Style Advice: What To Wear To A Fall Wedding

Afternoon wedding

Reader Sandy T. recently left this comment on my "what to wear to a wedding" style advice post from last year:

"I am going to a wedding on September 18th. It is an afternoon wedding. What is appropriate to wear? Please help me."

Sandy, I still stand by the original advice I gave in reference to the Polyvore set above:

"Save the sequins and skin-baring numbers for the raucous bachelorette party! Daytime weddings call for something more demure. This full-skirted colour block dress is bold yet classic and feminine; add a silver pendant and pearl stud earrings for some subtle polish without detracting from the impact of the dress. Black peep-toe flats walk the fine line between casual and dressy, while a cropped cardigan will keep bare shoulders warm. I added the Chanel purse because the textured cream-and-black tweed is so lovely."

But an afternoon wedding in autumn calls for some tweaks. Here are a couple of pointers to keep in mind for your outfit, accompanied by inspiration collages to help you on your search for the perfect ensemble.

All dresses in this collage from Anthropologie

The dress. A dress that isn't too sparkly, shiny, or revealing is still your best bet for looking put-together at an afternoon wedding. For a fall wedding, look for jewel-toned colours and patterns featuring a light or neutral background. Fabrics should be thicker than spring/summer cottons and luxurious to the touch. If it's a chilly day, you can always wear dark tights with your frock, but make sure you do a test run at home first to see if the dress clings to your tights. You don't want to spend the entire evening tugging your skirt down and fighting static electricity.

All necklaces in this collage from Forever 21

The accessories. A delicate silver necklace and some pearl studs suffice for summer, but fall is a time when fashion becomes bolder, richer, and much more dramatic. Up the ante in your outfit by adding some bling. Put on a statement necklace to bring attention to your face and add visual interest to the neckline of your dress, or slip on a cuff bracelet to play up bare wrists.

All cuff bracelets in this collage from Forever 21

All flats in this collage from Net a Porter. Bloch, Christian Louboutin, Lanvin, Miu Miu, Tory Burch...hey, a girl can dream!

The shoes. In my experience, unless you're going to a Chinese wedding reception and are expected to stay seated through umpteen different courses, you'll most likely be on your feet standing around or dancing. Heels can be painful when worn for hours at a time, and if the wedding's outdoors you definitely don't want your lovely stilettos sinking into mud and grass. The solution? A really pretty pair of flats with interesting details--bows, jewels, ruffled chiffon. Everyone will be enamoured with your shoes while you gloat about how comfortable you are--talk about a win-win.

Sweater, blazer, and coat from Gap. Miu Miu clutch from Net a Porter.

The extras. Autumn can be chilly, so layer accordingly. Aside from wearing tights with your dress, bring a fine-knit cardigan, blazer, or chic trench to wear on top. If you tend to get really cold like I do, wear the cardi under a blazer or trench. Bring along an evening clutch big enough for your essentials and you're good to go.

Sandy, I hope this post has helped you. Readers, do you have any other style advice for her? What would you like to wear if you were going to a fall wedding?

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Style Advice: Wedding Hair Accessories

Today's post is brought to you by a very special guest blogger and my coworker, Tea of Everyday Sugar. I received a reader request for advice on wedding hair accessories, and having never been married or given this subject much thought, I was admittedly stumped. She very graciously agreed to do a guest post when I swivelled my desk chair around and asked her. I can't think of anyone else better qualified to write this: Aside from being a stylish married lady, she sells gorgeous handmade hair accessories out of her Etsy shop, Sugarlotus Designs. So, without further ado, let's welcome Tea!

Should I wear a modern hair accessory or a veil on my wedding day?

These days, when choosing a hair piece for your wedding there are so many options it's difficult to choose! Here are a few things to consider when you’re deciding what to wear in your hair.

Hair accessories

The dress - If your dress is very ornate, or has fantastic details like beads or ruffles, you may want to choose something simple for your hair to keep attention on your gown. Alternately, if you are wearing a very simple dress, you may want to choose a large hair piece as a focal point for some extra drama.

Both Pieces from Twigs and Honey - Flourish (Left) and Veneta (Right)

Hair style - Are you wearing your hair down, in an up-do, or half-up? If your hair is down, a clip-in flower or rhinestone hair clip beside your ear is very flattering. If your hair is up, you can still wear a hair clip near your ears or tucked in near the back. You can also opt for sparkly or floral hair pins scattered in or near your up-do. If you’re wearing your hair half-up, anything goes.

