For many reasons, cancelling a wedding is far from ideal. From making everyone cancel flights, reservations and vacation requests to the stress of trying to reschedule every detail, it was far from fun. However, at the end of it, we knew the day would eventually come and that we would still be able to have a smaller ceremony to celebrate what we were still most excited about — being married!
We originally pushed our June 13th, 2020 wedding to August 7th, 2020 in hopes of things calming down (HA). But come July, we knew that we’d be having a small ceremony in August and a bigger one this year. As soon as I knew we’d be having a small wedding, the fashion designer in me PANICKED. I was so excited to walk down the aisle in my church with my dress, that the thought of wearing it first at the small wedding made me really sad. I quickly ran to the BHLDN site and started browsing their dresses. I had tried some on earlier in the year and loved so many, but I was unsure if the styles would still be there. Funny enough, this gown, that I had never tried on, was first on the page and I never scrolled further. I was working with BHLDN for our original wedding on a few things, so I reached out to their team to see if there was a way to work together (two wedding dress price tags = not great). Their team being the absolute DREAM that they are, gifted me the gown for the big day. It’s easy to say, they made something so sad, so happy, very quickly. I am incredibly grateful for their team and the chance to share such a beautiful gown.
For those of you who’ve seen our prom pictures (yes, we really went to prom together), you would probably giggle and think “wow that silhouette looks eerily similar”. But honestly, that’s what made me confident in finding this gown online, winging my size selection and never looking back. I knew the style was something I felt like me in. My prom dress was actually a J. Crew bridesmaid dress funny enough. Needless to say, simple, feminine, and airy was an 100% yes from me. The wedding dress truly showed up in the box a few days later, I tried it on, it fit and I packed it away in my suitcase for Texas. I can’t say my original shopping went that quickly.
The day of the wedding, we built the flower arch, the boys went golfing, we jumped off the boat dock and just enjoyed the sweet time with our families and best friends. We ended up having so much fun that I didn’t even have time to shower. I threw my hair in a bun (thanks to my older sister for the help), put on some make up and said “LET’S GO” within only a short time. That moment created my saying that “Rachel Williams has never been late” (I may have broken this by now, but I’m working on it).
I paired my BHLDN gown with my original wedding shoes and my what I thought would be my rehearsal dinner earrings. I was so thankful that everything I had paired well. My mom actually made my veil the morning of the wedding (I know, she’s a saint) and it’s a special touch I will never forget.
As I looked in the mirror prior to meeting my dad, I admired the daintiness of the sleeves, the delicacy of the buttons down the back and gathering of the bodice that made it fit better than I could have dreamt. The “fairytale” dress that I had always pictured in my head as a little girl was on my body, ready to go get married. There are only a few moments as sweet as walking down a path with your dad, laughing, soaking up those last seconds. Walking up the dock and seeing my mom so full of joy and lastly looking up and seeing my best friend as giddy as can be created a feeling in me I will always hold dear. We were surrounded by so many of the people that got us to this day.
COVID weddings may not be the ideal situation, but it ended up being the best memory. But all the wedding details are a story for a day soon to come. For now, I’ll continue to dream about this gown. If you’re in the same sticky situation, take advantage, browse around and be open to styles that may be completely different than your other dress. This couldn’t be further from my next dress and it made it 10x as fun to be able to have two different “feelings”.
My Small Wedding Look:
I was so in love with every piece I slipped on on August 7th. Although things didn’t go as planned last year, I got two dresses out of it so I’ll call that a win! Below you will find my dress, shoes and earrings linked incase you are looking for your big day!
Thank you to BHLDN for gifting me my gown, earrings and shoes. But more importantly for giving me some excitement in an incredibly stressful time of unknowns. They are truly a brand I will forever love and always support!
