Once you have found the perfect dress, you might find yourself wondering what to wear under your wedding dress. Or perhaps you’ll find yourself panicking at the last minute because you’ve overlooked lingerie and underwear in the excitement of choosing your wedding dress.
You don’t need to panic though. Although we advise considering what you’ll wear underneath before you’ve even chosen your dress, there’s no need to panic if you’re making the decision a little bit last minute. Our complete guide to what to wear under your wedding dress will explain the different options of underwear depending on your dress and your body shape.
3 Things To Consider When Choosing What To Wear Under Your Wedding Dress
When it comes to choosing what to wear under your wedding dress, there are 3 factors you should consider first and foremost.
- Comfort – you’ll be in your dress and anything underneath most, if not all of the day, so make sure whatever you choose to wear under your wedding dress is comfortable. You’ll be walking, sitting, dancing, and moving a lot so you want something that is comfortable for everything.
- Feel – it’s your special day and you’ll want to feel special too, so consider how your lingerie and clothes make you feel. Style is important, but so is substance! Choose something that will give you confidence and feel good.
- Function – as well as feeling and looking good, your underwear will also need to be practical. It can be hard enough doing things like going to the toilet in a wedding dress, so you want to avoid making it even more difficult with impractical lingerie.
What To Wear Under Different Types Of Wedding Dresses
What thinking about what to wear underneath, you’ll need to consider the shape and style of your dress, as that will largely limit what type of lingerie and underwear you can wear under your dress
Under A Strapless Dress
If your perfect wedding dress is strapless, you’ll need to consider what type of underwear will give you enough support and be practical while also being no-show under your dress. If you don’t have enough chest support you will find that you will be pulling up your dress all day.
So the main thing you’ll need to consider with a strapless dress is your choice of bra. Most strapless dresses will be made with some support but it may not be enough depending on your bra size. If you need extra support, consider a non-slip strapless bra that has underwire for extra support. Don’t forget you’ll probably be moving and dancing a lot and you’ll need to feel confident!
Another option you could choose is to wear a corset underneath your strapless wedding dress. These should give you chest support while also bringing in your waist, but it may not be comfortable enough to wear all day.
Under A Backless Dress
Backless wedding dresses are becoming more and more popular. They look sleek and elegant but can post problems when it comes to chest support. As the dresses are either completely backless or have a backless section, you’ll need to consider what type of bra to wear underneath your dress.
The most common things to wear under a backless wedding dress are adhesive bras and fashion tape. They are comfortable and should give you enough support to dance and move and relax on the big day.
But if you have a larger chest, you might need to consider wearing something else under your wedding dress. Adhesives don’t tend to offer enough support for larger boobs, which puts a lot of women off choosing a backless wedding dress. However, you could try having your dress customized with a built-in underwire or backless bodysuit. Just make sure that it will give you enough support to wear all day.
Under A Plunge Neck Dress
Plunging necklines present the opposite problem to a backless dress. With a plunge neck wedding dress, you’ll need to think carefully about what to wear underneath so that you have enough support while also being no show in the front.
Depending on how much of a plunging neck your dress has, you may still be able to wear a bra underneath. But it will need to be low cut so as not to show. You’ll need to try a good few different bras on to make sure you’re not going to worry about it showing on your big day.
If you have a deep plunge dress instead, you may not be able to wear a bra at all underneath. In this case, we advise you ask for cups to be sewn into your dress to offer some support. This is also the best thing to wear under your wedding dress if you have a plunge neck dress that is also backless. Using lots of fashion tape will also help too!
Under A Halter Dress
Choosing what to wear underneath a halter or a one-shoulder wedding dress present much of the same problems. A standard bra or a clear strap bra will show on your bare shoulders so you’ll need to think about what to wear underneath that will support you and not be on show.
A strapless bra is your first option. They will fit easily enough under your dress and shouldn’t show. Make sure if you’re choosing to wear a strapless bra underneath your wedding dress that it will fit and give you enough support to dance!
However, if your dress also has a low neckline, you might need to consider adhesive bras or fashion tape instead. These may be the better option to guarantee nothing is showing, but may not give you enough support – especially if you have a larger chest. You might need to try a few strapless bras on instead to find one that fits under your dress just right.
Under A Trumpet Dress
A trumpet dress is normally fitted at the top with a flare from the knee. They’re also referred to as mermaid dresses because of the shape of their bottoms. But it’s their figure-hugging tops that are cause for careful consideration about what to wear underneath your trumpet wedding dress.
You might want to consider a type of shapewear or bodysuit. There are lots of different options depending on which part of your body you want supporting. But we advise full tummy, bum, and thigh Spanx so you have maximum coverage and peace of mind. However, you’ll need to consider how this will affect you being able to go to the toilet on your big day! Shapewear can be notoriously difficult to take on and off. But they do give you a smooth shape.
If you’re worried about going to the toilet, you could consider wearing a corset underneath your dress, which will hold your shape and figure where you need it most. But if you choose to wear a corset, make sure it will be comfortable enough to wear all day and move about in.
General Tips On What To Wear
Whatever you wear underneath your wedding dress, it should be comfortable, supportive, and no show. We advise thinking about this before you even choose your wedding dress as it may affect how well you wear it on the big day.
For instance, if you have a fuller chest you might want to steer away from a plunge neck dress as getting a supportive enough bra to go underneath it without showing might be a challenge. So try to consider what you’ll wear underneath your dress as early as possible to look and feel your best.
If you want to surprise your new partner, you could consider some sexy lingerie from a dedicated retailer like Wicked Tickles who specialise in wedding lingerie.
But you don’t have to rush out or spend a fortune on buying new undergarments for under your wedding dress. As long as it is no-show under your dress, comfy, makes you feel good, and it is practical enough for your wedding day, you can wear whatever you like under your wedding dress.
