On May 3rd of this year, I married my longtime love, Ben Marney. Unsurprisingly, a number of Grail products made it into my wedding wardrobe. It’s always nice to get a firsthand wearer’s perspective on the items we carry in the shop, and this was definitely a robust test for this particular ensemble: long hours of wear, plenty of movement, and sweat (thanks, humidity). So, which products held up under pressure, and which ones turned out to be a bit of a let-down?

Antonina Classic PL Plunge Bra from Ewa Michalak: 10/10

This bra is very popular with Grail customers, and for good reason. She’s practically magical.

Looking for maximum lift and “cakes on a plate” cleavage? Antonina Plunge is your girl.

By chance, the ivory and beige lace was a very close match with my wedding dress. Even the tiny part of the bra that showed around the dress’s plunge neckline looked intentional. Wowza! The fit itself for this style is narrow-wired and highly projected, which is well-suited to my body shape. I also suffer from what I jokingly call “cranky sternum syndrome.” The pressure of a tall gore– the structure between a bra’s cups where the wires come together in the middle- is super uncomfortable for me, even in an otherwise well-fitting bra. I gravitate to plunge styles as a solution, even when I’m not trying to keep my underthings hidden beneath my outer layers. After many hours, I still wasn’t consciously aware of the sensation of the Antonina Plunge on my body. What more could you ask for in a bra?

Antonina Brief Panties from Ewa Michalak: 8/10

These panties are definitely cute, especially the full-lace back panels. I made the mistake of expecting the Antonina briefs to run small, as so many underwear styles do. Instead, I ended up with a little bit of loose material around the waist that a step-down size adjustment would almost certainly have fixed. Fortunately, everything stayed in place, even with the less fitted sizing. The lace was also soft against my skin and didn’t chafe… I have strong feelings about abrasive textures in underwear.

Bump & Jump-a-Cup Silicone Shapers from Pure Style Girlfriends: 10/10

Long story short, I have experienced a lot of body changes this year due to medications and hormone shifts. It happens. The bra size that I purchased for myself in March was looking a bit, er, under-filled by the time May rolled around. Luckily, silicone bra inserts are a super simple and effective solution whenever a volume boost is needed. We carry a few different insert styles at Grail, and the prices vary by brand. I went with the most economical option: the $15 Bump & Jump-a-Cup shapers from Pure Style Girlfriends. These silicone wedges are designed to sit in the bottom of the bra cups, pushing your breasts to the top like a DIY push-up bra.

The Antonina Classic Plunge bra already happens to include pockets for additional padding, so I replaced the original foam pads with these silicone shapers. It worked like a charm! They stayed put and were completely invisible throughout the wedding and reception.

Adjustable Low Back Strap from Fashion Forms: 6/10

Since my wedding dress is open in the back, I figured that a low-back conversion strap could bring the bra band down just far enough for me to conceal it under the dress. This plan almost worked, but the top edge of the strap did poke out slightly. Perhaps if I had spent more time fiddling with the slider, I could have lowered the plunge by another centimeter? I’m not sure. The strap also wraps around the front of the wearer’s body, which didn’t bother me when I first got dressed. Eventually, though, it shifted around and rolled up on itself like a rope.

Honorable mention: the Transparent Low Back Strap from Bye Bra. When I tried on my dress for alterations, I actually wore this clear thermoplastic converter strap instead. For the wedding itself, I presupposed that the wider, silkier Fashion Forms strap would be more comfortable for multiple hours of wear. I’m not totally convinced that this was the right call. The transparent strap material had more grip, which could potentially have helped it stay in place throughout the day’s events. The Fashion Forms strap also seemed more solidly constructed than the Bye Bra device, but for an accessory I don’t plan on using repeatedly, durability might not be as important as other considerations.

Body Tape from BeConfident: 4/10

My attempt at using Body Tape on my bridal outfit was a total mess. This was as surprising to me as it was disappointing, considering that I’ve had great experiences with the product in the past. I can attest that the stuff sticks to EVA foam really well for cosplay purposes. This time, though? Not so much.

My bridesmaid, Jessica, was persistent in trying to tape the back of my dress up over the low back strap. The Body Tape adhered to my skin reasonably well, but it refused to hold on to either the lace of the dress or to the satiny strap material. If I moved at all, it would immediately pop off. I ended up with a lot of my hair stuck to my back, and that was pretty much all we accomplished. Maybe something about these particular fabric textures just wouldn’t allow the tape to grip it? I was slightly sweaty at that point, but again, why would Body Tape stick to damp skin more easily than clothing? I’ll need to find another chance to experiment with this product.

The Wonder Woman High Waist Shapewear Short from Body Hush: 7/10

This one is slightly cheating because we don’t actually stock this brand at Grail. Body Hush sent me a product sample a while back, and I decided last-minute to wear it. I thought that it might hold the low-back strap in place and help hide any constriction where the strap wrapped around my midsection.

It was… fine. The Wonder Woman shorts are made from a soft microfiber that was sensory-friendly and provided moderate compression without squeezing the life out of me. By the end of the reception, though, the top had started to roll down, making the twisted low-back strap situation even more uncomfortable. The closed gusset also made it awkward to use the bathroom. These are both very, very common problems with shapewear briefs and shorts as a whole category, however. Every brand proclaims that their product is different, but I’ve yet to find a surefire solution.

All in all, the day was perfect in every way that truly mattered.