Wedding Blog

I’m sure almost everyone has done it at least once.

Some girls do it more than once. Some might not want to admit it, but they’ve done it too.

C’mon girl, you know what it is. You’ve been there, too.

That’s right, folks. The dreaded SECOND-GUESSING OF THE DRESS.

Here’s how it works: Glassy-eyed, smiling and loving the world, you’ve happily smacked down your non-refundable deposit for what is obviously the most amazing, most gorgeous, most PERFECT dress in the world. With wings on your feet, you float out of the store and can’t possibly imagine how you will live through the next four to six months as you wait for your wedding dress to arrive.

You’re still in full-on bridal mode though, so while you wait, you can’t resist the magnetic pull of all the magazines, online shops, and real-world bridal stores out there. So you poke your nose into one… and then another… and another. And you leave each one feeling smug and satisfied—your dress is still the most perfect dress for you, and you’re happy.

Then one day…

…DUM-DUM-DUM…

IT happens.

(This is another Not For Mr. Breezy’s Eyes Production, hint hint, nudge nudge.)

When I found my Destination Wedding dress (a.k.a. the DWess) back in November, a mere month after Mr. Breezy proposed, we were still not sure that we would be having a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic. The topic had come up, but it was still in the early stages of discussion, so when I went shopping with Mama Sea Breeze, it was sort of in my mind, but not really. I definitely hadn’t done any research as to what other girls wear for their destination weddings. I loved my dress so much that the DW factor didn’t really enter my mind as I happily paid my deposit.

That is, not until later.

Once we decided that we were definitely having a DW, I started perusing all sorts of forums in my quest for information, and I became totally fixated on what I thought a destination wedding dress was “supposed” to look like: all flowy and chiffon-y and… breezy!

 All dresses captured from Best Destination Wedding Forum. #2 by Monique Lhuillier (Kimora); #6 by Tara Keely; #7 by Maggie Sottero (Ireland); #8 by Nicole Miller.

I started to worry that my dress wasn’t appropriate for a DW. It definitely was NOT chiffon-y and breezy. It was more modern and structured. Would I be too hot? Would I be uncomfortable?? Would I look stupid???

Then one day on my lunch hour, I popped into BCBG, and I saw this: a very, very similar dress to my own—still tiered and modern, yet made in a way which was also oh-so light and beachy.

 And on top of everything, it was, of course, less than half of what I had committed to paying for the other dress. I promptly had a melt-down.

Had I bought the wrong dress?

Thankfully, as I walked back with heart pounding and hands wringing, I had the presence of mind to call my bridesmaid Miss P and then Mama Sea Breeze. Both talked me off the ledge, so to speak, saying that yes, the dress was lovely, but I only had ONE chance in my life to wear an honest-to-goodness ‘big huge wedding dress’ (as I called it) and that I should wear whatever wedding dress I wanted—beach or no beach!

Whew! Thank goodness for them.

Once I calmed down, because they were right, of course, I went back to the forums and realized that there actually are dresses there posted by other DW gals that look just like the dresses you’d see at any other wedding… lots and lots of them!

I had panicked and second-guessed my dress unnecessarily. But hey, it happens to the best of us. I blame it on stress.

Did you second-guess your wedding dress purchase? How did you get over it (or not)?