Real-Life Wedding Dresses For Older Brides, Second Weddings
For some of my readers, love is lovelier the second time around, and so is their choice of wedding dress! If you are about to become a second-time bride (or first-time mature bride), or you just enjoy looking at romantic wedding photos (LOL!), then have a peek at these pictures my readers sent in.
Here are real-life wedding dresses for second-time brides over 40. Get your Kleenex out!
Sweet Second Wedding in Sonoma, CA
Exactly two years to the day after they first met, Jessica and John were married in the backyard of John’s sister in sunny Sonoma County, California. After visiting 3 or 4 stores, Jessica finally found the dress that stole her heart as John did. She was searching for a simple dress so that the focus could be on the bride and groom, not the dress. Her last stop was a boutique that focuses on vintage-inspired fashion for all occasions, not necessarily wedding dresses. Upon seeing this dress, she immediately knew it was the one.
About seven months later, Jessica and John were asked to do a photo shoot for a photographer friend when this stunning photo was taken. Talk about Hollywood glam. Lights! Camera! Action! This photo is gorgeous and a unique memento of their love and wedding. What a stunning photo!
Coastal California Celebration
Columba and Paul were married on March 21, 2020, as the world shut down due to COVID. They originally had planned a fancy wedding, which was transformed into an intimate, romantic gathering in a garden overlooking the ocean on California’s central coast. It was different from what they originally envisioned, but Columba told me that it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Columba bought her dress at Nordstrom, where she was shopping with her close friend and matron of honor, who was the one to spot the dress first. Columba loved the way the dress looked, and it fit perfectly. It was the first one she tried, and it just checked all the boxes for a second wedding. Flattering, serious, elaborate enough to look unique but not flashy.
Paul lost his first wife eight years prior due to cancer, and Columba had been a single mom of three for 20 years. They have eight grown children and two grandkids so far between the two of them. With their spouses, that’s 14! Columba and Paul recently celebrated their second anniversary, proving that dreams come true! Beautiful couple!
Shakira and her husband Rick were both previously married. Shakira was a relatively new single mom of two kids, running her own business with no time to date or anything else! Rick was a newly single dad of two kids, and their four children were friends in the same sport! So you could say it was fate (and their kids) that brought them together!
Their wedding took place on a cliff overlooking the Pismo Beach area near their home in coastal central California, where they are lucky to be surrounded by so much beauty!
Shakira purchased her dress in the garment district in Los Angeles for an amazingly low $300! Talk about blessed! She initially considered a short dress, but after trying on this dress, it fit like a glove. She felt so confident in it and knew it was the one! Ironically, it was also the first dress she tried on. She asked the store to hold it as she continued her search in eight other stores. She tried on several silver dresses (because a friend said not to wear white since it was her second marriage).
But Shakira kept comparing every dress she tried on to the original dress she had put on hold. She called Rick for his opinion, and he told her to buy the dress that makes her feel good when she wears it and that it didn’t matter if she wore a paper bag. He knows she’ll look beautiful in anything. Her decision was made! She went back to buy the original dress. She also loved that it had a long slit that showed a flash of leg (which Shakira says is her best asset!). Gorgeous!
Amore in Italy
Petra Zeigler, 55, from Germany, got married in a symbolic ceremony in Puglia, Italy, on May 25, 2021. The wedding was initially planned for 2020, but the pandemic made the happy couple wait one year. Petra says it was a fairytale event with family. They had a sand unity ceremony and personal vows.
Petra chose a romantic, airy blush-colored dress with a train. She added sky blue accessories and colors of the beach and sea. Petra feels that every bride, regardless of age, should wear what she likes. She says you are never too old for love. She feels love is the best defense against aging! You’ve got that one right, Petra!
When Two Weddings and Two Weddings Dresses are Better than One
Imagine having two dresses? Debera Weidemann not only had two wedding dresses, but she also had two weddings. The first was on the beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and the second in Winnipeg, Canada, a few months later. This was her second marriage; she didn’t want a traditional dress but still wanted to look like a bride. When she slipped on this elegant wedding gown, she instantly knew it was the one. She loved the simple design and clean lines mixed with bling.
While in Jamacia, she also needed a second wedding dress that she could wear while standing in the ocean while she had her wedding photos taken. She also wore it to the evening dinner party afterward. All I have to say is Debera, that’s some wet suit!
Youthful, Sexy Bridal Gown
Alison and Chris lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and married outside on a beautiful fall afternoon. This was the second marriage for both, and they dated for six years. They wed in a civil ceremony at the county courthouse with a friend performing the service.
Alison bought her beautiful gown at a local bridal shop in her town. She admits she was self-conscious about wearing a full-length, ivory dress at her age, but after researching online and on Pinterest, she decided it was her day and would wear it.
As Alison says, “My youngest daughter was married two years before, and I wore a traditional full-length, gold sequined, mother-of-the-bride gown. It was gorgeous. However, this was my wedding, and I didn’t want to feel like the bride’s mother again. My husband is seven years younger than me, and I wanted to feel young, happy, and bridal.
