Wedding Season What-to-Wear: Outdoor Wedding

Spring brings flowers, thunderstorms, and wedding announcements. The invites will start trickling (or flooding) in now, and your calendar will likely be dotted with I Do’s through the early fall.

How many do you have?  My invitation count is currently a 3, and we’re not even into May yet.

So, what to wear? Weddings can be tricky events to dress for– you want to look your best, but you don’t want to overdo it (or outshine the bride, that’s never good).

When and where the wedding occurs is another variable to consider (and possibly the most important)– that breezy sundress may be perfect for an outdoor noon wedding, but may seem too casual for an evening wedding that takes place indoors.

Breaking it down (from casual to formal):

• Outdoor
• Daytime
• Cocktail
• Black Tie

For this What-to-Wear, let’s cover the outdoor wedding. Likely to be fairly casual (but that doesn’t mean you can wear denim shorts, unless the bride is wearing this), which means you can pull a sundress off the rack and be set. A few ideas:

1. Forever 21 ($34)
2. Delia’s ($45)
3. Victoria’s Secret ($58)
4. Diane Von Furstenburg ($345)
5. Victoria’s Secret ($29)
6. Old Navy ($35)
7. Forever 21 ($11)
8. Old Navy ($25)

When attending an outdoor wedding, you want to think light, airy, breezy fabrics. Nothing too dense (like heavy satin, winter fabrics like tweed or wool).

Depending on the weather, you might bring a cardigan or a light-colored trench to top off the outfit (especially if the day is particularly windy/rainy or the wedding is in the evening when the temp falls a bit). Likewise, once summer is in full swing, outdoor weddings can be super hot and sticky, which is why an easy, lightweight dress is often the best choice.

You have many outfit options with an outdoor wedding:

• Short or long (I love the idea of this maxi from Old Navy [6] paired with wedges, a really vibrant statement necklace and a bright lip)
• Straps or strapless (the little sundress from Delia’s [2] gives off a very sweet vibe, while the strapless blue body-con number from VS [5] is super sexy)
• Solids or prints (the fun printed dresses from Forever 21 [1] and DVF [4] are equally as cute as the boldly-colored dress from Forever 21 [7] and Old Navy [8], don’t you think?)
• Sleeves or sleeveless (really loving the one-sleeve option on the VS dress [3] matched with metallic accessories)

While a simple sundress on its own can easily carry you through the event, you can also punch up the look with bold accessories. Slip on a huge cocktail ring, an armful of bangles or several strings of necklaces, or make your shoe choice standout (think bright purple pumps or super-tall platform wedges).