Last year was such a strange year all the way around. I’m sure every one of us knows someone who sadly had to postpone a wedding in 2020. Some got married in small ceremonies and are perhaps having some time of celebration one year later. I’ve been hearing a number of friends talking about attending weddings. I’d say for the most part weddings are back for 2021 including my son and his fiancée who are getting married on June 5th!
I think couples are often scaling back guest lists or out of town guests will be limited. That is certainly the case for our family wedding. We have very few from my extended family coming to the wedding in Dallas, Texas, as I think there is just a bit of uncertainty in many people’s minds still when it comes to traveling.
But let’s move on to wedding fashion! Recently I posted this “Team Tuesday” in my Facebook group. It’s something I do every so often on Tuesdays and the topics are not always fashion related. It’s just a fun way to get group members involved and some posts have elicited great responses.
After ordering a LOT of dresses online in both neutrals and colors I finally decided on this one. I debated for a while on navy vs black and finally decided. For fun I put it out there last week. Overwhelmingly the group choice was navy. I’m a big fan of navy blue overall. Women are often drawn to black; it tends to dominate fashion. There are many times I’ve looked at a piece of clothing and wished it was in more choices than black. It’s not very original or interesting. Black can sometimes “wash” you out or make you look more pale.
But I chose the black dress! I’m very happy with the choices and here is why.
- I had one group member choose black but kind of questioned whether it could be for a mother of the bride or groom. Times have changed and black is acceptable across the board from bridesmaids to the moms to guests. I can remember growing up back in the 70s and someone had black bridesmaid dresses. It was kind of unheard of then. Small town “talk” –you know how that goes!
- Setting, time of day and formality of the event played into my decision. It’s a formal wedding in a beautiful church in downtown Dallas. It’s black-tie optional on a Saturday evening.
3. If you’ve been reading here for a while and seen me on social media, you know I wear a lot more bright colors than neutrals. At first I thought that was the direction I’d go. I loved how the bright blue I wore for my younger son’s wedding in 2018 was the perfect contrast. Deep red/ Burgundy was my first choice because I thought there was going to be a lot more red/pink in the bouquets. Yet nothing in that shade worked or fit right. Then I had a pretty purple one I loved. But when I saw photos of the bridesmaid dress color and learned the flowers were going to be mostly white with lots of greenery, I knew a neutral like black or navy was going to be right. Pewter is such a nice alternative, but it just isn’t out there presently. Below is a photo courtesy of Pinterest with a similar color of bridesmaid dress. The bouquets won’t be quite like that, but you get the idea.
4. The photos are probably the biggest consideration since that’s what I will look at for the next years. I began envisioning our family photo. My daughter-in-law is a bridesmaid and my son will be in a black tux My husband is also wearing a tux and the groom is wearing a white dinner jacket. I put together some photos again from the help of Pinterest and created a “board” so I could get even a better idea. I included a few below. If you are trying to choose something for an event, I highly recommend trying to create the scene as best as you can by grouping photos and even photographing yourself in a similar setting. It really will help in your decision making process.
The vintage gold accessories I’m thinking of sealed the deal. These choices aren’t set in stone yet as I’m going to try some vintage pieces my niece has that are slightly less of a statement. I tried on with a black jumpsuit to get the idea of the black neckline.
In the end the shade of of navy was a little dull and didn’t look as great with all the gold so black it is!
Now let’s move on to wedding guest attire. Just about anything goes now. From cocktail length dresses to maxi dresses to jumpsuits. Dress styles are pretty unique this season, and I was surprised there were not more in stock this time of year. I found the most at Macy’s. Amazon will be a great source if you don’t care for current styles. You’ll find things from seasons past. Here are some of my favorite choices. Will you be attending a wedding this summer or fall?
