When There Are Two Brides – Options for Lesbian Bridal Attire

Traditional wisdom states that every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in a dress fit for the most over the top Disney princess. Reality, however, is a bit different. When young girls and women think about their wedding day, their dreams and visions for that day are as unique as the people themselves. Some women see themselves in a traditional gown and veil, others look forward to the perfect tailored suit and still others envision themselves in flowing dresses or outfits inspired by everything from classic literature to Bollywood.

Planning a wedding is, of course, about bringing two people – and their ideas – together. So when a lesbian couple prepares to walk down the aisle, each wants to shine as a beautiful bride without stealing the spotlight and while still complimenting their soon-to-be wife. In fact, finding women’s fashions outside the traditional dress style can be a challenge in and of itself. But as marriage equality becomes more and more mainstream, the fashion options for lesbians are beginning to evolve.

The Connection Between Traditional and Lesbian Bridal Attire – A New Take on the Traditional Dream Wedding

Many couples still opt for a traditional arrangement of one person in a suit and the other in a dress. This is a classic formula, easily updated and modernized for a contemporary couple. The dress and tuxedo combination can complement one another with colors of the dress incorporated into the suit or they can simply be a matched set, designed to add to the artistic flow of the wedding party.

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The Double Dress

The traditional white gown and veil may be a bit of a cliché, but clichés become clichés for a reason. The fact is lots of women dream about their dress and look forward to the day they look every bit the part of a fairy tale princess. If you and your fiancé both want to be the princess walking down the aisle, a matching wedding dress set might be the perfect solution. The dresses needn’t be mirror images of each other, but when they are close it gives uniformity and flow to the aesthetics of the ceremony.

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Complimentary Dresses

If you want to wear dresses but don’t want to look alike, gowns in complimentary colors can create a striking and beautiful image when placed side by side. This is also a good option for couples who have a contrasting color theme for the rest of their wedding or who use two basic colors, red and blue for example, and then tie it to the color they make, purple, as a compliment to the rest of their color scheme.

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Tux Redux

For women who prefer a more masculine look, the tuxedo is the ultimate wedding attire option. Traditionally, tuxedos haven’t been a good match for lesbian couples since they’re tailored with a man’s angular body in mind and so a woman’s hips, waist and cleavage would either stretch the material or make everything else look too big. Either way, for years it simply wasn’t a good look. Today, more and more designers are meeting the needs of lesbian couples with suits and tuxedos that are tailored for a woman’s body and her personal taste.

Tuxedos for women rely on the same classic lines as tuxedos of the past but they add softer colors, shorter jackets, fitted waists and more options in terms of color for shirts, cummerbunds, tie and lapel handkerchief. Lesbian couples can wear matching suits or tuxedos which would include matching down to the accent colors or wearing the same basic suit with different accent pieces.

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Play It Cool

Another option for couples who want a suit look is to wear a casual version of the classic suit. That doesn’t mean coming in with a tuxedo t-shirt but, instead, using classic pieces like starched shirts and suspenders to create a look based on the iconic looks made popular in the 1930s and 40s. This type of casual looks perfectly at home in a wedding setting and can make dressing up a bit easier for couples who aren’t your typical ‘black tie’ types.

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Out, Proud and Service Bound

For women who have served in the armed forces, wearing a military uniform is another option. Your wife can either wear her own unform if she’s also military personnel or she can wear a simple dress or suit that compliments the color in your uniform. This choice allows couples to celebrate not only their love but also the service they and other LGBT members of the community are finally able to acknowledge publicly.

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Two Become One

Finally, there are the options that have spread throughout the wedding world – couples who bring their own look to the ceremony as a way of showing two people – unique styles and all – being joined together beautifully. This particular trend has proven especially popular with couples where each person has a strong personality and where finding a middle ground fashion-wise is unlikely. Instead of each person opting to get neutral, their individual styles are celebrated and, as they stand next to their partner, it shows that two can become one without losing herself and that each person in a couple can march to the beat of their own drummer while still keeping rhythm with one another.

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After the Big Day

Choosing your wedding outfit may seem like a huge part of your Special Day, but many brides find that choosing their lesbian wedding ring set to be the real stumper.  As with any other part of fashion, every woman has her own individual taste when it comes to her jewelry.   So take a cue from your wedding attire negotiations and choose a matched wedding ring set for LGBT couples or create your own combination with LGBT inspired jewelry.