To re-wear my wedding dress?

[Traceability]

I need to know the general consensus and popular opinion. After a destination wedding with just family I am having a wedding reception at home. They know we have already had our wedding - this is just a party and won't include cake cutting/first dance etc. There will be photo booth, buffet and DJ etc.

Am I being unreasonable to think I don't need to wear my wedding dress? It is lovely - but I feel too formal in it (and that's the reason I didn't want a big wedding!).

You are being unreasonable: People expect to see you in the dress, you don't need to feel self-conscious or too formal.

You are not being unreasonable: People won't expect to see the dress/won't care.

Depends on the type of wedding dress. If with wide skirt maybe not if simple and elegant definitely

Wear what you want- it's your party!

Agreed!

I have been to two wedding receptions where they got married elsewhere and had the reception at a later date and both times the brides wore their dresses at the beginning of the night and then changed into something more comfortable later on.

Shouldn't matter at all what people "expect" in either of your voting options. Wear it if you want it, don't wear it if you don't. Others will have to cope.

No, wear what you want! If people want to see you in the dress they can look at the photos. Wear what makes you comfortable and will help you have a great party that's memorable for the right reasons.

I’d not necessarily wear my wedding dress, but I probably would wear a less formal white/bridal dress, like Meghan did when she married Harry. You’re still the bride, and it is your party.

Something like this would be lovely

www.ohpolly.com/products/isadora-a-line-midi-dress-ivory?currency=GBP&variant=41923895722193&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=64257c5b20b8&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADcAMd2uIYRZtNycU_nQydY9TKXSH&gclid=CjwKCAjw5qC2BhB8EiwAvqa41hI5Ft-Epw_nV_9nwCqaHyyTLM-wwEnO1Jg04HZ3ZxXT6SCWSObw_RoCKSoQAvD_BwE

Sounds like an excellent excuse to go and buy a less formal dress to me 😁

The ones I have been to wore their dresses as people didn't all go to the destination wedding and would have missed out. Personal choice though

Every one I've been to has worn their dress. You might have already done it but your guests haven't. But totally do it how you want if you don't want to wear the dress.

Hmm, interesting. Thank you for the input - I wanted to see what people's experiences were. It's easy to say do what you want but I do suffer from social anxiety which makes me feel worried about what people think - even if those thoughts are unreasonable. So I would prefer to go with what people expect so I don't feel 'out of place' so to speak.

But, I like the idea of maybe wearing it for 30 mins-one hour and then changing into something more comfortable/easier to move in (I feel more myself in a mini dress!). I am thinking of getting the train removed though, as I feel silly in a big train (during the ceremony it was lovely though)!

Thanks all, super helpful so far!

If you worry what people think then definitely wear the dress...People will be expecting to see you in it.

If it was me I’d want to dress up and show off my dress. And if I was attending I’d be a little disappointed if the bride didn’t show off her dress
to her friends BUT you must wear what you want. No
one is going to care that much.
I would see this party as a second wedding and make an effort if it was me. But it’s not!

As you can see by most of the comments, people going to a wedding would expect to see the bride in a wedding dress. It doesn't mean the bride should wear it if she doesn't want to. But breaking news...its really normal to wear a wedding dress as a bride at the wedding (albeit an evening bash).

Totally get the social anxiety but the best way to deal with anxiety is graded exposure i.e. doing things you feel anxious about in small amounts until you no longer feel anxious about them. So maybe this is not the right event to get started with but I would say, don't wear a dress that people might expect and see than the world isn't going to end if you don't. This will do more for your anxiety in a long term than feeding it by doing what you think others may expect.
Personally, I've been to weddings where people dressed up and to weddings where the bride wore black mini dress and everything in-between and not once I though anything about it because I was there to celebrate their marriage even if they showed up in jeans and t-shirts.

I’d wear it to start with, so everyone sees it. Then change later in the evening.

The party we went to for those unable to attend a wedding due to Covid the whole bridal party wore the outfits they'd worn on the day of the wedding. I hadn't expected it and thought it was a lovely touch

This. Nice to see the dress, nice to have the bride be comfortable.

This

You do you!!