What to Wear to a Summer Wedding : Formal, Cocktail, Casual
It’s wedding season—do you know what you’re wearing yet? With a pile of wedding invitations besieging your mailbox, inspiration for what to wear to each event can be hard to come by, especially as the theme or formality can vary from wedding to wedding.
Whether the wedding involves formal Catholic services and covered shoulders or is a carefree event on the beach with toes in the sand, here are some suggestions of what to wear in the best summer colors of the season:
Super Formal
The invite says: White-Tie
Translation: If you ever wanted a red carpet moment, this is your moment. Dress as though you were going to the Oscars. Floor-length ball gowns, slinky dresses, subtle sequins, designer labels, haute couture– the whole nine yards (quite literally, as some ballgowns can have up to 100 yards of tulle)—but with taste, as you don’t want to end up on the worst-dressed list.
Locales: A ballroom or dining room at the Ritz, a five-star establishment or someone’s private estate. Expect to hobnob with celebrities, dignitaries and/or members of the one percent. The event is most likely to take place in the evening, so subtler colors will suit the perfectly dimmed candlelight at the reception.
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Ideal colors: Blush Pink, Pewter Gray, Champagne and Black. Subdued, yet elegant, these colors are perfect for summer White-Tie wedding. Gorgeous and classic, these cool colors suit most skin tones and convey effortless sophistication.
Formal
The invite says: Black-Tie
Translation: One step down from White-Tie, Black-Tie is still much dressier than the average evening out. Stick to floor length gowns. If White-Tie is the Oscars, consider Black-Tie the Golden Globes or SAG Awards. Still a formal event, avoid overexposure with anything above the knee
Locales: Swanky rooftop venues, dining rooms at luxury hotels or someone’s expansive backyard that has been transformed into a sea of Moroccan-inspired tents.
Ideal colors: Blue Willow, Peach, Silver (or any of the colors from White-Tie). Still playing it safe with the palette, these summer shades are perfect for a formal event, adding color without being blatantly attention-grabbing. The soft blue is particularly perfect for a formal garden dinner; the silver is ideal for gliding across the varnished dance floor.
Semi-formal
The invite says: Cocktail
Translation: More in the territory of normal dressing; weddings that require cocktail attire allow you to dress as though you were going to the theater, a fancy dinner or to an art gallery opening. Cocktail dresses that aren’t micro-mini are usually acceptable (you want to look like a guest, not the lounge singer). Long dresses are perfectly fine in this setting as well—however, you might be slightly out of place in a full ball gown at this type of wedding.
Locales: Almost anywhere—cocktail attire is very popular at most weddings. Generally, afternoon or evening events.
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Ideal colors: Red, Pink (and any of the colors from White-Tie or Black-Tie). A semi-formal setting means you can go bolder with colors—and most cocktail dresses usually are more vibrant in hue than their formal counterparts. Red and pink are traditionally the color of love (in the United States), perfect for an event celebrating the love between a couple.
Casual
The invite: Casual or beach formal
Translation: Think flowing maxidresses, floral prints and flirty flared skirts. Picking the right footwear can be key to these events, as sandy beaches and soft grass wreak havoc on heels. Platforms and dressy flat sandals would be more practical. If you know the couple well enough and know that they won’t care (or might even encourage it), you might be able to get away with wearing flip-flops.
Locales: Gardens, parks, a cabin in the mountains, the beach–possibly an art gallery or somewhere more unusual. This is more likely to be a day to early evening event.
Ideal colors: Tangerine, Hot Pink (and any of the other colors previously listed). Try combining Tangerine with the Hot Pink for a very on-trend summer palette. As these weddings are generally day events, you can experiment with bright colors.
Doesn’t Specify
The invite: Doesn’t refer to a dress code.
Translation: Either this is an oversight that the bride will regret, or the couple really does not care how you dress for the event. Even if you aren’t given rules on how to dress, this is not carte blanche to show up in an old T-shirt, cut-off jeans and flip-flops (see exception above). Make an effort to still dress neatly and cleanly, and suitable for the occasion.
Locales: Refer to the location for clues as to how formal the wedding and reception will be.
Ideal colors: See the above options once you’ve determined the formality of the event.
Hopefully, this helps you decode what to wear this summer to any style of wedding you are invited to—and pushes you to the front of the fashion back with a guide to the summer’s hottest colors.
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