Photo Cred: Ivory Lane Media
Temple wedding dresses and traditional wedding dresses can share many of the same trends, fabrics, and silhouettes. The biggest difference is typically coverage and how that coverage is incorporated into the design.
For LDS brides, that might mean choosing a gown already designed with modesty in mind, customizing a traditional wedding dress, or wearing a separate temple dress for the sealing. There isn’t one right approach, and there isn’t one definition of what a modest wedding dress has to look like.
What Is a Temple Wedding Dress?
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A temple wedding dress generally refers to a gown intended to meet the requirements for a temple ceremony. Depending on the bride and her wedding plans, this may be a dedicated temple dress or her main wedding gown.
Temple bridal gowns often incorporate more coverage into the original design through elements like long sleeves, higher necklines, lined bodices, and covered backs. However, brides planning to wear their wedding gown during their sealing should always confirm the current requirements that apply to their temple ceremony.
How Are Traditional Wedding Dresses Different?
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Traditional wedding dresses cover a much broader range of bridal designs. Strapless and sleeveless bodices, plunging necklines, low or open backs, sheer details, and illusion panels are all common, along with more covered styles.
The difference isn't necessarily the overall aesthetic. A traditional and modest wedding dress could both feature a basque waist, dramatic train, floral lace, satin ball gown skirt, or fitted silhouette.
Instead, it's often about how much coverage is included in the original construction of the gown.
Do Temple Wedding Dresses Have to Have Sleeves?
Not every modest or LDS wedding dress looks the same, and sleeve styles continue to evolve.
Long and short lace sleeves, fitted satin sleeves, detachable options, and other designs give brides plenty of ways to incorporate sleeves into their bridal look. Newer tank-style garment options have also expanded the types of sleeveless and wider-strap designs some Latter-day Saint brides may consider.
Modesty is personal, so the level of coverage one bride wants for her wedding gown may look different from another's.
Do Temple and Traditional Wedding Dresses Use Different Fabrics or Silhouettes?
Not necessarily. Many of the same fabrics and silhouettes appear across both.
A temple bridal gown can be a clean satin ball gown, romantic lace A-line, fitted crepe dress, or a more structured design. Modern details like basque waists, square necklines, dimensional lace, covered buttons, and statement trains aren't exclusive to one type of bridal gown.
Choosing a modest wedding dress doesn't mean choosing a specific bridal aesthetic. It simply means finding those design elements with the coverage you want.
Can You Make a Traditional Wedding Dress More Modest?
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Photo Cred: Ivory Lane Media
Depending on the gown, yes. A traditional wedding dress may be customized through alterations such as adding sleeves, raising a neckline, lining sheer areas, or adding coverage to the back or bodice.
A bridal topper or other detachable element can also provide additional coverage without completely changing the original gown.
However, extensive changes can affect the gown's design, cost, and alterations timeline. Brides who already know they want modest coverage may find it helpful to compare altered traditional gowns with dresses designed to be modest from the beginning.
Is It Better to Buy an Already-Modest Wedding Dress?
Neither option is better for every bride. It depends on your priorities and wedding plans.
If you love a traditional gown and the changes you want are realistic, customization may give you exactly the look you've envisioned. But if modesty is already an important part of your bridal style, starting with an intentionally modest gown can eliminate some of the guesswork.
Details like the neckline, sleeves, bodice, back, and lace placement are already designed to work together. Instead of using alterations to create your desired coverage, you can focus on fit and the personal details that make the gown yours.
Does Your Wedding Dress Have to Be Temple Ready?
Not necessarily. Some LDS brides wear a separate dress for their temple sealing and change into their main wedding gown afterward for their reveal, portraits, reception, and other celebrations.
Other brides prefer a temple-ready wedding dress they can wear throughout their wedding day. Both approaches allow brides to choose what works best for their plans and personal style.
If you plan to wear your wedding gown during your sealing, confirm current temple requirements before making your final dress decision.
Where Can You Shop for Modest Wedding Dresses in Utah?
At Moments Made Bridal, we specialize in Utah modest bridal and wedding dresses designed with modesty in mind from the beginning. That means elements like sleeves, necklines, bodices, and backs feel like intentional parts of the gown rather than additions made later.
Our brides can explore different silhouettes, fabrics, levels of coverage, and modern bridal trends while finding an LDS wedding dress that reflects their personal style and wedding plans.
Temple-ready, intentionally modest, customized, or somewhere in between, your wedding dress doesn’t have to fit into one definition. It just has to fit your wedding plans, your personal style, and most importantly, you.