WHAT TO WEAR TO A SUMMER WEDDING

The summer wedding season is here everyone!! And so starts they yearly conundrum of what the heck should I wear? One of the weddings you have to attend is on a beach at sunset. Another is at 5pm at a church. Yet another one is formal or maybe one is cocktail attire.

GAH! How are you going to find a dress or two that could work for all of them??

Most summer weddings are in the semi-formal or formal range but when in doubt, head to Emily Post! Otherwise, here are my basic guidelines.

LENGTH

I’m a pretty big fan of the high-low dress because it is extremely versatile. Since it is long in the back, it can pass as a formal length. Since it is shorter in the front, it passes for cocktail or semi-formal. I wore one to a formal wedding this past fall, and I will be wearing this one to the weddings I’m attending this summer.

COLOR and PATTERN

Don’t forget you shouldn’t wear white to a wedding – unless it’s a ‘white wedding’ where all the guests are encouraged to wear white (these are becoming more and more popular1). But since it’s warmer in summer, you’ll probably want to stick with a light color palette like a pastel pattern, stripes or a solid light pink, blue or yellow. Lavender and mint are everywhere too! If you go for a pattern, just make sure it’s not going to take away all the attention from the bride!

FIT

Fit and flare styles are so ladylike and they flatter those of us with curvier bottom halves. They draw the attention to your narrow waist and hide your wider parts. Yes! In the summer especially, avoid super tight body hugging dresses. It’s simply too hot and will look off. Plus, hello – bride. All attention on bride.

TRENDS

It’s all about showing off the shoulders! Off the shoulder is still all the rage, so that’s a trend I can get behind in a summer wedding guest dress. One shoulder, assymetrical styles are big (I wrote about it last month!). And a cold shoulder style where the dress has small straps and cutout shoulders would be lovely at a wedding (wrote about that one, too!).

ACCESSORIES AND SHOES

Keep it light. Keep it simple. Don’t overload your arms, neck and ears with stuff. It’s loud! But you can definitely go metallic. I love the look of a matching gold or silver shoe to a mini evening bag because it dresses up anything. It’s so classy and a little punk. My favorite rebel-girl combo. Plus, everyone has gold or silver simple earrings to match that.

WHERE TO BUY

I bought this dress recently at Asos for less than $100! Asos has a TON of fabulous dress styles for great prices that can be worn to a wedding so I always start there. Other suggestions – ModCloth and Nordstrom for a variety of styles and prices.