Are you a bride thinking about wearing a long sleeve wedding dress? Maybe you are getting married in the winter or in a cooler climate and want to make sure you can stay warm on wedding day. Or maybe you are just a more modest bride and want a bit of coverage on wedding day with a wedding dress with sleeves that covers your arms.
If you are a shopping for a wedding dress with long sleeves, you are in the right place as we are sharing all our expert bridal fashion advice when it comes to wedding dresses with sleeves. We’re sharing everything brides need to think about when shopping for and purchasing a bridal dress with long sleeves and even things to consider when wearing a wedding dress with sleeves on wedding day.
For more bridal fashion advice, be sure to get our advice on the truth about strapless wedding dresses, tips for brides thinking about a backless wedding dress, and the best wedding dress styles fo brides with a small chest.
Video: The Truth About Long Sleeve Wedding Dresses
if you are a bride who is thinking about wearing a long sleeve bridal gown on wedding day, you won't want to miss our advice video where we share the truth about long sleeve wedding dresses, including our expert tips on all the things you need to consider and logistics to think about when it comes to wearing a wedding dress with sleeves.
Covering Your Arms
We have had a number of brides lately coming to our bridal store in LA requesting to only try on long sleeve wedding dresses. This might seem a little unusual for California’s warm climate and in many cases, the brides are making this request because they want to cover up their arms. It has less to do with wanting that specific style of wedding dress and more about being self-conscious about their arms on wedding day. A bride’s arms is one of the top things they are self conscious about on wedding day and they think sleeves will help them feel a bit more confident. Of course there are certainly brides that just like a long sleeve dress style or are shopping for a destination wedding in a cooler climate and want more coverage, but the majority of these cases end up being about wanting to feel more confident on wedding day by covering their arms.
Many wedding dress designers do have long sleeve bridal gowns in their collections so you will surely find a bridal dress with sleeves that you love, but there are some things to consider when trying on long sleeve dresses. Certain long sleeve wedding dresses can actually create a larger appearance of your arms rather than minimizing it. The more fabric that you wear can actually call more attention to that area you are trying to cover and give you the opposite effect that you are going for. This will not be the case for every long sleeve wedding dress, so be sure to try on many different styles of dresses when you are out shopping. You want to wear the dress that makes you feel the most confident and beautiful on wedding day. If that is a long sleeve dress, that’s great. But maybe you will actually love an off the shoulders gown or a strapless dress. You never know until you put the dress on and see what feels best to you.
Feeling Hot
The next most common question brides ask when considering a long sleeve wedding dress is if they will feel too hot on wedding day when wearing a dress with sleeves. The truth is that you are likely going to feel warm on wedding day no matter what you wear and no matter where your wedding is located. You will be excited and there will be energy buzzing all around you. You are going to be moving around a lot on wedding day, taking photos, dancing the night away, so no matter if you have a sleeve or not on your wedding dress, you will likely feel warm throughout the day. It’s certainly something to consider if you are thinking of wearing a long sleeve wedding dress, but it shouldn’t be the make or break in your decision making if you like the look and feel of a wedding dress with sleeves.
Mobility Considerations
When thinking of wearing a long sleeve wedding dress, there is another important factor to keep in mind other than your temperature and that is body mobility. The range of motion you have with your arms is going to vary from each long sleeve wedding dress but in most cases, you will only be able to raise your arm to about shoulder height. If you have a wedding dress with a more open back, you might have a bit more room to move as the dress will stretch a bit more than one with a full back and zipper up the back.
You might be fine with not being able to raise your arms totally over your head, you just have to decide how you feel with the limited mobility. You might not be able to hug your guests as comfortably as in another dress style or fully rock all your dance moves. It will all come down to your style and personality and what you are comfortable with in terms of movement.
If you are set on a long sleeve wedding dress, you can always plan on purchasing a reception bridal dress and have a second dress ready to change into for you to dance the night away in. You can also consider a wedding dress with removable sleeves so you can have your sleeves for the ceremony and then take them off for the wedding reception. This style of sleeve will also offer more mobility if they are separate from the dress.
More Helpful Bridal Fashion Advice
We hope you have found this advice helpful for any brides considering wearing a long sleeves wedding dress. For even more helpful advice when it comes to shopping for your dream wedding dress and finding your bridal style, be sure to check out our past posts:
- How To Determine What Style Wedding Dress You Want
- How To Overcome Being Self Conscious Of Arms & Stomach For Wedding Day
- What To Wear With A Wedding Dress To Keep Warm On Wedding Day
- What Style Wedding Dress Should You Wear If You're Insecure About Your Arms
- How To Overcome The Most Common Bridal Insecurities
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
