Thanks for posting pics Lannie and I’m sorry that you have buyers remorse. Know that this dress is pretty on you and fits well. But it has a casual element to it and unless it’s a beach wedding (which I don’t think it is), it’s a tad too casual. Sorry that I could not reassure you.

However, it’s within your budget and that’s important. Try bringing those ties back to the front and square knotting the ends to one side so that you don’t have this back bow thing going on. Do you have metallic shoes?

Maybe you could add a bright cardigan. Is the dress gray? Do you have a yellow or fuschia cardigan? That might look nice.

Hmm I agree with Angie. The dress is nice and fits you very well, but it's a tad too casual in my opinion.

Maybe you can dress it up with metallic shoes, some fancy wrap and sparkly earrings?

i think it's cute. it does fit well - seems to be the right silhouette for your body. im not in love with the pattern, but i think accessories would make the dress pop.

first, i might do a cardigan with it - cropped would be super cute, but normal length would work too if you're on a budget and only have that style. id recommend maybe a kelly green, yellow, red, or white - but if you went with white, you might want to change the shoes to espadrilles.

some chunky beads or a silver pendant necklace would be cute. for the beads, you could choose any of the colors above, but don't go matchy-matchy with the cardigan if you wear one. same for a clutch if you go that route as well.

a different belt would be cute, but you'd have to figure out what to do with the built in belt.

of course, you don't have to employ all of these accessories. the one fashion rule i always try to abide by is from the fabulous coco chanel - "Before leaving the house, a lady should stop, look in a mirror, and remove one piece of jewelry."

Thanks for your help ladies. I guess I should admit that the last wedding I went to was in high school, and it was my mom's where I was a bridesmaid, so this is my first time really having to dress myself for a wedding. And I'll be going to four this summer! It's a bit overwhelming.
If this is too casual (I pondered that myself as I was trying everything on) maybe I should go ahead and return it and try to figure out something else. I've read over those wedding cheat sheets a few times but I think I still seem to err on the side of dressing too casually (perhaps from wearing jeans all the time, having been a student for my whole life). Maybe I need some fundamental ground rules: is it safe to assume cotton is always too casual? What about jersey wrap dresses?
I almost want to keep it anyway, just to have another dress option in my closet for other events that will come up in the summer. Bah! I can't start full-time work soon enough. 2 more weeks! Sigh.

Lannie, what is the situation for the wedding? Is it a church/reception hall kind of thing? Or outdoor casual? Day or Night?

Church ceremony at 2:30 (does anyone know if the covered shoulders rule stands for Protestant churches?) followed by a dinner and dance reception at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. So, the standard sort of wedding I guess.

Then I have to agree that it's too casual. That technically falls under an evening wedding, IMO. If you can return it, or if you have other occasion to wear it (to work? or out to dinner?) then keep it because it does fit you nicely. But I agree w/everyone else that it's too casual for the wedding.

Yep, I think I'm just going to keep it anyhow. I could wear it to nicer dinners, plays, or perhaps even my sister's rehearsal dinner later in the summer. I'm going to check out this boutique with my mom when she picks up her dress for my sister's wedding just to see what they've got. Another option is to go to the Banana Republic in the next city (where I work anyway) to see what they have. I noticed a few really cute dresses on their website:
http://www.bananarepublic.com/.....pid=564432
http://www.bananarepublic.com/.....=564243002
http://www.bananarepublic.com/.....=564546022

I really like the purple linen dress, particularly because I'd rather wear a jewel tone than black. Am I getting closer, or are these still off the mark?

You are closer! The purple linen dress would be gorgeous on you.

Relief! Thanks for your help, ladies. I shall report back with how it all ended up!