Changing into a second dress

jlazgrl · October 2013

I feel like I am the only one in the world that absolutely hates the idea of changing into a second dress for the reception. Is there anyone out there that feels the same way I do? (This is not meant to put down anyone who is doing this. Its just definitely not for me.)

itzMS · October 2013

Changing into a second dress is something you only see on TV.

I've never known a real life bride with two dresses.

jlazgrl · October 2013

itzMS said:

Changing into a second dress is something you only see on TV. I've never known a real life bride with two dresses.

A very close friend of mine did this at her wedding last January. What brought this up is that I saw someone talking about it here on TK, so it does happen in real life. I was just trying to get opinions on it really.

manateehugger · October 2013

I think it's weird - it's not for me either.

I love my dress. I can't imagine wearing it only for an hour or so during the whole day.

jlazgrl · October 2013

PDKH said:

I think it's weird - it's not for me either.

I love my dress. I can't imagine wearing it only for an hour or so during the whole day.

This is my reason as well.

KeptInStitches · October 2013

I'm NEY, but I've joked about wearing my mom's wedding dress - I think it's absolutely beautiful. IF I did wear her dress, then I would wear a second dress for the reception because I would be afraid of ruining my mom's dress.

AddieCake · October 2013

Ditto MS. And I, too, loved my dress and never wanted to take it off.

Dreamergirl8812 · October 2013

I think it's AWish and a huge waste of money.

JoanE2012 · October 2013

I spent too much money on my dress and loved it too much to only wear it for the ceremony. To spend more money for another dress for the reception is definitely AWish to me.

MoniqueAbrahamsen · October 2013

I don't agree with changing into a second dress. If you find a dress you love wear it and enjoy it!

WinstonsGirl · October 2013

It took me way to long to find the first dress. There's no way I could have lasted through shopping for a second. Plus I loved mine and wasn't taking it off unless DH was doing that.

lizandmark2014 · October 2013

My mom did this. In 1973 my mom wore her wedding dress until just before she and my dad left the reception for their honeymoon. Her second dress was something she already owned, however.

KytchynWitche · October 2013

I think that unless your dress is something that you really, and I mean REALLY, can't do the reception in (skirt too big to sit down in, can't dance in, ridiculous train that can't/won't come off etc) it's silly and wasteful to have a second dress.

Of course there's a big difference between having a second dress and having a going away outfit (traveling clothes you change into just before departing the reception), and if you have more than one dress for cultural reasons, that's different too.

krizzo17 · October 2013

I changed my veils in between the ceremony and reception, but kept the same dress. I wanted to wear my mom's veil for the ceremony, but it was a little longer than I was comfortable wearing all night, and I *love* veils and wanted something for the reception, too. I ended up going with a short, plain veil from Etsy, and I love way it looks in all of our pictures.

I guess I could see brides doing something similar with a dress, but only if one had sentimental value - I don't get just buying two dresses.

Cokezerofreak · October 2013

I love my wedding dress but plan to change into a short cocktail type dress for our last song. We plan on dancing to "Save the Last Dance for Me" before the reception ends and it will be easier in a shorter dress. Plus my legs are the only thing skinny on me so I'd like to show them off! I've been looking on clearance racks, not planning on spending more than $100.

melbelleup · October 2013

I hate it. Uh. my dress cost 1,000 dollars. You better believe I'm wearing it alllll day and night.

climbingsingle · October 2013

Not a fan of the second dress. Totally AWish.

Jells2dot0 · October 2013

I changed after our ceremony, but since we had a private beach wedding, noone knew I changed except for my DH and the resort staff

In fact, he changed as well. We took pictures at sunset along the water line and both of our outfits got wet. So, we changed into non-wedding attire for our dinner. The dress I changed into was beach casual and black.

MrsLillyG · October 2013

I don't hate the idea of wearing two dresses! I like looking at the pretty bride's dress(es).

photokitty · October 2013

KeptInStitches said:

I'm NEY, but I've joked about wearing my mom's wedding dress - I think it's absolutely beautiful. IF I did wear her dress, then I would wear a second dress for the reception because I would be afraid of ruining my mom's dress.

I've seen this, but it was actually her grandma's dress. If it is family heirloom I totally get the change of dress.

