Our wed2b Ambassador Experience is about celebrating confidence, connection and highlighting the real life story behind each and every dress. So, following hundreds of applications, we chose seven real brides whose stories touched our hearts. They were invited to take part in a photoshoot to experience that wedding day magic all over again, while sharing their wedding dress shopping hopes and fears, highs and lows with us. This is Sonali’s story about finding a cultural wedding dress that balanced tradition, personal style and feeling completely herself…

Sonali's Key Takeaways

  • You don’t have to choose between tradition and what you love.
  • There are more options available than you might first imagine.
  • The right dress can help you feel like yourself while still honouring your culture.
  • “Anything is possible.”

Wedding dress worries

“The civil ceremony was uncharted territory”

As the first person in her family to get married, and to someone who isn’t Indian, Sonali was navigating something completely new. “My only frame of reference for a white wedding dress shopping experience came from the movies,” she says. “A bride walks into a store with her mum and best friends, tries on a handful of flowing white gowns and walks out having found ‘The One’ within the hour. That’s what I thought would happen.”

But the reality felt more complicated. “When it came to my Hindu ceremony dress, I was in good hands,” she says. “That world felt familiar. But the civil ceremony was uncharted territory. No one in my immediate circle had been through the same experience, so I had nowhere obvious to turn.”

“I was excited to wear a white dress”

For Sonali, wearing a white wedding dress wasn’t about stepping away from her culture. It was about embracing another part of her wedding story. “I feel incredibly fortunate to be celebrating two weddings, my Hindu religious ceremony and my civil ceremony,” she says. “From the very beginning, I wanted to embrace my husband’s traditions as wholeheartedly as I could.”

“Wearing a white dress felt like another beautiful way to do exactly that,” she says. “Being able to honour both worlds made our wedding feel even more special, and I loved that our ceremonies would each have their own distinct look and feeling.”

Shopping for the dress

“I actually found myself fitting into wedding dresses”

Sonali first visited wed2b with her mum on a whim. “I knew wed2b carried a great selection in my size, so when we happened to walk past, we thought, why not?” she says. “I loved that there was no appointment needed, no pressure, just the freedom to browse at your own pace.”

That first visit felt overwhelming, so Sonali went away, did more research and returned a few weeks later feeling more prepared. “The consultants were absolutely brilliant,” she says. “They asked all the right questions, made me feel completely at ease and guided me through the whole process with such warmth and patience.”

“When we finally started trying on dresses, I actually found myself fitting into wedding dresses, something I really didn’t expect,” she says. “It meant I could focus on what type of dress I wanted and not worry about the fit.”

“There were no limitations”

Sonali’s stylist Hannah helped transform the whole experience. “She walked me through everything clearly and reminded me again and again that there were no limitations,” says Sonali. “‘We can do anything you want’ was her mantra, and I believed her completely.”

That reassurance mattered. “Wanting to cover my arms? Sorted. Need more chest support? Done. Wishing the skirt had more volume? Hannah would disappear and come back with exactly what was needed,” she says. “Nothing felt like too much to ask, and nothing felt impossible.”

Then Sonali tried on Palermo, a Mikado A line. “When I tried it on, I just knew,” she says. “There was no deliberating, no second-guessing. I felt like such a beautiful woman.”

The wedding day

“Love between cultures”

Sonali married on 28th April 2025 at Hedsor House, a venue she knew was right from the moment she arrived. “From the murals to the garden spaces and the grandeur of the central hall, every detail was simply beautiful,” she says. “I could easily envisage celebrating one of our most important days there with all our important people.”

The wedding style was 'Love Between Cultures', with spring pastels, florals, green, white and pink. “From the start, I knew I wanted my accessories to complement the dress,” says Sonali. “To match the long train, I chose a cathedral veil. I had one shot in mind: walking down the staircase of the venue, train flowing behind me. Pure drama.”

Her civil ceremony look also gave her space to include pieces of her culture in a way that felt true to her. “The dress itself was clean and classic,” she says. “I brought in colour and culture through my bright red and gold Punjabi wedding bangles and my dark mehndi.”

“A moment I’ll never forget”

For Sonali, the dress felt deeply personal. “Unlike my Hindu ceremony dress, which carried the weight of cultural tradition and expectation, finding my civil ceremony dress felt like an entirely personal journey,” she says. “Everything was simply about me, what made me feel beautiful and what felt true to who I am.”

“I got quite emotional looking at myself,” she says. “I remember feeling so beautiful and I just kept thinking how much I couldn’t wait to show this to my husband at the aisle.”

There were so many moments from the wedding day she will never forget, from personalised vows to her parents’ first look. But one feeling stayed with her most clearly. “In that dress, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the room.”

“I didn’t have to compromise who I am”

Sonali’s dress gave her the balance she had been searching for. “As someone who loves her curves and is always the conversationalist, I wanted a dress that reflected that energy,” she says. “The long train spoke to the louder, more dramatic side of my personality, while the simple Mikado front remained beautifully elegant and classic.”

For brides navigating more than one culture, Sonali knows the answer is not always as simple as 'just blend it'. “South Asian and Western bridal wear are beautifully represented in their own right,” she says. “But the space where the two genuinely meet and merge? That largely does not exist yet.”

“For many Indian families, mine included, white is traditionally associated with mourning and considered deeply inauspicious at a wedding,” she explains. “It was one of the reasons we chose to separate our ceremonies entirely, to honour both traditions fully and on their own terms, rather than asking either to compromise.”

Her advice to brides who feel they have to choose between tradition and what they love is simple: “You will always remember the moments that mean the most to you. Don’t compromise on those moments.”

In her own words

My dress made me feel… “Ethereal”

I knew it was 'The One’ when… “I saw the long train!”

The best thing about my dress was… “It had pockets... and the train.”

I felt most like myself… “When I saw myself in the mirror.”

I wish I had known before dress shopping that… “Anything is possible.”

If you’ve been inspired by Sonali’s story about finding a cultural wedding dress that balanced tradition and personal style, why not start your own wedding dress journey today? Explore all our beautiful dresses, find your nearest wed2b and read more about what to expect when you visit. You can also chat to our bridal advisors in store or online about any worries you may have about finding your dream dress. We’re here to help!

Click here for lots more wedding planning ideas and advice from our brilliant real life brides. Also, for more inspiration, check us out on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok too.