Wedding Weekend Wardrobe
Reflections on bridal pieces and the art of rewearing them
Sourcing truly special pieces takes time and intention. If you are a bride (or maid of honor, mother of bride/groom, etc) I would love to help you source and style looks for the wedding weekend. Message below or reach out to virginia@haylesstyling.com.
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We are approaching our first wedding anniversary this month. I cannot believe we have been married almost a year. Do the rest of the years go by this fast?
I recently did an article on my wedding dress which you can read here, but I also wanted to spend some time diving into the other pieces I sourced for our wedding. I’ll share the details on where I purchased, why I loved, how I wore, and how I’ve reworn. Here to break the stigma that the bridal wardrobe is only for the wedding.
I am a part of a bridal resale group on Facebook (haven’t tried to remove myself) and I so often want to comment on posts “keep that!!! your daughter will want to wear that one day!!!” but it feels like an overstep and they didn’t ask for my opinion. I also understand not wanting something to just hang in your closet for 30 years. So let’s get into how to the pieces and how I rewore them…
Bridal Luncheon
In a desire not to get ready twice in one day, I had all my bridesmaids dress casually for my luncheon at a local Mexican restaurant. I turned 26 that day, the day before our wedding on the 26th, so my sister made these “26” t-shirts to commemorate the number of the weekend.
I paired it with a pair of Lululemon ribbed align leggings. They didn’t make them this year but I found them on Poshmark here, here, and here. Paired with a pair of Autry sneakers because we went on a walk that morning (similar).
Obvious rewear but these are my favorite leggings for yoga, pilates, or walking. They’re very thin and comfortable. Still love my Autry sneakers. I have worn them almost to death over this past year and need to replace. Lastly, love throwing on my 26 t-shirt for working out or sleep. Maybe in 20 years it will be considered a vintage tee…
I remember seeing a photo of my bridesmaids wearing the t-shirts on their flight home which made me smile. One was Piper and you can read about her love of merch here.
Rehearsal Dinner
This lace tunic and tulle dress were the first pieces I ordered for our wedding. They’re from a bridal atelier in San Francisco called Kamperett. I wasn’t wearing lace for our ceremony, and knew I wanted to incorporate it in somewhere. It was love at first sight when I saw the Kamperett Isabella lace tunic paired with the delicate Camille tulle dress. The brand was new to me, but I optimistically placed a pre-order in September for a February delivery date.
On an uncharacteristically warm February day, my Kamperett order came in while my roommate Carey and I were locked out of our house after going on a walk. Silver lining of us being stuck on our porch was that it ensured I was able to sign for the package. We were giddy as we unboxed it and thankfully our roommate Ellie came home shortly thereafter to let us back in.
I paired the look with my maternal grandmother’s earrings and a pair of Zara shoes. TBH, I regret the Zara shoes. I last minute bought them and looking back I should have paired them with a cream heeled sandal and kept the look monochromatic. We all have regrets…
I rewore these pieces separately on our honeymoon in Italy. Both for dinners when we were in Puglia. I don’t have a good photo of the tulle dress, but I paired it with a long slip underneath. For the lace tunic, I just did a nude bra under with a pair of cream satin mini shorts and heeled sandals! I also want to wear it belted one day. It’s a good length where it can pass as a mini dress with shorts or a slip underneath. If I was taller, I would wear it over a pair of jeans with heels and do belted or unbelted.
Wedding Day Brunch
Another desire not to get ready twice in one day…
Some of our longtime family friends hosted a wedding day brunch for us and our guests at the club. I wanted something easy and breezy - something that felt natural to wear with no makeup and hair I only woke up and ran a brush through. This Ciao Lucia dress checked the box. When I got it in Anne Henley Walker told me it looked like what a 5yo would wear to church. She wasn’t wrong but didn't make me love it any less!
I wore the dress with the sneakers I had on the day prior and accessorized with a Bloody Mary and a pair of Chimi sunglasses from a local boutique Le Weekend. Probably the least thought out outfit I wore of the weekend, but I loved how it came together.
I wore the heck out of this dress last summer: lake weekends, with sandals out to dinner, on our honeymoon in Italy, etc. Ended up being one of my favorite pieces I bought for our wedding weekend. I plan to wear it much more this summer. Find it here. Also love it in yellow. And eyeing a similar black one for myself this summer.
Getting Ready
All of my bridesmaids wore the white fluffy robes from the cottages on property. I also wanted to wear a robe but a zhuzhed up version.
I started a search for a vintage kimono. The club has a room with pink silk hand painted wallpaper from China that I have been infatuated with since I was a child. Leaning into that, I found this wonderful pink silk kimono from a vintage shop in Cleveland, OH.
I now wear it regularly around the house to elevate my morning coffee.
Love this and this too. Imagine wearing them as outerwear with a simple tee and jeans.
Reception
The dress I wore for our ceremony was a family gown with a lot of fabric. I knew it would be hard to dance in, so I wanted to find something comfortable and FUN to change into.
This fringe collar from TWP came to me first. I had previously ordered a gold sequin gown from them that came in and was way too big. Thankfully, that fail led me to this collar. An encouragement to persevere when the first vision in your head doesn’t play out! I loved the idea of wearing sequins and TWP’s creative direction of pairing distinct pieces with simple accompaniments. Inspired by their pairing of statement pieces with simple silhouettes, I ordered the collar the same time I ordered this Nili Lotan silk gown.
Because I am petite, I have always felt confident in a simple slip dress - things with a lot of fabric look like they’re wearing me. The reason I chose this Nili Lotan one is because it was full length and 100% silk.
They were a match made in heaven. I unboxed the collar and knew immediately I wanted to dance in it and the fluid mobility of the Nili Lotan gown would allow me to do so.
I was right. It was the PERFECT ensemble for spending hours on a dance floor.
Unfortunately, I confess I have not reworn either of these. But I am only one year in! I would really love someone to get married out west so I can wear the collar over a full denim ensemble to a themed welcome party. Or lend it out to the bride. Since the slip gown is white, I obviously have not been able to rewear it to a wedding which is usually why I am dressing up. Brainstorming other options…
I wore Steve Madden platforms under the dress (similar). I truthfully do not think I had worn Steve Madden since middle school, but these were comparable to the Larroude ones for much less. My dress completely covered my shoes - didn’t want to spend much on shoes you could not even see. I found them very comfortable and have pulled them out several times since when I was wearing a dress that needed a little height.
I am known as someone who loves clothes (even before it was formally my occupation) so I felt this immense pressure for my wedding ensembles to be forever iconic and something my daughters would look back on in many years and be like “ya mom really nailed that”. I shared this self imposed pressure with one of my friends, and she said “yes I get it, but we will look back and remember you loving that in that moment”.
This is true for any occasion in any season of life. Would I wear now what I wore to my high school graduation? No. But I remember loving what I was wearing in that moment and feeling so great.
I have very few regrets about what I wore (the Zara shoes) and I look back so fondly on the memories of getting dressed that weekend. I felt amazing because I was marrying the love of my life so I could have been wearing anything… but I still feel so confident in what I chose to put on my body. Even if everything goes out of style in 5 years, I am thankful I will get to look back and remember loving it.
If you have creatively reworn something you also wore as a bride, please share it! I would absolutely love to see how you styled.
El Fin.
VH
If you liked this article, I write bi-weekly about the Heights of Fashion of people I admire. Also love to write pieces like this reflecting on why I wore what.
All professional photos are by Rachel and Noah Ray photography. Not only are they extremely talented, but they are incredibly kind. Best addition to our day!
Wow you absolutely nailed it - so gorgeous
Loved walking through this again ❤️