Easy Guide to Wedding Dress Trains

Should your wedding dress have a train? When considering whether or not to have a wedding dress with a train, the traditions, ease of use, and etiquette standards may seem a bit confusing. Some venues may make a train more difficult to manage than others. How important is train length? This easy guide to wedding dress trains may help clear up some of the misconceptions about wedding trains.

Wedding dress trains are becoming increasingly popular with recent celebrity weddings. This may have caused brides to take more notice of their wedding dress trains. Some brides may wonder if they should have a train or not. A long train on a wedding dress is a traditional, classic look. If the bride wants to emphasize a romantic, traditional wedding, she may want to consider having a dress with a long train.

Traditionally, a wedding dress with a train is not worn for a second wedding or vow renewal ceremony. However, brides who have their hearts set on having a dress with a train should not let tradition dictate their choice. Your wedding day is your special day. Make it what you want it to be.

Wedding gown trains come in different lengths. A wedding dress train that brushes across the floor a few inches is called a sweep. The sweep may be up to six inches long. The chapel train is one foot to eighteen inches long. A chapel train is very popular since it provides that traditional look while being easy to manage.

The longer cathedral train is at least twenty-two inches long. The cathedral train may be removable or have a bustling option to gather it up for manageability at the reception. Brides who want the classic train but don’t want one as long as a cathedral train may want a semi-cathedral train which is between chapel and cathedral train length. A royal or monarch train is the longest train length. These trains are several feet long. This is typically worn by royalty as the name implies.

A wedding dress train can be an issue for some venues such as an outdoor wedding at the beach or in the woods. Can you imagine trying to navigate thorns and branches with a cathedral train in tow? Consider the venue and your activities for the day when choosing what length of wedding train to have.

Brides who have trains of significant length probably will want to bustle their dresses after the ceremony. Some wedding gowns come with a bustle. If not, brides can prepare a wedding dress bustle by adding a hook and eye or loop to the dress prior to the wedding day. There are several styles of bustles. A certain type of bustle may work better for a wedding dress than the other types. Brides may want to discuss the wedding dress bustle with a seamstress.