Weddingbee Blog

My name is Miss Bruschetta, and I’m a two-dress bride. Why am I springing this on you at such a late date? Allow me to explain.

Our honeymoon will begin with a “Roman Holiday” of sorts — four days in Italy’s capital city. And when in Rome… well, you gotta see the Pope!

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Mr. Bruschetta — also known as the Chief Honeymoon Planner — researched how we could secure tickets for an audience with the Pope.

We learned about the “Sposi Novelli“, and the mister set to work to ensure we would be able to participate in this blessing.

Working through the Diocese of Camden, Mr. Bruschetta reached the correct person who was able to assist him by sending a letter to Rome inquiring about tickets for the Papal visit. We received a copy of this letter, along with instructions for how to pick up our tickets. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

We’re hoping to secure seats as close to the front as possible, since couples in these coveted spots receive a special greeting — sometimes individually! — from the Holy Father. How can we snag these seats? Well, according to everything I’ve read, we’ll need to be armed with our marriage certificate. And, we should plan on wearing the recommended attire…

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Here’s where we ran into a few pesky hindrances. Since the mister is renting his tux, we’ll be using an alternate groomal garment — a simple black suit. And I really didn’t have any desire to schlep my gown on a plane, and then around Italy, just for this one reason.

I’ve also, um, been pretty busy planning this little party we have coming up at the end of the month. So unfortunately, the importance of seeking a floor-length, white dress while summer attire still ruled the clothing store racks slipped my mind. I was gearing up for a full-fledged panic attack, when my hero(ine) came to the rescue.

Recognize her? Yup, it’s the lovely Mrs. Perfume, who sent me pictures of a dress she thought might work well, and offered to mail it to me so I could try it out myself. And several days later, I excitedly tore into the newly-arrived package.

The dress almost fits perfectly. (It’s a smidgen snug around the waist, but I’m pretty confident my commitment to pre-wedding workouts will help ensure my wedding dress stand-in looks as good on me as it does on Mrs. Perfume.) I’m also planning on pairing the dress with a white pashmina, to ensure it’s modest enough for the Papal Audience.

Thanks to Mrs. Perfume — who’s graciously allowing me to bee-orrow her dress — I was able to easily (and cheaply!) cross something else off the to-do list.

Are you attending any post-wedding events that require a white dress? Will you wear your wedding dress again, or a stand-in?