Woman Living a Real-Life “27 Dresses” Shares How She Really Feels About the 8 Gowns She's Worn (Exclusive)

• Emily has been a bridesmaid eight times in four years

• In celebration of her own wedding this past November, she decided to do a lookback at all the dresses she's worn, sharing them in a video for her friends

• After posting the clip on TikTok, it went viral, with 2 million people watching and commenting on her good fortune and good friendships

A newlywed is looking back at a special period in her life.

From November 2020 to November 2024, Emily — on TikTok @kolonialwoman — served as a bridesmaid in several of her friends' weddings. November 2024 was the last of them — her own — and she honored the milestone with a walk down memory lane.

In a video shared on TikTok, which now has nearly 2 million views, Emily reflected on her friends' weddings by trying on her bridesmaid dress from each one.

"I wanted to make this video as a kind of love letter to my bridesmaids, because I've held on to those dresses for so long. I definitely did not expect it to get the response that it did," Emily tells PEOPLE.

"The order they're in from the video is the chronological order of how I wore them," she explains. "The first one I wore for my friend Natalie's wedding, and so on."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Bride Has Friends Wear Bridesmaid Dresses She Wore to Their Weddings in 27 Dresses-Inspired Moment

The collection of dresses, which Emily jokes is her own personal 27 Dresses experience, features frocks of all different styles.

"The 27 Dresses thing has been a running joke because I've been in all of these weddings in the time since November 2020. My wedding was chronologically the last one. I got married in November 2024, so I wore all these dresses in just under four years," Emily says.

"I have a special place in my heart for the ones that I got to pick out. I really think it's cool when brides let their bridesmaids pick out what would suit them best or gives a nod to their style. I'm all about being able to re-wear stuff again. I think that makes it a bit easier. I think that's becoming kind of a trend recently," she shares.

Of the dresses, Emily says, "I think all my friends have great tastes, and the coolest part about it is that all of those really kind of describe their personalities and their individual taste. When I look at the bridesmaid dresses, it just makes me think of whichever one of my friends' weddings it was. I think now people realize that your bridesmaid dresses can really enhance your wedding when they're beautiful."

At her own wedding — for which she wore the floral gown above — Emily did the same. "I let my bridesmaids pick out their own dresses. I went with dark green, from an olive to an emerald. They did a phenomenal job. They all picked different things that suited them really well. I hope all of my bridesmaids picked things they would like to wear again. I think it turned out beautiful. I loved it."

Since the video was meant to be something for just her friends, Emily was shocked to see the clip go viral. She's been touched by the overwhelmingly "positive response."

"Many people were saying how lucky I was to have all these beautiful dresses. I really consider myself lucky because of the original narrative around bridesmaid's dresses — that they're supposed to make the bridesmaids look 'uglier' to build up the bride. I think I did luck out," she says.

Emily is also happy to see that the video is opening up the world of weddings for people who aren't in the trenches of it.

"There were a lot of people in my comments who haven't been in wedding parties or are about to be," she says. "They get a positive outlook on it because a lot of people have varying opinions they share on the experience. It's cool to see people getting married soon comment on it and get inspiration from it."

Emily concludes of being a bridesmaid, "It is a lot of work, but I always think it's worth it. My friends are worth it to me. So a lot of people complain about what it takes, but it's worth it to me."

Read the original article on People