We all know what wedding trains are. It’s the elongated portion of the backside of the wedding dress that slowly trails behind the bride, giving her a majestic and almost queenly appearance. The use of wedding trains dates back to the Middle Ages. During this period, the length of the train women wore depended on their rank or social status.

Types of Wedding Dress Trains

Wedding gowns today can have long trains, short trains or absolutely no trains. Long trains, particularly chapel trains or cathedral trains that extend beyond the hem of the dress are considered the most formal types of wedding trains.

Court trains and Watteau trains, which begins from the shoulders and falls to either the hem of the gown or the floor are considered slightly less formal. Other forms of trains include detachable ones that can be attached to the wedding dress using hooks or buttons and removed after the ceremony.

A gown with no train is sometimes called a floor length train. This non-train basically means the hemline of your wedding dress is even from front to back.

Trains can be extremely pretty and can make you feel like royalty, but sometimes practicality dictates that you forgo this wedding element.

To Train or Not: Our Top Tips

If you’re undecided on whether you should have a long train, a short train, a detachable train or no train, then let our helpful tips guide you in making your choice between train and no train.

#1 If you’re having a casual or an outdoor wedding, then go for no train.

Sure, a chapel train would look extra nice with your dress, but if you’re having a beach wedding or any outdoors wedding, can you just imagine how impractical this choice will be? You’re sweltering under the midday sun or stewing with your feet in the sand, and yet you still have to maintain your composure as you trudge through sand with an extremely long train.

In a garden wedding, you can be traveling through the garden when all of a sudden your train snags on a wayward twig or you manage to sweep the premises clean of dead leaves. You also have to be wary of puddles and muddy grounds when you have a train. You can’t afford to sully the gorgeous fabric since your dry cleaning bill would skyrocket.

#2 For a formal wedding, go for a cathedral length train or royal train. For more informal weddings choose between sweeping trains, chapel length trains and semi-cathedral length trains.

Although the latter three trains can be used for formal events, the cathedral length train and the royal train are the most formal of all five types. The cathedral length train falls approximately 7 ½ feet from the waistline, while the royal train falls a mind-boggling nine feet from the waist.

The sweeping train is the shortest type of train available, falling just about floor length, making it perfect for casual weddings. Chapel length trains are slightly longer, while semi-cathedral trains are the median of chapel length trains and cathedral trains.

#3 If you want a train for your short wedding dress, go detachable.

So your wedding might not be formal, otherwise you’ll have to wear a floor-length gown, but you still want to add that touch of formality to your wedding. An easy solution is to go for a detachable train. A detachable train can be attached to your short wedding gown by means of buttons or hooks.

What’s great about detachable trains is that you can easily take off the train for the reception or after the wedding ceremony.

#4 Think about mobility as you make your choice of train or no train.

The train is pretty, yes, but it also hampers your mobility. You can’t move efficiently and quickly if you have a ten foot train trailing behind you. You also have to watch for kids running around. If they step on your train, the train might just rip.

If you’re planning on dancing the night away, then go for no train or a detachable train instead of buying a traditional long one.

#5 Lastly, when considering what type of train to go for, consider the style of your gown.

Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as going overboard when it comes to wedding dress detailing, embellishments and design.

If you’re already wearing a diamond or pearl-studded number, a corset along with a voluminous tulle ball skirt complete with ribbons and a taffeta part-overskirt, then a nine-feet royal train, like Princess Di’s wedding dress train, is simply overkill.

Let the train emphasize the classic lines of your gown or the beautiful silhouette your wedding dress presents.

Ultimately, the final choice is yours and yours alone. Let the length of your train be determined by your wedding style and your personal taste.

The Chapel Wedding Dress Train, her favorite pick. Check this out.