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‘My sister-in-law and I bought the same wedding gown… and nobody noticed’

Natalie in June 2016… and Becky six weeks later - Noel Deasington (noeldeasington.com)
Natalie in June 2016… and Becky six weeks later - Noel Deasington (noeldeasington.com)

The dress was beautiful. In delicate Chantilly lace with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a narrow skirt fanning out  to a fishtail, I knew it was The One as soon as I tried it on.

Designed by Jesús Peiró, it was at the top end of my budget, but my mum, who was with me at the bridal boutique in Hertfordshire, agreed it was perfect. We felt relieved and excited to tick ‘dress’ off the wedding- planning checklist.

For my mum especially, it was quite a list. That summer, in 2016, both her children – me, a management consultant, then 30, and my brother Tim, an RAF pilot, then 28 – were getting married just six weeks apart in our home town of Dartmouth.

As my grandma put it: ‘Weddings are like buses. You wait ages for one, then both come along at once!’

We’d both got engaged in 2015 – me to Andrew, an engineer, and Tim to Natalie, a doctor – and both of us wanted to get married the following year. Once work commitments, diaries, family obligations and availability of our chosen churches and venues had  been juggled, there was no alternative: Tim and Natalie would wed in June, and Andrew and I would follow in July.

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Despite this packed schedule, we knew our celebrations would be significantly different because of the colour schemes, menus and flowers, so the two events wouldn’t merge together in everyone’s memories.

Natalie and I had become great friends, but while we discussed most aspects of our big days, we didn’t go into much detail about the dresses, although we both wanted something simple and elegant. There was a moment when, after choosing her gown at a boutique in York just before me, she’d quickly shown me a photo on her phone, but the screen was cracked, and I couldn’t really see it.

How different things might have been if I had...

Two months before her wedding, while visiting my parents, Natalie saw my gown hanging in its dress bag in the spare room. Unable to resist, she sneaked a peek... and let out a horrified gasp. In tears, she rushed downstairs to confide in my shocked mum: ‘I looked at Becky’s dress – and it’s exactly the same as mine!’

Becky getting ready for her big day - Credit: Noel Deasington (noeldeasington.com)
Becky getting ready for her big day Credit: Noel Deasington (noeldeasington.com)

I didn’t cry when Mum called to break the news, but my laughter was slightly hysterical. However, it was far too late to do anything, as the dresses had both been altered, so we decided not to tell anyone, apart from  my grandma and Natalie’s mum. We look different – I’m tall and blonde while Natalie is dark  and petite – so we reasoned we’d carry the dress off differently; although I must admit I did feel that as the second bride, some of my thunder might be stolen  if anyone noticed.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. I was Natalie’s bridesmaid and as soon as I saw her in her finery, I relaxed. She looked beautiful, but while the gown was very much ‘hers’ on her wedding day, I knew mine would look and feel entirely different when it was my turn, six weeks later.

Natalie on her big day - Credit: NOEL DEASINGTON (NOELDEASINGTON.COM)
Natalie on her big day Credit: NOEL DEASINGTON (NOELDEASINGTON.COM)

And indeed it did. While we both wore our hair up, I was the only one to wear a veil. Natalie accessorised her dress with Swarovski jewellery, and carried a delicate posy of pink peonies and white roses, while I wore diamond-drop earrings, and carried a bigger purple, green and white bouquet.

I felt wonderful when I walked down the aisle, and  to my amazement, nobody  – not even my dad, my new husband or my brother – realised they’d seen the dress before and couldn’t believe  it when we told them.

Today, both gowns have been carefully packed away. It’s lovely to think they might  be worn again by a future generation – though hopefully not at the same time.

As told to Sharon Parsons

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