Help with "the look"

laurelandjamie · July 23, 2007

Gals,

My fiance and I are having trouble figuring out wedding attire, so I'm consulting the brides who know best. ..... He wants to go really informal. I want to wear something that makes me feel like a beautiful bride, and I'm not sure the really informal dresses will. Since a traditional wedding dress might be too much for our beach wedding at a villa in Cabo, I have been looking at destination bride dresses or bridesmaids dresses that also come in white or ivory. He wants to wear khaki pants and a white or ivory shirt like many of your guys have worn or are planning to wear. I think that would look nice, so I'm fine with it. I also really like the beige suit look that a lot of your men have been wearing and the sea blue shirt with a tie look.

I have just started looking for dresses and haven't been to try anything on yet. These dresses I found on-line kind of catch my eye (in white or ivory).

After Six Bridesmaid Dress 6274

Jasmine Bridal

J.Crew > women's sale medium > dresses > Holly silk faille dress

J.Crew > women's sale medium > dresses > Avery silk long cross-back dress

J.Crew > women's sale medium > dresses > Whitney silk faille dress

J.Crew > features > catalog/jcrew.com exclusives > dresses > Sophia short silk dress

He is thinking of a dress like

Wedding White Aloha Sun Dress

Hawaiian Dresses, Aloha Blouses, Wedding Dress, Tropical Pants, Island Skirts for Women

This JCrew dress is somewhere in between, but I was thinking of getting it in a color for the bridesmaids. FYI - it is on SALE! right now. Several colors are 49.99. They have some colors not shown on their website and the person I talked to on the phone said they are coming out with some new beach colors in the fall (purple, orange, and yellow I think).

J.Crew > women's sale medium > dresses > Strapless embossed beach dress

So, I guess my question is how did you decide what kind of dress to wear? For those of you who are now married, how did you feel in your dress at the alter? at the reception? Can you have fun in a fancy dress if everyone else is not as fancy?

Thanks for the advice. You guys are great.

Laurel

JulieG · July 23, 2007

Laurel, I decided that I wanted to wear a traditional wedding dress, and that even though the guys would be more casual, I was going to wear whatever I wanted to wear. I am the bride after all, so I am going to dress how I please.

I like the idea of going casual, but I would hate for you to feel like you missed out on wearing the dress you wanted, or a wedding gown, because your FH wants it to be casual. I do not think you will look odd at all if you go more dressy, its your wedding afterall.

I love the look, and if that is what you want to go for, I say all the power to you, but I did not want to miss out on wearing a wedding gown cause I will hopefully never get that chance again. (I will probably sweat my butt off, but I don't care

rodent · July 23, 2007

I've noticed most brides in the forum wear a formal gown, even though the groom & guests are casual. It looks great.

I knew I wanted a casual dress, but I didn't know how casual. I tried on some really casual white cotten dresses & didn't feel right. I found something dressy enough that I feel fancy, but still very casual.

I love that short, silk jcrew dress. I really like all of the dresses you picked out. They are the balance between dress & casual I was looking for.

Have you tried stuff on? I think that helps get an idea of what you want.

Karen · July 23, 2007

I think it's really important not to compromise your vision too much when picking your bridal dress. I know for me it was important to pick a gown that made me feel bridal yet was not too too formal for the beach. So I picked a gown from the Dessy Destination Wedding line. My gown was full length with a sweep train and it was no problem to move around in. Trying on dresses is key. Definately get the dress that makes you feel incredible.