Oh My Deer

Adding color - A hair accessory is one way to add a little color to your wedding attire. You can pull in colors from your wedding theme, bouquet, or bridesmaids dresses. You can ask your florist to reserve a few extra blooms from your bouquet and ask your hair stylist to pin them in for you. Fresh flowers look great but can wilt if you’re somewhere hot or it’s going to be a long day. They can also bruise if they are handled too much. Colored hair accessories or flowers are a good option in this case.

Photos via Coco + Kelly

Headbands - They come in all kinds of fabulous flavors: rhinestone, embellished, floral. They look great if your hair is up or down, curly or straight. If you’ve got a pixie cut or short hair, headbands are a great option!

Be Something New (Left) and Jennifer Behr (Right)

Veils

Tradition – Is this a special part of tradition to you or your family? If that’s the case then you should consider wearing a veil.

How long will you wear the veil? In most of the weddings I’ve attended lately, brides have worn a veil for the ceremony but removed it for the reception. Some brides use a floral hair accessory to anchor the veil, or wear hair accessories under the veil (which they will remove later on).

Unveiled Bridal Designs

The dress - If your dress has an ornate design on the back you may want a very simple veil that is mostly transparent (with few ruffles) or a shorter veil so that the details are visible. If your dress is short and you still want a veil, pick something short. A birdcage style would also work well.

Face shape – A veil frames the face. It’s also soft, romantic, and adds a little bit of mystery. Different types of veils are flattering to different face shapes. Here’s an article from Weddingbells that goes into more detail about this.

Modern twists on the wedding veil - There are also some fabulous designers who make hair pieces with detachable veiling material. This is a nod to tradition minus overwhelming clouds of tulle – and you can take off the netting later on in the evening.

5eizen (Left) and Twigs and Honey (Right)

Here are some more modern wedding veil ideas: A combination of birdcage and tulle veil, and a bandeau style tulle wrap.

Photo via OneWed

Image via Kiss the Groom

In the end it comes down to one thing...

If you love a particular hair piece, forget everything else I wrote here and go for it! It’s your wedding day and your hair dresser should be able to make it work.

Thanks Tea! For more wedding style advice, check out these posts on picking out the perfect wedding dress and appropriate guest attire for different types of weddings. And remember, if you have any requests or style questions, email them to me at solo.lisa.blog@gmail.com.

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Style Advice: What To Wear To A Wedding

With a slew of friends getting engaged and/or married, wedding season is definitely upon us! I was delighted with the response I received from commenters and readers on my post about Dummeow's wedding dress picks last week. Indeed, when I tweeted the link to the post, gorgeous Twitterer Jennifer_Lee tweeted in reply:

"I love weddings in the summer.. I have one to go to this August.. you should do an entry on what to wear to a wedding! :)"

Just as wedding ceremonies and receptions differ according to the couple's tastes and culture, there is no one right dress code for a wedding. What you wear to someone's wedding depends on a number of things:

1. Does the invitation specify a dress code?
2. If there's no specified dress code, what time of day are the reception and ceremony? For events happening during the day, more casual dress is acceptable.
3. Where is it all happening? If you'll be outdoors in a park or on a beach, opt for flats or wedges instead of heels that will sink into lawns and sand.

Now, I have to say this for the benefit of the socks-with-sandals, casual-or-die crowd: Please do not wear jeans or casual garb to someone's wedding. There are so many everyday occasions where jeans are acceptable. Weddings are not everyday occasions. This is a very special day for the happy couple and for the friends and family members who love them. Show some respect for everyone involved and dress appropriately.

Alright, onto the fun part! I've whipped up some Polyvore sets to illustrate different outfits for different types of weddings; if you want more information about the featured items just click the links provided below. Enjoy!

Afternoon wedding: Save the sequins and skin-baring numbers for the raucous bachelorette party! Daytime weddings call for something more demure. This full-skirted colour block dress is bold yet classic and feminine; add a silver pendant and pearl stud earrings for some subtle polish without detracting from the impact of the dress. Black peep-toe flats walk the fine line between casual and dressy, while a cropped cardigan will keep bare shoulders warm. I added the Chanel purse because the textured cream-and-black tweed is so lovely.

Beach wedding: Lucky enough to be going to a destination wedding in a tropical paradise? Show off sun-kissed skin and keep cool with a short draped jersey dress in a bright hue. Flat metallic sandals make walking on sandy beaches a breeze and add glam shine, as do the pearly white polish, a moonstone cocktail ring, and moonstone earrings. Shield your eyes from the sun's rays with a straw fedora, then switch it for a white feathered headband for the evening festivities. Ooh and check out the nude Burberry leather wristlet with the ruffles down the front--cute!

