Tag: Sister Jane

I know it sounds crazy because of the recent spike in COVID cases, but I went to a wedding last weekend (my first since January). I have to admit that I was nervous to go, but since it was the wedding of one of my husband’s best friends, I sucked it up, treated myself to some fancy new face masks and tagged along with my hubs.

The wedding ended up being beautiful and in a huge church so guests had room to spread out. Everyone wore masks and had temperature checks and the reception was all outdoors so I felt really comfortable being there. Attending this wedding made me think about dressing up again because lord knows it has been a minute since most of us have been able to do that and I wanted to share some beautiful dresses with all of you in case you’re attending a wedding this fall!

While I ended up wearing one of my favorite dresses from a last year, I was a little stressed about what to wear.

The invitation said black tie, which traditionally means formal and floor-length, but I had a gut feeling that I would be overdressed in a gown, which my husband and mother-in-law confirmed. As my mother-in-law said, black tie is more for the men to wear tuxedos and for the women to wear elevated cocktails dresses in New Orleans, but that may not be the case where you are. I think good indicators of what a dress code really means are the time of the wedding (after 6 p.m. is definitely more formal) and the location of the wedding and reception.

Let’s start with perhaps the most common dress code, cocktail. Since most weddings are in the evening, cocktail attire is generally on the invitation. For men this means a nice suit and for women it means a nice dress, usually around knee length.

Things get trickier when couples list “Black Tie” as the dress code for their weddings. Traditionally, black tie means to wear a floor length gown, but that is often not the case at these weddings that request black tie on the invitation. For men, black tie does mean to wear a tuxedo or very nice suit, but for women it can in some cases mean a gown, but more often than not, it really means an elevated cocktail dress.

If you’re invited to a wedding that really is formal…say a night time wedding at a really fancy location like a fabulous ballroom or if the couple has rented out a museum , then you will want to go with a floor-length gown.

As we all know, weddings have been thrown for a loop by coronavirus and one trend I’ve noticed springing up is outdoor day weddings. Inspired by the outdoors and rustic decor, I would wear a casual flowy dress (even a bit prairie) with a great pair of boots to a wedding like this!

If you do have a wedding you’re contemplating going to, make sure you feel comfortable going and if you do go, make a plan. I made sure I had face masks and lots of hand sanitizer in my bag and tried to keep enough distance between myself and other guests. But most of all, have fun! We are living in a crazy time so we deserve to have a little *healthy and safe* fun!

XO,

Brit