Does My Wedding Dress Have to Match My Venue?

A few years ago, my husband and I were in Hawaii, sitting at a beach bar, minding our own business, which, as it turns out, is apparently difficult for us to do. lol

Sitting near us was a young couple, and I noticed the woman right away. Her hair was up with flowers tucked into it, her makeup was done beautifully, and she just had that look.

I leaned over to my husband and said, “I think she’s getting married.”

So, of course, my husband asked them.

“Are y’all getting married?”

They laughed and said yes, at sunset right there on the beach.

Well, that was all my husband needed to hear.

He immediately told them that I owned a bridal salon, that Formally Yours was our family business, and that I had been in bridal for years. Then he said something along the lines of, “So, if you need help with anything, she can help you.

Thanks, honey.

But then the bride looked at me and said, “Actually, I do.”

She didn’t have anyone there who knew how to get her into her wedding dress, and her dress had a lace-up corset back.

So there I was, on vacation in Hawaii, helping a bride get dressed for her wedding.

Apparently, you can take me out of the bridal salon, but you can’t take the bridal salon out of me.

And then I saw her dress.

It was a full satin ball gown.

On the beach.

And she looked absolutely stunning.

I still think about that bride because she is such a perfect example of something I have learned over all these years in bridal:

YOUR WEDDING DRESS DOES NOT HAVE TO MATCH YOUR VENUE. YOUR WEDDING DRESS HAS TO MATCH YOU.

I think brides sometimes put unnecessary pressure on themselves when it comes to this.

“I’m getting married on the beach, so do I need something soft and flowy?”

“My wedding is in a barn. Does my dress need to feel rustic?”

“My venue is very formal. Do I have to wear a ball gown?”

And my answer is: your venue can certainly INSPIRE your wedding dress. But it does not have to DICTATE your wedding dress.

Because, really, why are we dressing the venue.

WE’RE DRESSING THE BRIDE.

If you are getting married barefoot on the beach, and the dress that makes you feel the most beautiful is light, airy, and flowy, that’s wonderful. Wear it.

But if you are getting married barefoot on that same beach and you put on a satin ball gown and suddenly feel like the most beautiful version of yourself?

WEAR THE SATIN BALL GOWN

That bride in Hawaii certainly did.

After 45 years at Formally Yours, I can tell you that some of the most beautiful bridal looks I have seen are the ones that might not make perfect sense “on paper.”

And I think that is because choosing a wedding dress is so much more personal than checking boxes.

Yes, we consider your venue. We consider the season. We consider the formality of your wedding. We consider what your wedding is going to feel like.

But then we consider something much more important.

HOW DO YOU FEEL IN THE DRESS?

Does it feel like you?

Do you stand differently when you put it on?

Do you smile differently?

Do you suddenly stop thinking about all the things you thought you were “supposed” to wear?

Those are the moments I pay attention to.

Because your wedding venue is the setting.

YOU ARE THE STORY

And your wedding dress should help tell YOUR story, whether that means chiffon on a beach, lace in a ballroom, satin in a garden, or a full ball gown at sunset in Hawaii.

There really isn’t a rule.

And if you ever need proof of that, I know a bride who got married on a beach in Hawaii in a gorgeous satin ball gown.

And I know the bridal stylist who laced her into it.

She was supposed to be on vacation. lol

Love, Formally Yours