what to wear to a wedding on June 8th in Seattle area

LaurenNK

So yesterday I just found out that my boyfriend and I are on the guest list for a friend's brother's wedding... next weekend!

Now I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't try to get rid of my J Crew bridesmaid dress from last summer. It is strapless, turquoise, fitted to the waist, then A-line to my knees.

It's still kind of cold around here, if we're lucky it'll be partly sunny and in the 60's I'm guessing.

I'm thinking of picking up a cardigan, sandals, and a clutch to make this an outfit. I'm in need of a nice coverup sweater until summer really gets off the ground and I've been looking for sandals anyway.

What colors should I go with? I'm leaning toward silver metallic sandals and silver clutch to match... but what about the cardigan? The dress is a true, very saturated turquoise.

18 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

My apologies Lauren, but how bridesmaid-y is the dress? I may have put a spanner in the works.

18 years ago

LaurenNK

Active Member

I actually found it.
http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/p.....=cat303190

That is the exact dress, but mine is turquoise.
This second link is very similar to the actual color http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/p.....=cat303190

18 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Okay. Nice.

Hmmm. Is the wedding inside and during the day?

18 years ago

LaurenNK

Active Member

The ceremony will be inside a church at 1pm, but I'm not sure about the "reception to follow" being inside or out.

The invitation really gives no clues. I don't know the couple, so am not sure who to ask for details...
I tried the brother/best man for details, but he shut his brain off after he got his suit all lined up... no idea what the actual atmosphere for the rest of us will be.

I just looked at the church's website, and it doesn't appear to have much in the way of reception-friendly grounds... but you never know. I guess I'll just have to try to be prepared for in/out, rain/shine, and anything else the NW wants to throw at me.

18 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Okay! In that case you need a trench!

18 years ago

Nicole

Veteran

Lauren, it's unusual for a wedding invitation to not say where the reception will be. Are you sure you're not just invited to the church? I have heard of people who do that.

18 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Nicole has a good point. It's very Dutch to be invited to either the church service, OR the reception. But I have not found this common practice in the US.

18 years ago

Ana

(website)

Veteran

I've been to lots of weddings where I was invited to the reception, but not the church service. Reason being that where I grew up there is a very dominant religion (many of my friends were members) and in that religion, many marriage ceremonies take place in a church and you can only go into the church if you are a member of the church with a certain standing. Honestly, this is fine with me, because I really hate weddings and think most wedding services are kind of boring. I mean, I'm really happy and excited for my friends/family, but it's just not my thing. I even hated my own wedding. I'd rather just send a gift. I've never been invited to the service though, and then not the reception.

18 years ago

LaurenNK

Active Member

The whole thing is actually kind of annoying to me. It's my boyfriend's best friend's brother. The 3 of them are on a volunteer fire dept. together, and occasionally we end up at the same parties. We go to dinner with this couple maybe twice a year.
I wasn't surprised that we never got an invite in the mail, but then the other day my boyfriend was with the groom-to-be and he mentioned he was surprised to not see an RSVP from us!

He says we were supposed to get an invite, so now it's all very last minute for me. If anything, I would assume they'd invite us to the reception, not the ceremony, given that we're only slightly acquainted and the few run-ins we have are at parties. But here I am with an invite to the church and a little note at the bottom that simply says reception to follow (so I assume it's at the church as well). It's a Catholic church, that's all I know for sure, and I have no idea if that would have any sway over what I should wear? (Sorry, the only wedding I've been to in the last 10 years was as a bridesmaid, so no thought required there).

I'm starting to like Ana's thought on sending a gift and skipping everything else. Now if only I could figure out where they're registered.

A decent trench has been on my wardrobe to-do list, but I had been hoping to put it off until fall at this point. Since I have no time for ordering from catalogs before next weekend, where does everyone suggest I shop in person for a nice trench?

18 years ago

Nicole

Veteran

Oh okay, if the invitation says "reception to follow" then you are invited to the reception. It's perfectly ok to call the bride or groom and ask them if the reception will be indoors or out.

18 years ago

shiny

Veteran

If the wedding is in a catholic church, you must cover your shoulders. So you do need a cardi or pashmina for the service.

18 years ago

Marcia

Member

The bridesmaid dress is very nice ... not at all like some of the never-can-be-worn again things I've been stuck with.

ANGIE: Are you from England?

18 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm Dutch Marcia but I have a neutral British accent because I spent my formative years in Hong Kong when it was a British colony and I attended British schools.

18 years ago

Category