Keeping your Wedding Dress a Secret

There are so many ways to go about sharing wedding details with friends and family. I think its really special to keep some things as a surprise for your guests. We had a small destination wedding in Italy, so we wanted things to be intimate and for some things to be a surprise for those in attendance. We had a lot of little things such as stocked welcome bags, handwritten notes as place cards for each guest, and four days of fun activities planned. The biggest surprise? My wedding dress.

I previously shared my tips for choosing whether or not to do a first look and ultimately, that we didn’t do one. My now husband didn’t see my dress until I walked down the aisle. He wasn’t the only one surprised though! Because we were having a small wedding, I didn’t want most of our guests to have seen my wedding dress beforehand. Even if we had a bigger wedding, I think I would have kept my dress a secret. The only people who saw it beforehand were my mom, his mom, and his sister. My mom saw it in person on me, but I didn’t actually get it when I went wedding  dress shopping with everyone, so his mom and sister only saw it in photos beforehand.

I chose not to have bridesmaids, but I still had my girlfriends there to get ready with me before I walked down the aisle. I wanted to ensure they all still felt special, so I did a first look with all my girlfriends. My family helped me into my dress and then I hid behind a little wall in my room where I got ready. My girlfriends all lined up with their backs to the center of the room and then I walked out and on the count of three, they all turned and got their first looks at me in my dress. This was such a fun, special moment and I loved seeing all of their reactions! It seemed to help add to the excitement of the day and was such a fun way to keep things a surprise!

After they saw me in my dress, we all took photos, toasted a glass of champagne, and then they were seated before I walked down the aisle. If you want to keep a little mystery for your wedding day and find a way to keep things special for a time just between you and family, consider doing a ‘first look’ with your girlfriends. I absolutely love that I have the memories of this moment and the photos of it. It was also so fun to hear from all my friends on what they envisioned my dress would look like and what they were surprised by!

I should be getting the rest of our wedding photos back ANY day now and cannot wait to share them with you all! My husband and I can’t wait to see them! I have more wedding posts coming your way on Wednesdays through the end of the year, but be sure to comment or reach out if there is anything specific you all would like me to cover!! XO

Photos: Stephanie Parsley Photography. Dress: Pronovias via Bridal Boutique of Lewisville.