I love weddings. I love seeing two people I care about on the happiest day of their lives. I also love the ceremony, the dancing, and the food! With wedding season approaching, I had someone ask me to do a post on what to wear to a friend’s wedding. I thought I’d write a post about what I’ve learned are the most important things while picking an outfit for a spring or summer wedding.
1. Check the Dress Code: Before you even start thinking about what you should wear to a friend’s wedding, check the dress code. The dress code is normally on the invitation or the wedding website. You can usually find the wedding website by checking the Save the Date or googling the couple’s names.
2. Find the Right Length – After you’ve checked the dress code, you can figure out what length the dress needs to be. Here’s a little cheat sheet:
Black Tie – Long Dress (Favorites: here, here, and here)
Black Tie Optional – Long dress or dressy short dress (Favorites: here, here, and here)
Semiformal or Dressy Casual – Short dress (Favorites: here, here, and here)
Casual – Sundress (Favorites: here, here, and here)
If you’re invited to a Black Tie wedding and you’re on a budget, I’ve had great success with floor length dresses from Rent the Runway and Morning Lavender.
3.Pick the Right Color – While we all know the golden rule: Don’t wear white to a wedding, I think it’s also important to think about the color of your dress. I would stay away from anything too close to the white family (white, creme, eggshell, etc.). Think about the time of year of the wedding and also the location. If you are attending a spring wedding at a barn, maybe a velvet black dress wouldn’t really fit the venue. My favorite spring colors are blush, lavender, and the light blue that I’m wearing in these pictures.
4. Check The Weather – Check the weather for rain, or if it’s going to be cooler at night, bring a shawl or jacket to wear as the temperature drops.
5. Wear Comfortable Shoes – I’ve made this mistake one too many times and I don’t want you to make the same mistake as I did! You are on your feet a lot at a wedding (standing at cocktail hour, mingling, and dancing the night away). Make sure your shoes are comfortable, whether they are flats, wedges, or heels. The shoes I’m wearing in these pictures are some of my most comfortable heels and are my go to shoes for weddings.
6. Bring a Bag – Make sure you bring a bag big enough to hold your phone, keys, touch up makeup and wedding favor. I like bags with a strap so you can be hands free (and have both hands available for wine and hors d’eouvres) Some of my favorite purses for weddings are here, here, and here.
As wedding season begins, I hope these tips help you pick the perfect outfit for your weddings.
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