner so essentially this is taking the place of that.  Because we both have large families, we still wanted to have a reception and because I love my wedding dress, I want to be able to wear it at the reception too.  I want to have a different dress for the dinner so that I don't risk getting anything on my wedding gown, and was hoping to get feedback on styles and suggestions...

I'm not a fan of small, private ceremonies and then much larger receptions because if I were a family member that didn't make the cut and get to witness your actual ceremony, I would be really hurt and disappointed.  Some people may also feel that this is gift grabby.

vt&dt

PrettyGirlLost said:

I'm not a fan of small, private ceremonies and then much larger receptions because if I were a family member that didn't make the cut and get to witness your actual ceremony, I would be really hurt and disappointed.  Some people may also feel that this is gift grabby.

Ditto.  Why do you have to only have your immediate family at the ceremony?  Why couldn't you move the ceremony up to 6pm Friday and have the reception with everyone right after that... or do the ceremony and reception in the same space on Saturday?

I'm sure you have reasons, but if I were invited to a day-after-the-wedding-reception and not the wedding itself, I probably would decline - would wonder if I had been deemed unimportant enough to go to the ceremony but important enough to send a gift.

Melaniesal

There are some brides who choose to get married in the church (temple) and there is not enough space for multiple people. Also there are folks who, due to religious differences) are not able to go into the church. I have no idea if this is the case for this bride... But in my experience this is how it is handled. I think the bride here is asking fir feedback in wearing/buying 1-2 dresses and not asking feedback on her wedding, dinner, reception plans. I think wearing your gown for the wedding and reception is great. I understand your concern regarding spilling on the gown at the dinner. I would likely get a simple but cute white dress to wear to first dinner and enjoy every moment if it.

PrettyGirlLost

Melaniesal said:

There are some brides who choose to get married in the church (temple) and there is not enough space for multiple people. So in that case you either pick a larger church to have your ceremony, one that can accommodate your entire guest list, or you cut your guest list down to only those that can fit in the ceremony space and you limit your reception to those people.  Also there are folks who, due to religious differences) are not able to go into the church. That's a different animal if you are talking about Mormon weddings.  I have no idea if this is the case for this bride... But in my experience this is how it is handled. I think the bride here is asking fir feedback in wearing/buying 1-2 dresses and not asking feedback on her wedding, dinner, reception plans. I think wearing your gown for the wedding and reception is great. I understand your concern regarding spilling on the gown at the dinner. I would likely get a simple but cute white dress to wear to first dinner and enjoy every moment if it.

That's fine, but when people throw information out here they are going to get comments, and not just limited to their original question.  and more often than not we are commenting on things that can be perceived as rude in order to help the OP in case they were not aware.

OP, I am getting married and having my reception on the same day, and I have no desire to change into a 2nd dress because I love my dress so much.  I want to wear it as long as possible. 

In your circumstance, I would not wear my wedding dress to the reception the next day because I wouldn't feel it was appropriate.  I'd wear a nice cocktail dress or something that fits the formality of this reception, maybe even in white, but I would not wear a bridal gown.

I don't know what your reasoning is behind having a larger reception the day after your wedding, but I again want to caution you that some people may feel hurt by this.

vmj23

I wouldn't change my dress, beause i've spent so much on it and love it.  it's my only chance to wear it.  I have a good friend who had a very private ceremony (her immedate family only) followed by dinner out (again just her immedate family).   She wore her wedding dress for the ceremony and dinner afterwards.   At a later date her mom had a party for her, in which she wore a different, much less formal dress.   

erintlyon

Yes, we have good reasons for having a ceremony with immediate family only.  I didn't ask for opinions on how our wedding is planned out and obviously I am not trying to push my ideas onto other brides....

We are celebrating our wedding with our friends and family the next day at a different location closer for them and our celebration is not being done to be "gift grabby".  We have taken into careful consideration the feelings of our friends and family and with our situation, people have been very understanding.

That being said, in this situation I would like to wear a different dress for the dinner so that my wedding dress does not get dirty and can be worn the next day at the reception.

