Wedded Brides: What was your reception dress experience?

I didn't have a reception dress, nor do I regret it. I bought a dress I loved (and spent more on than any other piece of clothing). I personally couldn't imagine spending so much money on a dress and then only wearing it for the ceremony.

I only had one dress. Comfort weighed into my initial dress selection. I loved the crap out of that puppy, I wish I could’ve stayed in it longer, to be honest. I didn’t even want to take it off to go to bed but THAT would’ve have been comfortable haha

I went back & forth on getting a reception dress but in the end I stayed in my wedding dress. I love my dress & wanted to spend as much time in it as I could.

I wore one dress and have zero regrets! Would it have been fun to pick out a second dress that I also loved? Absolutely! But the amount of time it would take to change dresses, ensure any shape wear or underwear were appropriate for both dresses, etc. would cancel that out. My vote is to wear one dress that you are crazy about the entire time!

I only had the one dress. I think I would have only switched if there was a ton of time in between the ceremony and the reception. Since our reception was pretty much directly after the ceremony, I definitely did not have enough time to switch. I also loved my dress and definitely did not want to take it off, like many of my fellow ladies.

I did not have a reception dress. I considered it, however, once I chose my wedding dress, I knew there was no way I would want to take it off. I loved being in my wedding gown for as long as possible. If I had to do it over again, I would still skip the reception dress.

I had a reception dress because we did a swing dance for our first dance and that wasn't going to work in my big dress. I intended to put the big dress back on but I ended up not doing that and I kind of wish I had!

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Thanks for your insight! I originally considered the idea of a second dress because I liked two very different styles of wedding dress (classic romantic lace vs modern minimalistic chic crepe), but now the decision is weighed more by the fact that my husband has already seen my wedding dress (we had a Covid elopement but are finally going to get to have a wedding celebration with our loved ones this year). I love my dress and definitely want to wear it again, but it would be nice to be able to surprise my husband with something new, and my dress isn't the most dance friendly for things like deep squats or low dips (deep V front, low back, illusion lace bodice, and fit and flare silhouette with a train that can be bustled, no stretch). I'm sure there are plenty brides who didn't get a reception dress and were fine with that decision, but I'm really hoping to hear from more that did have a second dress like you! I feel like I might get one and LOVE it, or end up wishing I stayed in my wedding dress all night long.

I have a reception dress, but not an extravagant one. We are getting married at sunrise, in the mountains (brrrrrrr) - so my ceremony and breakfast dress is very heavy silk with sleeves, to help me stay warm. After the ceremony and our family breakfast reception, we are going back to our house to have essentially a big party/reception with our friends and family who weren't able to attend the ceremony and breakfast (breakfast place has capacity issues because of COVID). For our afternoon party, I ordered a white dress off of Lulus (less than $100), because it will likely be in the 80s in the afternoon and I don't want to be draped in silk. But it also might only peak at 50 degrees, so I have a dress for either type of weather. It's not unusual for us to have a 50 degree swing in temperature from the morning to the afternoon where we live.

If you didn't buy a reception dress, do you wish you had or did you love wearing your one dress all night?

so i wore mine all night and i will say that i can see the appeal of changing dresses because wedding gowns can be really heavy! and they are sometimes not as easy to move around in.

In this situation, I think it would be totally appropriate to get another dress! I recall you didn’t have the best experience with your elopement/minimony, so I think a new dress could add an extra bit of excitement for your upcoming reception!