Outdoor weddings in the summer are some of my favorite to attend. It’s bright out, pictures turn out great, and they’re fun to dress for. Keeping in mind the basic decoding rules of thumb, here are a few more reminders when planning your outfit.
Garden Wedding: Lightweight and colorful fabrics are always a good idea and feminine details play off the style of the venue. While keeping your jewelry and make-up on the lighter side, watch the amount of hair product you use since gardens usually have bees and bees will not leave you alone if you over did it on the hairspray. For footwear – choose wedges over heels as heels tend to sink in the grass. Avoid overdressing for this type of event especially if the ceremony is before 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Garden weddings are meant to be elegant in a subtle way, and your outfit should reflect that. Here are a few garden wedding guest outfits I’ve previously worn to weddings:
a mod floral print, watercolor floral print, and a lilac one-shoulder dress
Barn Wedding: These weddings have become increasingly popular, but can be a little hard to dress for considering often time you’re combining a fancier event with a rustic setting. This creates a beautiful venue that is enjoyable for the guests in attendance. Keep on the casual side, so skip the fancier dress and opt for a more relaxed look with dressier accessories. A cotton dress with a print would be a safe option for this type of wedding. Here are a few outfits I put together appropriate for a barn wedding:
silk polka dot dress, seersucker, and cotton polka dots
Beach Wedding/Destination Wedding: This is where you can bust out that flowy dress you’ve been wanting to wear since beach weddings are the most relaxed of all the outdoor weddings. I’m not against wearing black to a wedding, but I’m strongly against wearing black to a beach wedding. Any other color would work and look lovely with the background of the sand and water. Shoes are tricky since you may not be wearing them at all, so wear a flat sandal and keep in mind you’ll probably take it off. Heels and wedges will sink in the sand, and if you’re like me, you are not as graceful as you’d like to be in them anyway so wearing flat sandals is a relief. My sister-in-law had a beautiful wedding in northern Michigan on the beach and here’s what I wore to that:
cotton periwinkle dress with starfish earrings
Items to Pack: sunglasses, sunscreen, layers (as outdoors can be unpredictable), bugspray, and oil blotting wipes. It is also smart to keep an umbrella in the car just in case. One of my favorite items to see worn at an outdoor wedding is an elegant straw hat. I’m a big fan of women in hats and when I see one at a wedding I think it looks so elegant and appropriate.