My sister had a dress with a detachable train - best of both worlds. Same dress but could dance the night away. She's not the long dress type and wouldn't have made it all night in one I don't think :-p

FutureMrsN3312 · October 2013

My dress came in a few weeks ago. I happened to be at the store looking for my bridesmaids and they let me put it on again. I didn't want to take it off. I can't imagine not wearing my dress all day.

ETA: I picture this happening at some point...

katieg520 · October 2013

You are definitely not alone!!! I would never change out of my dress!!! As much as that one dress cost, I am not taking it off until I absolutely HAVE to!

NavyBlue143 · October 2013

My cousin's wife did this at their wedding. Her dress was so beautiful I can't imagine why she changed into this casual sundress type thing for a fairly formal reception.

ElcaB · October 2013

I hate it when brides change dresses. First, it reeks of excessiveness. It seems so wasteful. Secondly, aside from theater, when in real life do you ever change in the middle of an event? And third, it does seem AWish to me. Besides, the second dress is almost never as good as the first.

A friend just got married and she had a transformation dress. It was a mermaid and the bottom was removable, so it turned into a party dress. Still hated it.

thefuturemrshawks · October 2013

I don't necessarily hate it, but I am not doing it for me! I love my dress way too much to want to take it off after only an hour or so! I am wearing it as long as I possibly can!

KatWAG · October 2013

I dont mind it at all. I bought a second short dress that I was planning on changing into once all the dancing got started. The reason I didnt change was because the logics were a pain. So I wore the short dress to my rehearsal dinner.

kitty8403 · October 2013

I try not to judge. To me, though, it does tend to imply a lack of planning and decisiveness, like the bride got overwhelmed with choices and couldn't pick. That is assuming this isn't a cross-cultural wedding or that the first dress isn't "something borrowed." If you fall in love with a short dress, why not use it for the rehearsal party?

Do women never consider their venues when dress shopping? I don't understand why you'd buy something with a huge train if you know you'll be spending 30 minutes dragging it through leaves for your ceremony and the next 6 hours awkwardly lugging it around a dance floor. But maybe that's just me.

JLynG09 · October 2013

I bought a dress I love but the removable cap sleeves (my favorite part!) are snug so they pull the front of the dress up. I'll keep it on during the reception as long as I can but I am going to bring a comfortable dressy casual ivory lace dress I already have for once I can't stand it anymore. I always thought I'd never change gowns til I actually bought one and its kinda itchy.

icecreamS04 · October 2013

itzMS said:

I've never known a real life bride with two dresses.

I know one person who has done this... but she was forced to... they had about 90 °F at their April ceremony, while they bought the dress (and other attire) for temperatures around 55-60°F... they were all sweating like crazy and her dress was all clammy and damp after the ceremony so she changed into a really simple white summer dress for the reception...

smokinblaises · October 2013

I never thought I would be a bride that would do that as well..but then as I was shopping for my gown I began thinking about the fact that we HOPE we'll be able to go to Rome after the wedding for our honeymoon, the main point of that being so that we can get our wedding blessed by the Pope. The thing is, when you do that you have to be wearing your "wedding" dress. Some brides wear theirs and don't care but honestly I couldn't imagine walking around the streets of Rome in my long dress and ruining the bottom of it with so much dirt. Some brides who get the blessing just find a regular white dress and wear that instead...I would rather wear something with SOME level of importance to me...So, since the gown I ended up going with was only $300 (ridiculous), we splurged and I got a tea-length dress for $300 as well, that I plan on wearing at the reception for dancing in and then taking with me to Rome. If we weren't going to Rome, I probably wouldn't have a second dress.

CLI242009 · October 2013

I agree with the original post, it's definitely not for me. I will never understand why you have to change from a beautiful gown to a cocktail dress? Especially if you were going for a formal affair. I agree with urbaneca & krizzo17 - the cultural or functionality reasons & the sentimental reasons can be good reasons to change your dress, but when you see the girls wanting 2 or 3 different dresses for the different parts of the wedding (ceremony, bridal portraits, portraits with hubby, reception & then going away) I mean seriously?!?! All that money could of been put to something else, honeymoon maybe?

I just think it gives the wrong impression or idea to the guests maybe?

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