We all know that first impressions are cruel, especially on a wedding day! By this point you and the couple have established a friendship, so they know what to expect from you and they have probably been talking you up to all their family and friends. So it is important that you fulfill those expectations on the wedding day! Not only is it important to be professional and kind to your clients and their family, but your attire is also important. Think about it; you have invested thousands of dollars into your wedding photographer to capture your special day, the last thing you want is for them to show up in jeans! I always make it a point to dress professional and PRACTICAL on a wedding day, because lets be honest, it’s the worst when you are uncomfortable during an 8 hour wedding! So I have decided to put together a few of my favorite wedding day outfits, give you all the details, and explain WHY I wear what I wear!

It is always important to stay cohesive with your brand, that also includes what you wear on a wedding day. If you have a very soft and neutral palette like mine, it’s probably not best to come in a hot pink dress! Not only that, but bold colors can be very distracting. It is important to stand out with your professionalism on a wedding day, but not in your attire! Majority of the time I wear a dress to a wedding. Unless it is freezing, then I opt for dress pants and a nice blouse. Anytime I consider a dress for a wedding I always consider 3 things; 1. Does it past my “lift test”? What I mean by this is pretend like you have your camera in your hand, go ahead and lift your camera up to your face and stand how you normally would when photographing. If it keeps you covered and does not become an inappropriate length, you’re good to go! 2. The finger rule. Remember in high school how in order to tell if a top was too low you would have to hook your thumbs into the side of your armpits and line your fingers straight across your chest, and if it was lower than your fingers it was deemed out of the dress code? Who ever thought that tool would be helpful but yep, it is! I do that test on every dress/top I wear! Preferably, I like my dress to come to my collar-bone, but that’s just me! 🙂 3. Can I move in it? And I don’t mean like walking, I mean can I really move in this dress? Am I able to crouch down, raise my arms, twist, turn, spin, do whatever move I have to and not have to worry if I’m exposing too much! Another tip with this is that if you’re a worry-wart like me, wear shorts/spandex under your dress to ensure that no one will see anything they don’t want too! 😉 Along with these rules I like to keep my attire pretty simple, I’ll wear stud earrings or sometimes my nice hoops, and maybe some simple bracelets and my watch to keep track of time! I like to look cute but practical, that’s the key word here ladies! 🙂

 

So with that here are some of my FAVORITE wedding outfits and below the photos will be details on each item!

This is one of my all time FAVORITE dresses for weddings! It is comfortable, professional, and it has pockets!!!! Not only that but it’s an awesome price! I got it at H&M for $50! The shoes I also paired it with I wear to about 90% of my weddings. THEY ARE SO COMFY! They are by Chinese Laundry!

Dress: (IT’S ON SALE!) http://www.hm.com/us/product/38719?article=38719-B&cm_vc=GOES_WITH_PD

Shoes: http://www.chineselaundry.com/chinese-laundry/endless-summer-lace-up-flat-4987

I also purchased this dress from H&M and it is also awesome! The pattern is very flattering and it is super comfy! Not to mention the gold zipper is an awesome accent!

Dress: (IT’S ON SALE!) http://www.hm.com/us/product/39110?article=39110-A

 

Okay now this is an awesome dress! Just a disclaimer this dress is a bit pricy! But it’s awesome because you can wear it to SO much more then just weddings… but it is still an awesome wedding dress! I purchased this dress from BCBG and what I love about this dress is that it is so light weight and breathable! it is a perfect dress to wear on those hot summer wedding days! It also has very deep pockets, and you have the choice of buttoning the top if you’re looking to cover up a little more! It’s awesome!

Dress: (IT’S ON SALE!) https://www.bcbg.com/en/annora-striped-dress/612000709700.html

Okay this dress has quickly become one of my favorites! I purchased this dress from Marshalls and it is by the brand Lila Rose. Now I am serious when I mean that this dress feels like I’m wearing pajamas! It is a breathable, stretchy fabric that fits perfectly! And for chillier nights, I pair it with a blazer from H&M and one of my favorite statement necklaces!

I couldn’t find a link to the dress, but I highly recommend checking out your local Marshalls/ TJ Maxx! They always have amazing dresses for great prices!

Okay if you know me, you’ve probably seen me wear this dress like 100 mins because that’s how much I love it! I actually purchased it from a local Fredericksburg boutique called Peacaloo Boutique! You can shop their stuff HERE! This particular dress is by a brand called Honeylee and it is ridiculously soft! Not to mention it is a dress that can be worn in multiple seasons! I wear this during the winter and summer! I also love to switch up my shoes sometime and these little booties are awesome! They give me great support and they aren’t too high! I purchased these booties from Steve Madden!

And another awesome Marshalls find! YAY! This type of dress may not be everyone’s cup of tea because it does require you to wear a strapless bra, so if you cannot be comfortable in one for hours upon hours, I would skip a dress like this! But this dress is incredible! It is made of a thicker, soft fabric so it tends to keep me warmer than some of my other dresses, which is awesome for outdoor receptions! This dress is by a brand called Monteau!

AH, here is some color for a change 😉 I purchased this dress from Frencessca’s and it is by the brand Everly! This dress is a great length! I am about 5’4 and it hits a little bit above my knee! I love to pair this dress with tights and a scarf for colder days, or I’ll wear it as you see above with my H&M blazer and a statement necklace from Target!

Last but not least we have good ole’ blue! This dress is one of my go-tos! The light weight fabric, deep pockets, and cute structure makes it perfect for virtually any season! I’ve even slid on some rain boots with it and it looks super cute! This dress was also purchased at Francesca’s and it is by the brand Jack!

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and you get a little inspiration into what to wear for a wedding! 🙂