I encourage anyone planning a wedding to dismiss any concern for rules that you can’t wear a wedding dress anymore. Mine was a halter front with light beading on the bodice and had a short train that a friend arranged gracefully for me. I felt sexier and more carefree that day than when I married 27 years ago!!”
The very next day, Alison turned 50! What a pretty bride you were, Alison!
Vintage Inspired Wedding Dress
When Anne was married for the second time, she had a 1930’s theme wedding. It was followed by an inexpensive afternoon reception in a church hall with tea-type food, champagne, and a band playing 30s and 40s music.
Anne wore this romantic dress, which she discovered while shopping at a “discount & used” bridal and formalwear shop. Funny enough, though it looks vintage, it was a brand new Maggie London dress and only cost her $125. She bought her delicate Adrienne Landau shawl on eBay.
Due to this dress’s flowy, body-skimming cut, Anne had to buy shapewear to make the dress look flawless, and flawless it was! Her unique vintage-inspired wedding dress made her wedding day special and memorable!
Talk about timeless beauty, Anne. I guess you could say your wedding was a blast from the past!
Magical Christmas Wedding Gown
Sally and Scott enjoyed a Christmas wedding this December at the beautiful Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Illinois. Sally found it challenging to find a dress for her age, 51- years- old, that didn’t look too young or too matronly. She also wanted something elegant for the magnificent venue she and Scott chose.
Sally’s sister found this dress for her, and she loved it. This gorgeous off-the-shoulder dress is subtly sexy and nicely balanced with the long sleeves.
This was the second marriage for the happy couple. Sally was married for almost 20 years, but her first husband passed away in a car accident. Her two daughters in their 20s and Scott’s three sons, just a bit older, were part of the wedding party. Sally says, “I feel truly blessed to have found love again! Scott is a wonderful man!”
Aww. It makes your heart melt!
Retro Style Glam For Second Marriage
It was also a second marriage for both Sherri and Steve, who have five boys between them. They were friends for 15 years when they finally tied the knot in May of 2017 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Sherri searched for a traditional wedding gown for quite a while. But when she didn’t find one that was indeed her, she changed directions and searched for vintage and retro dresses since she is a massive fan of this style.
As she was browsing a favorite retro clothing site, Pin-Up Girl, she spotted this beautiful ruched dress for only $149. Sherri ordered, thinking if nothing else, she could still wear it to another function, and when it finally arrived, she immediately knew that it was THE dress.
For a pop of color, Sherri paired her dress with these sexy, red suede Enzo Angiolini pumps, vintage 1930s-style drop earrings, and a matching bracelet. The beaded bag was her “something old,” formerly belonging to her grandmama.
And take a look at the bottom of her shoes! Beautiful and sweet touches for a perfect day. Sherri says she “felt like a million bucks.”
Sherri, you looked it too!
A Long Search for the Perfect Wedding Dress
For Cintia, finding “an appropriate wedding dress” was a journey. Friends told her, “wear what you want, it’s your day,” but as Cintia says, “the truth we all know that not everything is going to look good on a 57-year-old and because it was my day, I wanted to look good!”
Cintia visited big and famous bridal stores and even ordered a gown online that was a complete disaster! After an exhaustive search, she decided to look for a designer/dressmaker to custom make a dress but couldn’t find anyone as custom-made dresses are so rare nowadays.
She took a chance and went to a small local specialty boutique with some pictures of what she believed would look good on her. This sparked an idea with the shop owner, who gave Cintia this dress. Immediately Cintia knew it was perfect!
Here she is on her wedding day, looking stunning on her son’s arm, who escorted her to the Chuppah for her Jewish wedding ceremony.
Cintia, you look beautiful, and you are beaming!
Are you over 40 and recently married? What did you wear? I’d love to see more wedding dresses for second marriages over 40, and I’m sure my readers would. Please send a good-quality photo of yourself in your wedding dress, and you may be featured. Email: info@fabulousafter40.com.
NEED MORE IDEAS?
Do you have a wedding coming up? What are you planning to wear? If you need a little help deciding which mother of the bride dresses (or mother of the groom dresses) might be best for you, check out my bestselling book Tweak Your Chic – Mother of the Bride. It will tell you everything you need to know about one of the most important and cherished days of your life.
Best “over 40” bride/wedding dress article/examples out there!!!! And I’ve been combing the internet. So glad to see so many women hit the “beautiful, classy, happy (non-matronly!)” look perfectly.
I can only dream about getting married again since I lost my husband in 2013. I was browsing wedding dresses for older brides and found your site. It’s so wonderful to see happy, beautiful people my age tying the knot – in style! Thank you for this excellent page, dear Deborah!
p.s. You are gorgeous yourself :)
The brides all look lovely! What beautiful stories! Each dress is so perfect for the bride. I wish them all
much happiness.
Do you know where Sheree got her dress? It is beautiful!
Hi Heidi,
She got it from the Retro clothing site called Pinup Girl. I love the ruching!