Minimalist wedding dresses

[ExsitedBride]

I am engaged and looking for a wedding dress. I really like the look of "minimalist" wedding dresses but wonder if they're too plain? Obviously don't want to ask my fiancé as would want the dress to be a surprise for him and my bridesmaids seem a bit underwhelmed when I show them what I'm looking at. I'm a size 10 if that's relevant and 5'5". If you saw a bride in something like this would you think it looked elegant and good or just boring? Honest opinions please!

Personally I think they're a bit boring. Apart from the middle one which quite sexy. Bit we're from different ends of the spectrum-mine was lacy, satin, flower detail, sweetheart neckline, full skirt etc etc.

Another vote for 'absolutely beautiful dresses but see how you feel with one on'. I thought I'd want a sort of column type dress. Turned out they made me look like I was about 60% hips, and that most of the rest was arse. I went for an 50s style tea length dress, which was both much more forgiving and much more fun to wear - it swished! Whenever I have seen brides in minimalist column dresses I get a bit of a pang of jealousy, though - I think they're so gorgeous, they just didn't work for me.

I think it's beautiful. Having been married 11 years I think most brides I know of my generation look back and wish we had gone a more elegant and less applique/bling.

You can always dress it up, hair, veil, headpiece, bouquet etc

Definitely agree with those saying you need to try one on. Went wedding dress shopping with my best friend, she was adamant she wanted a strapless, fishtail, lace up dress with no frills. She didn't want a tiara or a veil. She's ended up with a massive princessy ballgown with a sparkly zip up corset style with straps, an extremely fancy tiara and a voluminous veil. She hated it on the hanger but fell in love once she'd put it on. The one she had her heart set on didn't suit her at all, felt all wrong she said. The trying on part is so much fun though, have a great time and a fantastic wedding

I think those dresses are beautiful, and would enable you to bling up accessories if you so wished. So many wedding dresses these days are strapless with secondary boobs bulging over the top and sides. Really ugly.

Obviously you need to try them on to make sure.

Wear what you like but try everything on. I wish I'd spent more time looking.

Stunning. And will still look fantastic in the pictures decades later.

TBH it's a huge day for you, does it matter what others think?

If I would get married I would stomp about in whatever I liked!

Time to start binge watching reruns of Say Yes to the Dress

I had a minimalist dress - I personally find the strapless-full-skirt dresses very samey. Others look lovely in them, they just weren't for me

I tried a couple on and just felt very generic. And I'm very slight so they just drowned me

I went for a very minimalist dress, it basically looked like a satin nightie - vintage style.

However I DID, to my surprise, plump for a full veil for the ceremony. I tried it on and suddenly felt VERY bridal. Then the dress was like a gorgeous evening dress that I felt was very 'me'

I just knew it was 'the one' as soon as I tried it on

Took my best friend and bridesmaid to see it for the second try -on and I didn't want to take it off (and she cried) so I figured it was definitely the one.

(Minimalist dress, but with veil. You don't know unless you try!)

To pull off those dresses you need to have an absolutely perfect figure IME op...they're such straight lines, and i've seen a few examples where they look really, really awful on someone who usually looks great. Any bulge, any crease, however small, will show.

I wanted a minamilst dress and tried on a couple similar...I had a decent figure, slim size 10/12, fairly toned and they looked bloody awful. I went with something thicker, with very subtle embroidery, although a similar shape and it looks so much better IMO.

I love them - i much prefer understated elegance but i hate frouff and frills! You won't be underselling yourself. You'll be beautiful on your wedding day whatever you wear because you'll be happy and excited and surrounded by people you love and marrying somebody you love. Wear something that feels like you (but also wear spanx because they're not forgiving!).

I wore a minimalist Grecian style dress as I got married in Crete and hate the idea of a huge poofy dress. Oh, and I hate strapless dresses on me as I get labia-style underarms when I wear those even though I'm slim! Ha.

Go for it. I too had a crystal bouquet and blingy shoes (although I ditched those and wore flip flops!)

Less is more!

I still think this was easily the most beautiful of any of the royal wedding dresses - simple but so elegant :
www.google.co.uk/search?q=sarah+chatto+wedding&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#imgrc=qo8-3UQ1FlfHMM:

I went to a lovely wedding where the bride was wearing one and to be honest she did look a little too plain against the beautiful surroundings. The dress itself was gorgeous but in situ it just didn't look quite right.

Those dresses are very pretty though and it's your wedding so wear what you want.

I love this style but it really depends on you and your personality. Do you dress minimalist now so would like to stay the same - or is there something niggling that for one day you would like to feel like a princess and have something fancier?
As said before - go and try lots of styles but then sleep on any decision youIghtfield make to see if it still feels right a week later...

I felt like a princess in my minimalist wedding dress

Just classic elegance like Princess Charlene rather than frou frou Princess Grace

It really does depend on what you feel is your style and what you feel amazing in

If you like full skirts and a bit of bling - go for it!

I would have looked and felt absolutely ridiculous in something like that. It's just not me.

I would agree with PP that depending on the fabric, they may not be terribly forgiving however. I couldn't even wear anything other than completely seamless spanx as normal spanx ruined the line. You can still go for some classic minimalism, just choose your fabric carefully

If you're thinking about any kind of control underwear recommend taking a pair of spanx with you when you try them on so you can get a sense of the line

“I think you might regret it.”

Why? Just because you don’t like it. I really dislike blingy wedding dresses that shout “look at me”. As the bride you are centre of attention anyway. I love understated elegance. It is very classy IMO. Not everyone wants or suits the My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding look.

“I would prefer something that stands out, that I could look back on in photos and show my grandchildren to show them what a special day it was”

But it is so classy, beautiful and elegant it would stand out.

I dislike the ubiquitous strapless dresses. They don’t flatter most women.

At the end of the day the bride should feel comfortable and confident in her dress, and if OTT bling is not her style she isn’t going to feel confident.

I dislike the ubiquitous strapless dresses. They don’t flatter most women.

^^ this. I've rarely seen one that flatters. If you're even in the slightest bit booby, you get labia armpit muffin top

If you're in the slightest bit non booby like me, you get a shelf with a gaping bit where the boobs are supposed to fill out the top bit

See this on the oscar red carpet when even Hollywood 'slebs struggle with strapless in couture gowns

But. It's about how you feel. If you feel like a million dollars in a strapless dress then who cares about a bit of podge or gaping?

Look at the beautiful minimalist wedding dress of princess mette marit of Norway

And as pp said, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy

Banana is that you with the pink hair?! If so I love love love your wedding look. As you say you look like you, not a generic 'bride'.

If it's a model, she looks nice too!

four yep that's me :) I changed into pink wedding trainers for the evening do! Thank you so much xx

I think they are lovely but just be prepared that once you get one of them on you might discover you don't like it on you and end up getting something completely different! I thought I wanted lace but when I got the lace dresses on they just didn't suit me at all and I ended up getting something plainer. Apparently that happens all the time!

I think this is of a similar era to Carolyn Bessette (who was, like other posters, the first person I thought of when I saw the words minimalist wedding dress).

I think this still looks great.

Minimalist is gorgeous & doesn't detract from the bride, see how you feel in one OP, I think they are stunning on the right person.