Bachelorette

Wedding Dress Codes and Style Guide

Wedding Guest Dress Code

Dress: Nordstrom (comes in 7 colors) | Shoes: Steve Madden (ON SALE)

Wedding season is in full force and has been the most requested topic by far from you ladies! This post idea has been in the works for quite some time and I’m hoping that it will serve as a comprehensive guide for all of your wedding attire needs for both brides and wedding guests. Everything from showers to bachelorette parties to the actual wedding weekend, I’ve sifted through thousands and thousands of dresses to find appropriate choices for each of these events. This is a long post but should answer all of your questions when it comes to what to wear to a wedding event whether it’s in a barn, on the beach or a church!

WEDDING DAY DRESS CODE:

BLACK TIE

Black tie and black tie optional weddings are going to be more “gala-like” than a cocktail attire wedding. Men pull out their tuxedos and women are decked out in floor length gowns. The “optional” part in black tie just means that you don’t have to wear a floor length gown if you do not wish to. But hey, after prom how many times do us girls get the chance to rock a gown? Have a little fun with it! For black tie optional, nicer midi dresses and jumpsuits are totally fine just remember to error on the dressier side (like this!). For black tie weddings, keep in mind that renting a ball gown is an excellent option! You don’t want to spend $200+ on a dress chances are you are never going to wear again especially since you know you’ll want something new for the next event! Rent The Runway is a service I have used several times now. They have thousands of designer and name brand dress options. The best part is that they send you two sizing options so that if your normal size doesn’t work, you have  a back up!

He should wear: A tuxedo or formal dark suit and tie

She should wear: A long evening dress or formal cocktail dress

 

COCKTAIL ATTIRE

From personal experience, 9 out of 10 weddings you are going to be invited to will be cocktail attire. If the invitation says “dressy casual”  or semi formal you might as well look at it as cocktail attire. Why there are 500 different ways to say cocktail attire I have no idea. It’s 2018 so people think they are really creative when honestly they are just really confusing.

Basically a cocktail dress is just a fancy term for a “nice” dress that is not a ball gown. If you are unsure of what would qualify as a cocktail dress think about it this way: a dress that you would feel overdressed wearing to a luncheon and underdressed wearing to a gala. While most cocktail dresses usually hit above the knee, midi and maxi dresses can also be worn for cocktail attire. Keep in mind a less formal approach to a longer length dress might be more appropriate as not to look you are going to a black tie wedding. Jumpsuits are certainly appropriate as well for cocktail attire but error on the side of a more formal jumpsuit (like this!). I did an entire post here on why I actually prefer to wear jumpsuits for weddings. Here is just one of several reasons that I gave in the post:

…while every other girl is trying to hike up her dress and awkwardly dance, you are 10 steps ahead of them ready to take on the limbo, cha cha slide, cotton-eyed joe and every other cliche wedding song like a total champ!

He should wear: A suit and tie

She should wear: A cocktail dress or jumpsuit

 

BEACHY FORMAL

Apparently this is becoming a thing guys! News to me too because I haven’t had the pleasure of having been invited to one. *Side note: all of my destination beach wedding friends can come out of hiding now*. The formal term is used relatively loosely here, mostly meaning that a dress below the knees would be best but is not required. You will want to dress for the elements (sun, sand and sweat) so flowy, sleeveless options are usually best.

He should wear: A summer suit with (no ties required), linen pants (or khakis) and sandals

She should wear: A formal sundress at knee length or below with sandals

CASUAL

Generally speaking, casual means anything goes but jeans, shorts and tank tops are probably not appropriate unless they’re specifically noted as acceptable. Keep in mind the time of day for the wedding. Daytime weddings are going to be a little less dressy than a night time wedding. Also note the type of venue. You probably don’t want to wear a nice cocktail dress to a barn wedding and a sundress might be too casual for a nice hotel. If you are still confused on what to wear, I promise this little dress won’t steer you wrong.

He should wear: Dress pants with a button-down shirt or polo

She should wear: A sundress or a skirt with a nice top

ACCESSORIES

No matter what type of wedding you attend, accessorizing is one in the same. 9 out of 10 times you will find me in these nude heels. They seriously go with any and every dress! Not to mention they are great for date night or a girls night out too. Speaking from experience, you honestly can’t go wrong with a pair of Steve Madden heels! Jewelry wise, invest in a couple of fun pairs of earrings that you can dress up or down. This way you can wear them beyond weddings! My gold hoops almost never leave my ears- weddings, date nights, work wear, you name it! If you buy one pair of earrings, make it these. Lastly, if you know you might be cold at the wedding, bring a wrap instead of a jacket as it will look a bit nicer!

