Are you shopping for a modest wedding dress that isn't too revealing? You'll love today's wedding fashion advice full of everything brides who want a modest style wedding dress will need to know.
A popular trend in bridal fashion that we are seeing a lot of recently is wedding dresses made with sheer fabric. Illusion lace, sheer tulle fabric layers, cutouts and even high-leg slits have been seen in a lot of new wedding dress designs. These wedding dresses are beautiful in their design, but they may not be the best fit for all brides. If you are a bride that is searching for a wedding dress that is a bit more modest, you will want to keep reading.
Today’s advice post about modest wedding dresses came from one of our Lovella brides who was wondering what wedding dress designers are able to modify and change in their designs in order to make certain gowns more modest. Whether modifications are done in the initial ordering process, or by your alterations teams, there are a few different options to make you feel more comfortable in your wedding dress if you are wanting a modest bridal look. We have all the details and logistics you need to think about when shopping for a modest wedding dress.
Modest Brides
Bridal gowns seem to be becoming a lot more sheer and see-through, but we know that there are still a lot of brides out there looking for more modest options when wedding dress shopping. This could be because you are having a more traditional wedding ceremony or a religious wedding ceremony, or just because you are not comfortable showing off a lot of skin. Whatever your reason, do not worry that you won’t be able to find a wedding dress that fits your needs and modest tastes.
Oftentimes when you walk into a bridal store, you are going to be surrounded by dresses that have a lot of corset tops, illusion lace details, and sheer fabrics. You might start to feel a bit defeated because you don’t even know if modesty is an option based on the displays you are seeing. Be sure to express to your bridal stylist or bridal consultant exactly what you are looking for. They will know which designers can work with you to alter a design to a more modest option.
At Lovella, we often have brides searching for a modest wedding dress come to us by word of mouth because they know a bride who ordered their wedding dress through Lovella and we were able to help them make some special modifications to create their dream wedding dress. We, fortunately, work with some bridal designers that have the ability to create more modest gowns.
Dress Alterations
Sometimes it can be an easy fix to make a wedding dress a bit more modest. Some bridal designers are able to add a liner fabric under the dress so it’s not as sheer or see-through. Sometimes you can have a wedding dress skirt ordered without a leg slit. Whatever level of coverage you are looking for, be sure to express this to your bridal stylist so they can work with the options available to you.
The unfortunate component to making alterations this way, in the ordering process, is that you will not be able to try on the finished dress when you are shopping in-store. You will have to use your imagination a little bit to envision what the final dress design will look like with your modifications made.
One important thing to note when shopping for modest bridal dresses is that not all designers allow modifications to their designs. Some dress designers create a wedding dress, and that’s it, you can only order that particular style as it is. This is very good to know before trying on wedding dresses because you don’t want to get your heart set on a dress style only to be let down if you can’t make changes.
In these scenarios, you might be able to use a bit of a workaround. In some cases with designers that don’t allow modifications in their orders, they may allow a bride to order extra fabric. You could then have a seamstress work with the extra yards of fabrics to create additional layers or alter the coverage for you in a post-production process.
Modest Designers
When you first begin shopping for wedding dresses, do some research before visiting any bridal store. There are certain designers that make more modest bridal dresses and dress collections. Do a bit of research to figure out which designers match what you are looking for and then see what stores carry those dresses for you to try on in person.
Some of this will depend on the area you live in, as modest bridal dresses are a bit of niche market. For instance, Lovella is in Los Angeles so the majority of our brides are looking for something a bit more bold and so we don’t invest a lot of our inventory in the more modest dresses. We don’t often have brides coming to our particular store looking for modest bridal gowns, but we do have the tools on hand to help show you what a dress could look like in a more modest style.
For example, we may have a dress that has a detachable lining, so for the bride who wants to be covered, we can put the lining in and for those who want it exposed, we can take the lining layer out, We try to make our dresses as versatile as possible so you can really see the different options and decide what is best for you as a bride. There are other tricks to create sleeves or adjust coverage layers too, just know that it may not look exactly what you get in the end as the order from the designer will be slightly different than what we can create in-store as a finished product.
Trying On Styles
At Lovella, we always encourage brides to purchase their wedding dress based on seeing the full picture. This is especially important for any bride wanting to make changes to a wedding dress. We have unfortunately heard from many brides who make changes in the ordering process and are not completely happy with their dress when it arrives in the store because it is different from what they were picturing in their head.
If you are wanting to create a dress that is more modest, we would encourage you to purchase a dress that already has the majority of the coverage you are looking for. So if you need a certain neckline or sleeves, find a dress you love that already has those components. It’s much easier, and more cost-effective, to purchase a dress that already has the base elements you are looking for. If we are only adding a lining to your dress, that is a lot easier than ordering a strapless dress that’s altered to have sleeves.
Brides should keep in mind when it comes to modifications for these wedding dresses, there are fees associated because a new pattern is being created. If we are just adding a lining to an existing style, that is much more economically priced than a dress with more extensive alterations that will require a new pattern to be made to create the specific design.
Detachable Options
One last option we want to touch on when it comes to modifying a wedding dress to be a more modest option is detachable accessories. If you want to avoid modifying a dress through the designer or perhaps go a more cost-effective route, then a detachable accessory may be right for you. If you need a more modest bridal look for your wedding ceremony, then a detachable bolero or jacket might be a good solution.
These items are put on essentially overtop of your bridal dress. A lace bolero on top of your wedding dress can be a really beautiful detail. There are options to have these accessories fully lined or not, depending on the level of modesty you are looking for. A bonus here is that you can have two bridal looks on your wedding day if you remove the bolero during your wedding reception.
VIDEO: Details & Logistics for Modest Wedding Dresses
If you are a bride searching for a modest wedding dress, you won't want to miss this advice video with details & logistics for modest wedding dresses.
More Helpful Wedding Fashion Advice
We hope you find these tips helpful when you are shopping for a modest wedding dress. For even more helpful advice when it comes to wedding day fashion, be sure to check out our past posts:
- Wedding Dress Shopping Tips For The Newly Engaged Bride
- Top 7 New Wedding Dress Fashion Trends
- What To Expect During The Alteration Process
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
