Wedding dress tradition

It’s the last day of September so I’m capping an end to the Upstate NY blogs for now. The anniversary being this month was perfect to share my love for Watkins Glen, NY here and Seneca Lake here. Thank you for hanging in there, as I’m sure you are missing some New England reads!

I will talk about the tradition I started with the wedding dress. Every anniversary, no matter what, I wear the dress! How did I come up with this idea? I read an article online about another bride that did the same thing. So I thought why not? The dress was too pretty to be put away in storage for many years. Especially when it was paid a decent amount too!

It’s been fun! When I wore it out in the public, people thought we were newly married. It brings back that newlywed feels back. It’s also a great reminder to the groom, who said it brings back memories of the bridal entrance walk when he saw me for the first time and the wedding day itself. I’m typically not a super girly girl, but I sure felt like a princess in the dress. Every time I put it back on, I get that feeling back.

*Year 0: The actual wedding night when we ran to Wal Mart for some snacks!*

The first anniversary was a helicopter ride in Newport, Rhode Island. YES, I WORE THE DRESS ON THE HELICOPTER! I’m sure there were several people who thought I was insane. After touring lighthouses of Rhode Island via helicopter, we walked on Cliff Walk (only a small portion!). We ate at The Red Parrot, enjoyed a stroll around the boat marina then watched the sunset at Easton beach. It was so much fun and I was full of laughter that day!

*Year 1: the helicopter ride in Newport, RI.*

*Year 1: wearing the dress pushed the weight capacity but luckily we made it!*

*Year 1: enjoyed a milkshake at The Red Parrot.*

*Year 1: ending the fun filled day watching the sunset at Easton Beach.*

The 2nd anniversary rolled around a week after I was in Ireland. While I was in Ireland, I found out that the offer we bid on the ‘forever home’ was accepted. As soon we got back, we got started on the packing for the big move!

*Year 2: packing up for the move to our ‘forever home’!*

We had plans for a romantic dinner date in Mystic for our 3rd anniversary. Torrential rain came instead causing roads to be flooded and closed. Maybe Mother Earth wanted a recreation of our actual wedding day which did had torrential rain! The hubs stopped at our favorite bakery on the way home from work with cupcakes to celebrate at home!

*Year 3: slipping on the wet stairs which luckily the dress made a great padding for the fall!*

It wasn’t all glam for all of our anniversaries as the 4th proved. I was sick for a week with some kind of flu or stomach bug. That day consisted of visiting the doctor (no, I didn’t wear the dress to the doctor appt!) and stopping at CVS to get some meds!

*Year 4: Sick bride at CVS for some remedies.*

For our 5th anniversary which landed on the same weekend as the beginning of football season. We are excited to watch the games again! We did a mini photo shoot with our ‘doghter’ on our new-to-us truck (I just had sold my car of 10 years!).

*Year 5: Family tailgate with our new truck.*

Many people love the yearly traditions and look forward to the photos. I highly suggest that you take on this tradition for yourself! Even if you already celebrated few anniversaries, it’s never too late for new traditions. It’s so fun to relive the memories of the wedding day. It sure brings back all the feels when I slip back into the dress. I’ve had some that said to me, that there was no way they would be able to fit in the dress now. So here’s my honesty… I haven’t been able to zip up my dress for last 3 anniversaries!

The dress also have got stained and ripped more. I have a piece of tulle that ripped from my dress from the day of heavy walking all over Newport, RI after the helicopter ride. I got stained on the dress from cupcakes/food. This past anniversary, I noticed one of my shoulder strap is starting to fray. So the dress isn’t perfect year after year.

But I look forward to that feeling. It’s all about that when I put it on that makes this tradition worthwhile!