Weddingbee boards

I am getting married in a traditional catholic ceremony at 1:30 p.m. and then having a black tie optional reception at a hotel starting at 6 p.m. (cocktails begin at 5 p.m.). 

I think I might go for two dresses: one for the catholic ceremony and one for the reception.  Or I might choose one dress that I can accessorize differently for each event.  Please help me decide!

 I can go with these two options: the first for the ceremony; the second for the reception.

Ceremony: http://www.jamescliffordcollection.com/JamesClifford/Details.aspx?did=502465&best=True&pid=502527

Reception: http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/wedding_dresses/runway/designer/clairepettibone/detail/163059?offset=31

Or I can go with this option (sans the bolero and belt) and add some tulle to the bottom to make it more interesting and, depending on how I accessorize, use it for both the reception and ceremony.  The reason for my dilemma is that the sample of this dress fits me better b/c it is smaller than the other two samples at the bridal store, so I'm partial to this dress' fit. 

http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/wedding_dresses/runway/designer/legendsbyromonakeveza/detail/163153?offset=18

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks for the comments!  I don't think I'd use the reception dress for the ceremony b/c I'd like to go more "traditional" for the ceremony.  The first dress is somewhat bare-shouldered for a Catholic mass, but the church is okay as long as I have a floor length veil that will cover my shoulders.

Wear the Claire Pettibone dress for everything.  It looks ridiculously beautiful and (in my humble opinion) much nicer than the other two dresses.  Good luck!

I don't much care for the third dress, but I like the other two quite a bit.  I am a little confused about your fit comment, though -- would you be buying the sample, or would they be ordering one in your size?  If you can get the first two in your size, I'd definitely go that route (plus, it's always fun to have 2 dresses!) -- or even if they could do alterations on the sample to make it fit you better (don't know how big it is on you).  But, if the first two are just never going to fit you properly, I would go for the third just so it wouldn't be bagging off of you or anything.

Thanks for the comments!  Lyre - my message was confusing, I apologize.  I'm not buying the samples, and would order the above two dresses in my size.  My dilemma was that because the third dress' sample was my size, it looked a lot better on my body than the samples of the first two dresses (that were way too big).  I just don't have the right imagination to visualize the first two fitting me as well as the third if they were in my size, although I'm sure they will. 

 Maureen - I agree that the reception dress should look different, which is why I love the Claire Pettibone dress.  I don't think I'm non-traditional enough to have a different colored dress or a short dress for the reception though.  As for the two ceremony dresses, I'm leaning towards the first one b/c it's more detailed, and much cheaper.  I don't want two dresses for the sake of having two dresses.  I just want a different look for both since in my mind, a catholic ceremony is very different from a black tie optional reception in a hotel.