Wedding season is officially here! We have our first one, my bff’s, this weekend and I am SO excited! I love everything about weddings. The excitement, the tears (any other wedding criers out there?!), the dancing! The past couple years, we have had SO many weddings every year. So my stock pile of dresses, shoes and accessories for weddings is enormous! Now we are at the age where they are starting to slow down a little, so I am savoring each one and enjoying shopping for them (let’s be honest, when you have a dozen or so weddings each year, they can get pretty expensive!).
If you are at that age where wedding invitations keep dropping in your mailbox, the trick to shopping smart is buying items you can wear over and over again. I love when I can wear the same dress to a wedding, rehearsal dinner and shower! And the right pair of shoes can get you through wedding season year after year. In honor of the start of wedding season, I thought I would put together a little wedding season shopping guide PLUS, everything you need to know about dressing appropriately for the occasion. So here is EVERYTHING you need and need to know for wedding season 2018!
wearing J Crew Tulle Dress | Christian Louboutin shoes | Dolce & Gabbana clutch | amazon sunglasses
I found this J Crew dress on a crazy sale and needed to have it! I absolutely love when I find a dress that I know I can wear to multiple events. The length and material of this dress makes it so versatile. It can be dressed down for a rehearsal dinner, worn to a casual wedding AND could be dressed up for a more formal affair like black tie invited or optional!
So let’s get the basic wedding attire etiquette out of the way. Nowadays, there are so many different wordings that might appear on your invite: white tie, black tie, black tie optional, black tie invited, etc. So here is my simple formula…
White tie: this is your fanciest affair, so you better be in a floor length gown.
Black tie: formal, full length gown is the most common and safe attire, but exceptions can be made like a very formal midi or cocktail dress. What does very formal mean? Think about your fabric and color choice. If you don’t go full length, stick to black or a rich color and a more formal fabric like satin or silk.
Black tie optional/invited: although these two terms technically mean different things, my formula for how I dress for those types of weddings is the same! You can and are encouraged to wear a floor length gown. If someone took the time to include this wording in their invite, they want their wedding to be a formal occasion! So dress appropriately. Cocktail dresses are acceptable but keep them on the fancier side.
All other types of weddings: unless it is a beach or extra casual wedding, I still always wear a formal cocktail dress. A wedding is a fancy occasion!
Here is everything you need from the bachelorette party to the shower to the big day!
BACHELORETTE ATTIRE
planning for a bachelorette weekend might be the most fun of all! Who doesn’t love shopping for a little black dress! Obsessed with THIS one because you could wear it for other occasions too! How fun is THIS sexy little thing?! You don’t always have to go black, THIS red little number is so fun. I don’t have the type of body that can pull off THIS dress, but if I did…
SHOWER ATTIRE
Personally, I hate spending money on a shower dress (which is arguably the most boring part of the wedding festivities, sorry to everyone who loves showers and thank you to everyone who attended all 9,000 of mine for wedding + baby). So I almost always repeat a more casual wedding dress or a rehearsal dinner dress! I love THIS dress. It is such a flattering silhouette and it comes in a ton of colors. Could be worn to a shower, rehearsal dinner or dressed up for a wedding!
REHEARSAL DINNER ATTIRE
Um yes please, I will take THIS dress and wear it to all of the above! Seriously, could go bachelorette, couples shower, rehearsal and even a more casual wedding! THIS one is gorgeous! And so is THIS blush dress that would be perfect for a rehearsal dinner! THIS polka dot mini is adorable and the perfect dress for anyone trying to hide a little bump! Since having BB, whenever I shop I file things into “I can also wear while pregnant” category! I am currently obsessed with the brand MISA. I am wearing THIS Misa dress to the rehearsal dinner on Friday (I am also planning on repeating it at another wedding this summer!) but equally as obsessed with THIS one!
WEDDING
Dyyyying over THIS dress. It’s like a cupcake but in the best possible way. And it comes in my two favorite colors, black and blush, must be fate. THIS dress is an awesome price and classic. Could be worn to almost any wedding occasion! THIS one is in my shopping cart! Obsessed with the shoulder line and love that you could wear it to a casual wedding, bachelorette party or a rehearsal dinner!
BLACK TIE WEDDING
THIS is a timeless dress you could wear over and over again to black tie weddings! THIS one is stunning for a little sexier look! You could wear it to a more formal bachelorette party too! I love when dresses can be worn to all types of occasions. THIS and THIS are both a major splurge, but ugh beautiful!
SUPER AFFORDABLE
Weddings are so much fun, but they can be SO expensive. Especially when you are in the wedding and have showers, bachelorette parties, bridesmaid dresses, etc. The expenses add up pretty quickly, so these are all EXTRA affordable options!
SHOES
I couldn’t write a wedding post without including my favorite item, SHOES! I basically have three nicer pairs of shoes that I rotate through for weddings, including my wedding shoes which I recycle every single time I am a bridesmaid. A wedding is a long haul event, lots of standing and hopefully hours on the dance floor, so comfort is everything. Personally, I would rather invest in a few nicer shoes than a bunch of cheaper ones. But I linked to shoes all across the spectrum! I love THIS little strappy black heel, but it’s sold out in my size :(. THIS is equally as cute, but a more affordable option! THIS pair is a major splurge but gorgeous and could be worn over and over again!
BAGS
There is nothing worse than a cute wedding outfit and the wrong accessories. Everyone needs a few wedding appropriate clutches and handbags. I have two that I rotate between and that is it. I personally think that a closet is not complete without at least one fancier clutch than goes with everything! I wear a lot of black and neutrals, so my go to clutch is THIS splurge clutch in red one! Blake gave it to me years and years ago and I have worn it to countless weddings. My other go to is the CROSSBODY I am wearing in the pictures above! It is my favorite thing I have EVER owned (we bought it on our honeymoon) so I wear it any chance I get. You want something small and easy to carry around but big enough to fit your ID, credit card, lipstick and tissue (my wedding essentials!).