Most brides are probably going to buy a dress for their rehearsal dinner, right?  Maybe it would be better to ask what kind of dress are you choosing for your rehearsal dinner, because that is the kind of dress I am looking for.

vmj23

 

erintlyon said:

Yes, we have good reasons for having a ceremony with immediate family only.  I didn't ask for opinions on how our wedding is planned out and obviously I am not trying to push my ideas onto other brides....

We are celebrating our wedding with our friends and family the next day at a different location closer for them and our celebration is not being done to be "gift grabby".  We have taken into careful consideration the feelings of our friends and family and with our situation, people have been very understanding.

That being said, in this situation I would like to wear a different dress for the dinner so that my wedding dress does not get dirty and can be worn the next day at the reception.

Most brides are probably going to buy a dress for their rehearsal dinner, right?  Maybe it would be better to ask what kind of dress are you choosing for your rehearsal dinner, because that is the kind of dress I am looking for.

i see no problem with what you are doing.  my best friend had a private ceremony, and being her friend i understood 100% why she did it that way.   I'd say wear whatever you are comfy in for the dinner...depending on your style and where the dinner is, and season  I haven't gotten a dress for my rehersal yet, waiting for spring clothes to come out (wedding in May)

maybe something like this

hyechica81

i hate second dresses and i totaly think its rude to have a wedding ceremony and then the next day throw a huge party for people who could not witness your vows

but if you must change out of your wedding dress get a little white dress for friday after the ceremony also make sure that between friday and saturday with the gown going in and out you dont have a lot of wrinkles in your dress i would invest in a steamer so you can freshly press your dress the next day

climbingsingle

I am wearing one dress. It's beautiful and expensive and I'm going to wear it for as long as I can. 

Dignity100

I am having a destination wedding - I'm trying to avoid having a party when I get home but I'm leaving that up to how big of a stink FMIL puts up as we get closer to the date.  IF we do a party when we get home (I'm thinking informal backyard BBQ) I'd probably get something either like :
http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/love-you-ivory-day-dress if I wanted to wear white or more likely I'd just wear a sundress.

fancymax

I'm kind of surprised that people are so critical of the way you've chose to do your wedding...do you, girl. If I were in your shoes, I'd want a separate dress for the ceremony, probably something short and inexpensive. Have you searched white dresses on Modcloth.com?

PrettyGirlLost

jenni1221 said:

 

erintlyon said:

Yes, we have good reasons for having a ceremony with immediate family only.  I didn't ask for opinions on how our wedding is planned out and obviously I am not trying to push my ideas onto other brides....

We are celebrating our wedding with our friends and family the next day at a different location closer for them and our celebration is not being done to be "gift grabby".  We have taken into careful consideration the feelings of our friends and family and with our situation, people have been very understanding.

That being said, in this situation I would like to wear a different dress for the dinner so that my wedding dress does not get dirty and can be worn the next day at the reception.

Most brides are probably going to buy a dress for their rehearsal dinner, right?  Maybe it would be better to ask what kind of dress are you choosing for your rehearsal dinner, because that is the kind of dress I am looking for.

i see no problem with what you are doing.  my best friend had a private ceremony, and being her friend i understood 100% why she did it that way.   I'd say wear whatever you are comfy in for the dinner...depending on your style and where the dinner is, and season  I haven't gotten a dress for my rehersal yet, waiting for spring clothes to come out (wedding in May)

maybe something like this

That dress is very cute!  Something like that wold be really nice to wear at your next day reception, OP.

MandyMost

I think you should wear your wedding gown for your wedding and for the dinner. For the reception--which isn't a reception, but really just a party to celebrate the fact that you previously got married--I'd wear a separate dress. Something like what was posted above would be perfect. Since it's not a reception, and no one is getting married, I think it would be odd for you to wear your wedding gown. Essentially, wear an awesome white dress to pay lip service to the fact that you were recently a bride and that's why you're all celebrating, but that you are not, in fact, currently a bride. 

Maggie0829

I agree with the other posters.  Wedding dress on your wedding day and cute, short party dress for party day.