The Ultimate Wedding Guest Dress Shopping Guide
What Do I Wear?
Let’s face it, does anyone not look through 1 million options when preparing to go to a wedding?
Wedding guest attire can be TRICKY. I personally use to order 5+ dresses, hate all of them, order more, borrow something from a friend, and still not love what I’m wearing or the photos!
I have rounded up some full proof wedding guest dresses that you are guaranteed to love, but also wear again and again!
Before we jump into it, you should know that there are dress codes for a wedding. You should typically be given the dress code on the invitation!
At the basic level there is casual, cocktail, formal, and black tie. And if the invite doesn’t say, then ask a friend because you have got to know the dress code before shopping!
Here we go.
Casual Wedding Attire
When dressing for a casual wedding, the biggest thing to be cautious of is over-dressing!
A casual wedding is likely going to be outdoors, or smaller and more intimate. Casual does not mean jeans, shorts, or what you wore to work the day before. Think summer sundresses and wedges. A ribbed long sleeve dress and booties in winter.
You can still have fun with this attire and not over do it! The most popular length of dress for this attire is mini or short but I think there are some beautiful midi lengths as well. Fabric is key. Shop for cotton, and casual laces. Nothing too dressy like velvet or silk.
Here’s a few recommendations:
Cocktail Wedding Attire
Possibly the most popular wedding attire, so likely what you will need most of in your closet! Cocktail is going to be dressier than casual, and semi formal, but not as fancy as black tie optional/formal. So when it comes to cocktail attire, this one is quite simple to dress for, you just need a cocktail dress! Most websites have “cocktail dress” as a filter so they simplify the search for you!
I like a midi dress length or tea length dress for this dress code or a very elegant short dress! A longer dress just adds a level or elegance. You won’t want any beadwork on your gown, but you can play around with different fabrics like velvet, nicer laces, silk, or chiffon.
Here are a few recommendations:
Formal or Black-Tie Optional
Black tie optional sounds really confusing, I know! I used to always wonder what level of dressy to go with this one but then I realized it’s floor length dresses, or dressy almost floor length dresses. Really nice pants suits are welcomed as well!
With this dress code, it is almost easier to show than to explain, you’ll see what I mean in the examples below! With this dress code you can still get away with showing your ankle, historically you aren’t supposed to with black tie. So show off those ankle in these dresses!
Here are a few recommendations:
Black Tie
Now if you are going to a black tie wedding, consider yourself lucky! These weddings are BEAUTIFUL. And fun. I hope you drink bottomless champagne all night. When dressing for black tie, they say you aren’t supposed to show ankle but I think a slit in the dress can add a little edge.. take these recommendation with a grain of salt haha! If you want to go on the safe side, maybe wear one without the slit.
Regardless, you’re going to need a floor length dress for this and these below are some of my favorites! I still stay away from recommending beading.. just because the bridal party might be in beading, and if not done correctly beading can come off as tacky! With this attire, I try and strive for classic and elegant but also hot.
Here are a few recommendations:
Below are a few of the dresses I have tried on and absolutely LOVE. Just in case you would like to see the dresses on someone not a product model haha!
Bonus, here are some shoes/accessories that I love!