WEDDING SHOWER

Attire for showers is completely dependent on location. For locations such as somebody’s house or an informal restaurant, a casual sundress, skirt or even jeans and a nice top will do! If the shower is at a nicer restaurant, church or formal venue, you will want to wear a sundress.

FOR THE BRIDE:

FOR THE GUEST:

REHEARSAL DINNER

Again attire is dependent on location. If the rehearsal is held at a church, you have to be mindful that it is a holy place. Some religions require that your shoulders be covered when inside of the church. I would not advise wearing a skirt or jeans unless the bride tells you this is okay to do so.

FOR THE BRIDE:

FOR THE GUEST:

BACHELORETTE PARTY

Location and what the bride wants you to wear is everything!

For the bride: Most brides tend to want to stick to wearing all white, after all nothing says bride like wearing all white! And if that fails, hopefully your friends also get you an obnoxious sash and penis themed everything to let the rest of the world know it is in fact your weekend.

For the guests: The bride will usually give details on dress code for the party but if not, it is a safe bet to wear black! Rompers are my favorite option when going out (although they aren’t the easiest to go to the bathroom in) because if you like to dance, they are the best option to bust a move in!

Lingerie: If not at the bachelorette, there is usually a lingerie party for the bride. I don’t care how old or mature you are, don’t tell me that lingerie is not awkward to buy. Save yourself the embarassment and buy it online. My go to places for relatively cheap and PG (I personally stay away from gifting anything PG-13 because I’m an inner 5 year old) lingerie are always Nordstrom Rack and Hautelook. They are always running lingerie sales. Brand wise: I like Free People and Sam Edelman lingerie. It is cute and sexy… if that is possible.

Wedding Style Guide: Dress Codes, Etiquette and FAQ
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The Next Bachelorette

Dress: Envy Couture by Anil  | Photography by: Banavenue

Well the day we ALL have been waiting for is finally here. We can all rest easy tonight knowing that we have 12 weeks of hopelessly romantic insanely awkward encounters. Let’s be honest, it’s really just an excuse to get together with friends and throw back a few bottles of wine while watching an absolute train wreck. It’s where we can find a little hope that our lives aren’t nearly as embarrassing or terrible as ABC makes these people’s out to be. In case you forgot, last season a girl announced to all of America that she had a certain issue in the bedroom. So if you think you have it bad, things could be much worse.

As much as I hate on the Bachelor/Bachelorette, you will find me, a Chipotle bowl, my fuzzy socks and a bottle of wine posted up on the couch every Monday night at approximately 6:59. I used to be able to wait until about 7:30 or 8 so that I could fast forward through commercials, but 1) that’s less time to drink wine and 2) thanks to social media and the 5 different Bachelor watch party group texts that I am in, it would be social suicide not to be watching it live. Can you imagine the horror of someone else watching something uber embarrassing or downright funny before you’ve had the first laugh?! Not ok.

Let’s talk a little bit about how the first night will inevitably go down. You will have a slew of men show up and introduce themselves to the bachelorette. The majority of these first impressions will be something cringe worthy that you will probably have to hide halfway under a blanket just to stomach the second hand embarrassment. Then you will have the few guys that try the safe route and just offer a “hey, how are you tonight”. LAME. I prefer the cringe-worthy moments if we are being honest. Makes for better entertainment.

You will find out that there are “jobs” that you didn’t even know existed or ones that could hardly be called a profession. You make money from that? Teach all of America your ways please. For instance, this season we have a tickle monster, aspiring drummer, former professional basketball player (ok not bad, but like what do you do now?), and a Whaboom (WTF??). All I know is that if you can make a living off of tickling, sign me up.

After the men make their way into the Bachelor pad, you will immediately start to see the drama unfold. We start to see who is supposedly there for the “right reasons” and who is just there to catch some fame. Someone might cry night one. In fact, it isn’t an episode of the Bachelor after all if someone doesn’t cry. Someone always cries. If I was the betting type, I’d also bet that at least one guy will get drunk and make a fool out of themselves.

Whatever happens tonight, you know it’s going to be the MOST dramatic and best episode that you are EVER going to see in television history. And if it doesn’t turn out that way, there is a 99.9% chance that next week’s preview will tell you that is the case too. And the week after that. And well, every week after that. Somehow every week earns that title and we all get sucked into the madness. So cheers to a drama-filled and wine-induced season!

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