jinder's Dresses 2: Duggar Wedding Gowns

[ifosterkittens]

@Tenyarithank you! I enjoyed reading your analysis of the wedding dresses! 

@metheglynthank you for the side-by-side pictures! 

[AussieKrissy]

3 hours ago, Tenyari said:

I think for me it would have to be Jana's dress, with Hannah following close second!

and Laurens third for me 

[EmiSue]

I'm biased because even though I got married in 2006, my dress was fairly similar to Jana's--plain satin, off-the-shoulder, A-line. I would 100% still choose my dress today because it wasn't trendy, it was what fit my body and gave me the look I wanted. Jana got the same thing. I'm not going to rank them all, but Jana's was my fave, followed by Abbie, Jinger, Kendra, and Lauren.

[DalmatianCat]

I always like re-visiting the dresses as time and styles change. 

Bouquets-wise I remember that (thankfully) brief tend of HUGE bouquets that covered most of the dress and feel bad that two of tiniest brides (Kendra and Lauren) got stuck carrying a whole bush down the aisle instead of something daintier. Ditto for Josie Balka.

The only one I wish the could have a do-over (I do think Jill, Jessa, and Jinger are still over-all pleased with their wedding looks even if they’d choose something different now) is Joy. Her’s was just so, so, meh, mid, blah, and not her. I think something off the shoulder, cinched waist, or straps and V-neck would have suited her much better (and after seeing what she wore to Jana’s wedding, would most likely be open to it now).

 

 

[Kiki03910]

Disclaimer that I don't give a shit about wedding dresses personally...

I liked Jessa's dress best because it was so not fussy. Simple; lovely color. Jill's dress was shockingly bad. Given her societally preferred body type (tall, slim) I thought her dress managed to be terribly unflattering. Abbie's was okay. Jinger's seemed to reflect Jeremy's fantasy of a royal wedding.  Generally I dislike them all, though, other than Jessa's.

[Tenyari]

9 hours ago, DalmatianCat said:

I always like re-visiting the dresses as time and styles change. 

Bouquets-wise I remember that (thankfully) brief tend of HUGE bouquets that covered most of the dress and feel bad that two of tiniest brides (Kendra and Lauren) got stuck carrying a whole bush down the aisle instead of something daintier. Ditto for Josie Balka.

 

Unpop opinion but I quite liked Josie's huge bouquet. I thought her choices worked well together. Hers was the only one out of the huge flower arrangements that I wouldn't change or shrink.

 

Spoiler

 

[DalmatianCat]

Her dress looks nice in all the pictures where she’s twirling and the dress is “in motion” but whenever she’s stationary and (from all the candids from the wedding) it just looked too long and limp like it was hanging on her and weighing her down. I think she had a vision she was going for, but either couldn’t figure it out, or just didn’t like how it turned out. She rarely re-posts pictures from her wedding on anniversaries like some couples do and always uses more flattering pictures taken after they were married. On her two year anniversary she posted this one and I think it’s the look she wished she’d ended up with.

Edited Friday at 05:05 PM by DalmatianCat
Trying to add image…

[Tenyari]

I agree, and there was something off about the dress around the neckline, too.

I was talking more about the flowers, I loved those!

Katie actually had my favorite wedding look of all the Bateses and a dress to die for.

Spoiler

Another surprisingly classy wedding to me. Her and Jana are neck and neck to me. I really love the simplistic, satin or satin-like (is it organza?) look.

Same with Esther. Another personal fave. A fairtyale princess kind of look.

Spoiler

I remember that people didn't really like the crown at the time, but I personally liked it. It was very camp, but also very princessy to me. 

 

Remembering the modesty alterations on dresses of early Bates brides, we've come a long way.

Spoiler

How gorgeous is Michael here, though? Here's wasn't the worst, but Erin basically wore a t-shirt underneath her wedding dress.

It's really performative modesty if anything, you can easily find a prettier, already modest dress without going out of your way to 'fix' the one you choose, to prove how modest you are.

Alyssa's sleeves were slightly better, but you could still tell.

 

I was pleasantly surprised when Tori went with this look as compared to everyone else.

And is adding sleeves on top better than underneath? Whitney is trying to find out.

Her vow renewal look was way better.

 

Okay since I'm doing everyone, Tiffany's look I quite liked, even though it's not really my taste, I think it was fun and a bold choice for the mild her, so I give it a thumbs up.

 

Lydia had a gorgeous wedding look in style I wouldn't go for, but that she pulls off. It also photographed really well.

 

Carlin was really cute in my opinion, her choices were something 20 year old me would choose, too.

 

I forgot about Emerson but she looked like a medieval princess in a good way, too.

Very classy, very demure.

 

[Kiki03910]

Lydia's dress certainly put the "butt" in "buttons". Carlin one-upped poor Josie.

[DalmatianCat]

Katie Bates definitely is my fav of the Bates girls and has a classic, timeless look that stands the rest of time. It looked perfect on her, but it also wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 1950s or 1990s.

I have theory that nothing dates a wedding dress as much as excessive lace or bling embellishments and sleeves. Keeping either of those toned down helps a dress look more timeless. For example, I think most bridal style from the 60s-80s was a huge miss, but Tricia Nixon’s wedding dress has always stood out to me as a rare exception from that era. The silhouette, the neckline, the lack of sleeves but not strapless. It was elegant and lovely and doesn’t scream 60s/70s. She got married in 1971 and it still looks like a dress I wouldn’t mind wearing today and is absolutely gorgeous.

[AprilQuilt]

On 9/13/2024 at 1:31 AM, DalmatianCat said:

The only one I wish the could have a do-over (I do think Jill, Jessa, and Jinger are still over-all pleased with their wedding looks even if they’d choose something different now) is Joy. Her’s was just so, so, meh, mid, blah, and not her. I think something off the shoulder, cinched waist, or straps and V-neck would have suited her much better (and after seeing what she wore to Jana’s wedding, would most likely be open to it now).

I agree. It was excruciating watching Joy do her wedding shopping. For the cake as well as the dresses iirc - she was so indecisive and checked out, I think none of it was her at all and she felt overwhelmed and under a lot of pressure to present some 'look' that she didn't understand or care about. It doesn't strike me that she was ever one of those girls who daydreamed about her wedding, let alone the dress. The poor girl was just lost in it all.

I'm glad the marriage seems to suit her personality, even if the wedding didn't. Wish she hadn't been put in that position though, she was so young and had so little say in it all. Were she to have a do-over now, I feel she'd be far more confident in choosing what she wanted and also in saying no thanks to all the things that don't matter to her.