designer wedding dresses

Being 24, I am in the season of life where it seems that everyone I know is either engaged or married and I’m seeing a constant stream of wedding pictures splashed across every social media site. I’m inundated with women in white dresses everywhere I look. I’ve also been in a relationship for close to 7 years now, so it’s easy to see why I sometimes veer off into dreaming about what dress I would like to wear to my own wedding someday.

As I spoke about in a previous article, I used to work at a bridal-centric tech company, so I felt overwhelmed by photos of traditional wedding dresses day in and day out, making me averse to the prospect of wearing one to my own nuptials. As an alternative, I would rather don a fun, white dress from one of my favorite designers. After all, if I’m spending so much on one dress anyways, it might as well be from a brand I’ve always dreamed of wearing.

Check out my dream wedding dresses below along with a few of my favorite bridal-esque looks from each:

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen is one of my all time favorite designers and even though the brand isn’t what it used to be since his death, it still has a dreamy, otherworldly quality that makes each piece look like a work of art. Becoming a McQueen bride would be a dream come true and would make my big day all the more special.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2020

Cecilie Bahnsen

I just recently discovered Cecilie Bahnsen and continue to fall in love with her collections each season. Her playful, gauzy creations are a delight to the eye and would flounce so beautifully as you walk down the aisle. What better time to wear something whimsical than on your wedding day? Also, the cropped length of most of her dresses is unconventional while being the perfect way to show off your shoes, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Cecilie Bahnsen Spring 2020

dream wedding dress designer cecilie bahnsen fashion white skirt with ruffles

Cecilie Bahnsen Pre-Fall 2020

Cecilie Bahnsen Fall 2019

Molly Goddard

Okay, okay, so I know two of the dresses I included here aren’t white and while more and more people are choosing to eschew the white tradition, I still want to partake. The thing I love about Molly Goddard’s designs is the absolutely ridiculous amount of tulle she uses for each dress. You wouldn’t usually get to wear that much tulle in an everyday situation, which is why I think it’s the perfect alternative to a traditional wedding dress. I also absolutely love the white dress I’ve included so much that I have fruitlessly searched for someone selling it online countless times, so if you have the hookup, please let me know!

Molly Goddard Fall 2019

Molly Goddard Spring 2018

Molly Goddard Spring 2020

Ryan Lo

Oh, to live in the world of Ryan Lo would be a literal fantasy! I’ve been following Lo since before they started posting his collections on Vogue and have been in awe of his fantastical creations each and every season. Everything looks so delicate, feminine and soft, the perfect combination of traits to make a wholly memorable wedding ensemble. I would wear any of the dresses I included to my wedding in a heartbeat, and will definitely consider Lo as a strong contender when I start seriously searching for my dream dress.

Ryan Lo Fall 2019

dream wedding ryan lo frilly white sheer dress fashion style

Ryan Lo Fall 2018

dream wedding ryan lo spring 2019 sheer white dress with florals fashion runway style

Ryan Lo Spring 2018

Vivetta

While Vivetta doesn’t really make too many dresses that could be considered bridal-esque, I still wanted to include her on this list because each and every one of her collections is so damn fun. Every season, there’s a new quirky, whimsical twist on classic pieces that never fails to captivate me, and I’m sure would captivate others as you walk down the aisle.

Vivetta Fall 2018

Vivetta Resort 2020

Vivetta Spring 2019

I don’t judge others who choose to wear traditional dresses on their wedding days. It’s your day, so you should wear whatever makes you happiest! What are some of your dream bridal designers or styles of dress?

I think every woman must have, at some point during her life, imagined what her wedding might be like someday- a magical ceremony where, dressed in a luscious, gleaming white gown, you march down the aisle toward your forever-sweetie, who eagerly awaits to receive you, tears streaming down their face. This is your stereotypical vision of a wedding, and according to pretty much every facet of western pop culture, your wedding day is supposed to be one of the most blissful, special days of your entire life, which means people pour A TON of money into each little aspect of it- including the dress. I’m talking thousands of dollars here, just tossed at the nearest bridal boutique for a dress that will be worn exactly once (and maybe more if you have a daughter someday and they happen to want to wear your dress on their wedding day).

I used to have a very particular vision for how I wanted my wedding dress to look, which was something out of a fantasy- a ball gown of epic proportions that would make Cinderella swoon at the site of the dramatic, sweeping skirt. I imagined myself all wrapped up in a veil, carrying my flowers in front of me like a corpse in a coffin, all stiff-armed and painfully formal. And I might have been content with that, if I didn’t end up working in the bridal industry, working with bridal collections and staring at bridal dresses from different designers day in and day out- it’s ruined all of my bridal hopes and dreams.

Gucci white wedding dress fashion style bridal designer runway — I love the idea of wearing a unique, designer piece to my wedding (like this dazzling Gucci gown), rather than a traditional wedding dress that has no personality. Source.

All of this to say, if I have learned anything from my current position as an account manager at a company that creates websites that list products for bridal and prom retailers across the world, it’s that all wedding dresses look the same. I’ve become absolutely desensitized to all of the satin and tulle and lace and Mikado silk and beaded embroidery and floral appliques and mermaid silhouettes and A-line skirts and bateau necklines and illusion backs and and and… it’s so tiring, yet equally amazing to me that these designers can all repeatedly create the same overused styles each season and still sell so freaking many! And for so much money- the average bride will spend between $1,300 and $2,00 on the dress for her big day.

Here’s the deal- I made a decision after a straight year of basically injecting all things wedding dress straight into my veins on a daily basis, that for my wedding, I would avoid “wedding” dresses altogether. It just seems to me that since our culture has constructed this narrative around ~being a bride~, women are willing to shovel their cash into buying something just because it has the “wedding” label attached and they get to experience their own As-Seen-On-TV “Yes Moment.” Well, I’m not going to buy into it. Instead, since wedding dresses are so expensive anyways, I decided I’m going to indulge in my love of fashion and just buy a white dress from a designer I love. That way, instead of looking exactly like every other bride out there wearing a dress sanctioned by the bridal industry and marked up to match this arbitrary distinction, I’ll be wearing a unique, designer piece that allows me to show more of my personality. After all, isn’t that what your wedding should be about? Celebrating yourself and your partner and all of the things that made you fall in love with one another in the first place. No “wedding” dress required.

I briefly looked through a few of my favorite sites that carry luxury designer labels and chose my favorite white dresses that I think would work beautifully for any wedding (trust me, I’m an expert!). Check out my picks below: