September 4, 2019

5 tips to help you pick a wedding outfit that’s comfortable, looks great on you, and lets you enjoy the party to the max!

Wearing the right thing to a wedding seems fairly intuitive. Just wear a wedding level dress or suit, right? Wrong! Depending on where in the world the wedding is taking place, where in the city it’s taking place, and the type of wedding, the parameters of the right outfit will vary drastically. And if you’re anything like me, you put off dress/outfit hunting for as long as possible because the nature of your life and work means there isn’t a pair of joggers and sneakers you haven’t tried out. Hey, comfort is king! 

And now the wedding is a week away, this is the busiest work week of your entire year, you’ve also come down with a cold because you’re running yourself into the ground, and now you basically have 2 hours, 2 days before the wedding to get an outfit together. Joy! If this sounds like a pattern you fall into, we’ve got some tips to make sure you never experience this level of frenzy before a wedding again. 

1. Refer to the Invitation

All invitations when made properly should indicate which attire is suitable. Surprisingly, many people don’t pay attention to that detail. This also might not surprise you at all if you’ve already had three team members call you up today asking you how to implement a new workflow, even though you provided explicit details on how to do just that in the meticulous email you sent them this morning!

In situations where suitable attire hasn’t been identified in the invitation, ask the individual who invited you to the wedding at which attire level they’re expecting their guests to show up. And ask friends who are attending which level of “dressed up” they’re going for. By this we mean, ask if peeps are showing up dressed like it’s the red carpet the night of the Oscars, or if the vibe is more laid back like a jazzed-up, backyard cocktail party. Obviously, the response will likely align with where the wedding is taking place both on a global as well as on a local scale.

2. Plan Ahead

No, seriously.  Once you have a response to the question above, take the time to go out and try things. And if you’re ordering online, order far enough ahead for your options to arrive, to try them on, and to get anything altered. Yes, altering is a thing you need to allocate some time to as well. Trust us; it’s worth it. With enough time, you’re more likely to assess what looks good and feels good on you without a stress filter clouding your judgement. However, due to all of the photoshopped effects on social media, your perception of what looks and feels good on you might be a struggle. If so, the next tip is for you.

3. Be Kind to Yourself

If your perception of how you look in certain outfits, and special occasion outfits, in particular, is untrustworthy, don’t try to come to a decision alone. Even more importantly, don’t come to a decision alone and while you’re looking at wedding photography perfection on Insta or other social media platforms. Try on the outfits in the presence of a friend, or anyone whose opinion you really trust. More and more often now, people are being less kind in their assessments of themselves, and the inclination towards self-deprecation magnifies around weddings because of life benchmark questions and comparisons.

Get out of your own head and get someone’s feedback. It can be a great afternoon with someone telling you how great you look and getting you to change your mindset about what you believe looks awful or great on you. And this is key in being kind to yourself: it’s not you that looks “bad” in the outfit; it’s just that the outfit doesn’t suit you. Move on to one that flatters you the way it should.

4. Sit Down and Dance

Moving away from perception and into a bit of reality, it’s well and good for the outfit you like to look good while you’re standing, but you need to do the Sit-Down and Dance Test. That means testing how the fabric settles when you sit down and how it moves when you dance. Can you do both comfortably and not finish your night feeling like the showing up to school naked nightmare just became your reality? It’s surprising how many people forget to account for comfort and functionality. Every wedding we’ve been to, there have been women that literally had to go pee in groups because they needed their friends’ help to get out and back into the dress because they can’t bend enough without something ripping. Emilia Clarke at the Oscars is a very special exception.

5. Sweat, Heat, and Cry-Proof Makeup

Brides usually have a dress and hair rehearsal ahead of the wedding to determine which hairstyle they’ll be in all day and same goes for makeup. You should do the same. Pick the makeup and hair you want to have on the day, and test it out during a particularly hot day and see how it endures. And then put it all to the test in front of a film or television episode that slams you right in the tear ducts every time. If your waterproof choices have stood the test, that’s one less thing to worry about except packing some tissues for the guest next to you who didn’t plan as well as you did.

What it all comes down to in the end is preparation and asking for help.

Finally, this isn’t for the dress, the suit, or the shoes, but rather for the soul and mind being squished into them. In spite of the advice we’ve given, maybe you’ve found this post after you’ve already shopped or you found it in time but ended up compromising some aspect of your comfort for the sake of aesthetic appeal.

Remember what this day is about. It’s a day designed to celebrate people you love and their commitment to love each other. This is not a day designed to make you suffer.  The wedding’s a big party, with romance, dancing, and an opportunity to spend some time with friends you haven’t seen in a while. Enjoy it. Revel in it. Cherish it. If you’re doing that, what you’re wearing becomes quite insignificant.

xx – Mona

Event Planner & Studio Designer