A bride tried on 13 wedding dresses before finding 2 that were perfect for her big day

The couple met through mutual friends at a party in Hoboken, New Jersey.

"We've actually been together since," Iglesias told Insider.

After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, together, the couple got engaged in September 2018, and they were married in April 2019.

"I had always pictured myself in something fairly fitted with long sleeves, and just lace everything," she said of her dream gown.

She imagined wearing a fitted gown with head-to-toe lace, and she planned to try on dresses that fit the bill as soon as she went shopping. However, Iglesias was also drawn to blue, as it's her favorite color.

Iglesias set her budget at $1,000, and she began searching for her dream wedding dress.

Iglesias said her first shopping experience was stressful. She had multiple family members with her, and they all had strong opinions about the dresses she tried on.

Iglesias started by trying on a gown that fit her lace-covered vision.

"I felt like a tablecloth," she said of the long-sleeved dress, which made her realize the look she had been envisioning might not actually be for her. Plus, the dress was uncomfortable, as the neckline was tight.

"It was pretty, but a lot of it came down to how I felt in it and how comfortable it was," Iglesias said.

The dress was similar to the long-sleeve gown she had just tried on, and the short sleeves didn't make enough of a difference for Iglesias to change her mind.

Plus, the full skirt was too much for her.

The top, which featured lace detailing, was actually a bodysuit that could be paired with different skirts. The ensemble introduced Iglesias to the concept of separates, in which a bride can mix and match tops with a myriad of skirts to customize her look.

Iglesias said she liked the silhouette of the skirt on the left, but the tulle was uncomfortable. And she was a fan of the material and clean look of the skirt on the right, but it was just too big.

Her family really liked the second combination, but Iglesias wasn't sold.

She left Pronovias empty-handed, and she waited to shop again until she was in Atlanta with just her mom, rather than a large group.

Iglesias said she tried on this dress to ensure she didn't like long-sleeved lace, as it had been her vision for so long. The transparent sleeves were pretty, but the bottom was actually a deal-breaker with this gown.

"What I probably didn't like as much was the bottom," she said of the dress. "I didn't really like the poofy-ish bottom."

The blush dress had a low back, and the skirt featured textured embellishments that added spunk.

"I was sort of curious to play with a more open back and see how it felt," Iglesias said. "This one was really pretty."

But she didn't like the top, and the back didn't feel great either. "I didn't want to be worried about the straps falling off, and this would make it pretty much impossible to do separates," she said.

"While I loved it and I did really like open back, I sort of had to sacrifice on some things to get something that actually works with separates, and it's a lot harder with this type of style," Iglesias told Insider.

Iglesias told Insider that this dress embodied everything she thought her wedding dress would be, from the delicate lace to the trumpet skirt.

"This one was actually really soft," Iglesias said of how she felt in the gown. "I liked the tighter look."

"But then again, the long sleeves just became difficult," she said, leading her to keep shopping. She was finally ready to move on from the long-sleeve vision.

Iglesias had been admiring Chantel Lauren's Mae dress for years, pinning the dress to her Pinterest board before she and Fessler were even engaged. The skirt can be purchased as a separate, which appealed to Iglesias.

A Chantel Lauren trunk show happened to be in town the weekend Iglesias was shopping in Atlanta, and the dress was everything she had been imagining when she tried it on.

"The hand-painted blue is just different," she said. "You don't get the same movement of the colors in a traditional skirt that's just colored."

But Iglesias still had her heart set on lace, so she wanted to keep searching for a top to go with her dream skirt.

"I was actually trying for the top because I tried on the blue," she said, and she wanted to figure out what top would be best with it. The combination was one of the few Iglesias tried on that didn't have any lace on it.

"For whatever reason, there's something about the distinction between the white and the color that I felt just fit my body," Iglesias said of the look. "I liked the cutoff that the separate created."

"I knew that I wouldn't get peach, but it helps me just kind of be like, 'OK, yes, separates is really where I see myself,'" she added.

"This one was really fun," Iglesias said. "It met the blue, but it wasn't the blue. Once I saw that bright-blue skirt, it was pretty hard to get my mind away from it."

Iglesias also knew the dress would make separates more difficult, so she ultimately decided not to get it.

"The big skirt was fun to put on, but it did not reflect my personality very well," she said of this gown.

The top was almost a sheer material, like soft tulle, which Iglesias said she liked.

"But I think what I was really trying to see here was skirt, and it's very poofy," Iglesias told Insider, so it wasn't the dress for her.

The flowy skirt worked for her, but the color wasn't ideal. "I loved the distinction, but I was seeing blue, not gray," she said.

The top was also a bit constricting because of its high neckline.

Lee Ann Belter's collection of separates was perfect for Iglesias, as she could mix and match whatever top and skirt worked best for her.

Iglesias paired the Abigail top with the Kate skirt, creating a one-of-a-kind look. The white-on-white look would be her ceremony ensemble, while the blue skirt would add a fun pop for the reception.

She bought both white pieces at Kelly's Closet in Atlanta.

The wedding-day look ended up being more expensive than Iglesias originally planned. The blue skirt was $2,500, and the white skirt and top were approximately $3,000 together.

The top features transparent lace and a plunging neckline, with button detailing on the back of the gown.

The skirt's simple fabric keeps the look from being overly busy, but the trumpet style and longer train added a touch of glamour to complete the church ensemble.

"The white was super comfortable," Iglesias said. "I was super happy with how it all was fitting."

"I wanted something very simple," she added of her reception look. Plus, the white skirt was more affordable, which was important to Iglesias since the blue garment was her focus.

She had been dreaming of the skirt for years, so wearing it on her wedding day was a dream come true. The flowing, blue garment almost had a princess feel.

"I definitely had a completely different vision than where I landed, but I feel like I stayed true to the themes I liked, like lace and the color," Iglesias said of her final look.

She got her alterations done at Kelly's Closet, which altered the blue skirt as well even though she didn't buy it there.

"With separates, there's always the mechanics of keeping it so it looks pretty cohesive," she said. "But they were great about that."

The alterations cost $800, bringing the total cost of Iglesias' wedding look to approximately $6,300.

Iglesias' wedding planner helped her switch into the second look secretly ahead of the reception.

"It was honestly pretty fun to switch because I walked into the reception in the skirt, and I think people were just like, 'What's happening?'" she said.

"When I walked down the aisle, he was like, "God, I was so scared you were going to show up in a blue dress,'" she said, as he knew how big of a fan she is of the color blue.

She switched into her blue skirt before the reception, making Fessler's prediction come true. The couple thought it was funny how well he knew her.

"If your vision that you've always had in your head isn't what you like, try not to fight it," she said. "I fought it. I tried on so much lace to really be OK that I didn't want mostly lace, even though that's what I always thought I'd wear."

"I'd say it's a balance," she added. "Don't fight it, but also let yourself work through it because when you actually start trying on dresses, it's very different than how they look in pictures."

She also discouraged brides from going to too many bridal stores, as they might get confused.

"So it was really fun to wear it and dance around, and I really loved it," she said.

You can see more of Rustic White Photography's work here.

If you are in the process of shopping for your wedding dress or have photos from when you shopped and want to talk to Insider for a story, get in touch at sgrindell@insider.com.

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