What to Wear to a Summer Wedding

I recently attended a June wedding where the temperature climbed above 90 degrees. I have several variations on the Little Black Dress in my wardrobe and given the temperature, I knew none of them would be appropriate. What gives! I thought this was supposed to be the old standby. Most of my summer dresses are casual beach sundresses that are more appropriate with a swimsuit underneath. No, I needed something in between. I finally settled on a black dress with white polka dots and a flouncy hemline. It ended up being perfect.

But that got me thinking - what really is appropriate to wear to a summer wedding? I'm sure there are several of you that end up in this very situation. Most of my fancy clothes are black or some other dark color and attending a wedding in the summer presents itself with a different set of rules. I thought I'd give you some guidelines that will help you comb your wardrobe so you can see if you can find anything appropriate. If not, you'll need to hit the stores!

Lighten up the Color

The same cuts and materials apply in the summer as they do in other seasons by try to lighten up the color. As I observed, black was a no go. However, the white polka dots made the dress look "cooler". Think purple, light blue, even pale pink when it comes to finding a dress for a summer wedding. The goal is to find a color that goes with your complexion but also still looks "summery". As someone who looks best in black, white, and jewel tones this was a bit of a challenge for me. But the lighter and breezier the color, the better.

Don't be Afraid of Patterns

Though you might be hesitant to work with aggressively feminine patterns such as florals for a fall or winter wedding, for summer weddings they work quite well especially if the event is not labeled as black or white tie. The trick is to wear this pattern only if the material is somewhat dressier than a regular summer dress. Think chiffon or anything shiny (but not garishly so).

White is a No-Go

Though it may seem like white is an acceptable color from a "temperature" perspective, from at etiquette one it is a faux pas. The bride wears white and she's the only one who really should. When guests wear it the end result is one of tackiness because though the wearer may not even be thinking of this, her white dress competes directly with the bride's white dress. Just don't go there!

For Accessories Think Small

The one disaster my wardrobe experienced was my purse. I had a large messenger style purse. I was living out of a suitcase and didn't even think to pack a small clutch. If I did, I would have wanted it to be a color other than black but not white. It's just as tacky a color for a purse at a wedding as it is a dress. For me, a pretty silver colored clutch would have sufficed.

These tips will hopefully make your life easier when it comes to dressing for your summer wedding. It presented me with some unexpected challenges as most of my fancy "going out" clothes are more appropriate for the fall and winter.