Formal wedding: Formal weddings and evening receptions mean calling out all the stops. A one-shoulder dress is sassy without being too revealing; play up the warmth of its purple hue with gold-tinged accessories and a cream-coloured pashmina. I threw in this sky-high pair of Louboutins because they were too beautiful, but whatever shoes you go with, make sure you can dance in them comfortably!

Wear black or white to a wedding? Ah, the age-old question of whether it's appropriate to wear black or white to someone's wedding. I think white is definitely a no-no out of respect for the bride, and while the little black dress is always a safe bet, the LBD can be a bit stale sometimes. Why not go for a patterned dress that combines the two? I love the bold slanted stripes on this frock, which I echoed in the slanted pleats of the clutch and the crisscross detailing of the pumps. A chunky coral necklace and turquoise bracelet provide a dose of much-needed colour.

Which Polyvore set is your favourite? Will you be attending a wedding sometime soon, and if so, any idea what you'll be wearing?

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Bridal Style: Q&A With Event Planner Susanna Stewart

Images by Muguet Photography

I loved planning our wedding, but did I love every step of the process? Not really, and ours was relatively small and simple (park ceremony, restaurant reception, 60-70 guests). I can't even imagine how overwhelming it must be to put together an event from scratch on a much bigger scale, or how daunting of a process wedding planning can be if you feel as though you're the only bride-to-be who's lacking the organization gene! Luckily, professional planners like Susanna Stewart Events are here to save the day. I caught up with Susanna recently and asked about her passion for event and wedding planning, as well as tips for brides-to-be on how to choose and work with a planner and how to de-stress before the big day. More after the jump!

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Bridal Style: The One Piece Of Advice Wedding Magazines Won't Tell You

These Bridal Style columns may focus on all the fun aspects of planning your wedding, but today's post is a little more serious. As longtime readers know, the boy and I got engaged almost two years ago. I started planning our nuptials during the fall and winter. And then the boy hit a very bad case of burnout, forcing us to postpone the wedding to a to-be-determined date. Dealing with the emotional fallout from that was one of the most difficult things we've done as a couple, but if there's a silver lining, it's that the experience strengthened our bond and assured us that we have what it takes to make it in the long haul. We resumed the planning process in January and set a new wedding date for this September (yay!). But I haven't been as eager to document everything online because, to be honest, I haven't actually been that pre-occupied with wedding stuff.

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Style Advice: Picking The Dream Wedding Dress

Lovely blogger and fellow high school alum Dummeow recently got engaged--congratulations! Since she's been following this blog for a while, when she announced her engagement she also messaged me asking for an advice post on wedding dresses. Wedding dress shopping is so personal and I didn't want to impose my own tastes on someone else, so I asked her for further details about the ceremony and the overall look she wanted to achieve, and suggested that she pick out several dresses she liked. Dummeow kindly obliged and posted her top picks; now I'm going to go through these dresses and offer my thoughts on each selection.

The classic A-line silhouette, lace pattern, and ribbon sash make this gown sweet and feminine. However, when paired with the updo and elbow-length gloves Dummeow wants to wear, the overall look might be a little too precious. Instead, I suggest bare arms, a good manicure, and a hairstyle that's not overly fussy to keep the look a little more modern, a little less Disney princess.

The scalloped neckline is quite pretty. Judging from the fit across the waist/hip area, this is not a dress for the tummy-conscious. Spanx might be a good idea for the big day. The lace train looks beautiful in the picture but could be a pain in real life. Picture tripping over it when you stand in the park for pictures, having to hold it up so it doesn't trail on the ground...but that's what bridesmaids are for, right? ;-)

This number is a lot more modern and sleek than the first two. Like dress #2, I'm concerned with the hassle posed by the train. The empire waist detailing highlights the body at its smallest point (just above the natural waistline) and the inverted V panel in the front elongates the body, making a petite girl look taller and slimmer.

Quite honestly, this is lace overkill for me, and again, for the tummy-conscious this number may not be the most flattering. But if this sort of dress is your cup of tea, I recommend keeping accessories to a minimum and wearing simple hair and makeup like the bride pictured here.

Of this dress, Dummeow said, "Something simple. I like looking at it but not for a wedding." The simplicity and elegant draping provide the perfect blank canvas for more dramatic accessories and hairstyles. Instead of buying a one-piece dress, though, I'd try to achieve a similar look with a two-piece ensemble composed of a ballgown skirt and a bustier. After the wedding, both pieces can be re-worn in other outfits.

Love the creative pleating on this gown! This is probably my hands-down favourite of the bunch.

The pleating around the chest has the potential to be unflattering.

Bordering on too puffy, plus with all the rhinestones on the bodice AND the gloves AND the updo we're treading on Disney princess territory once again.

Dummeow says, "Love the scrunch effect although a little too much considering there will be a bouquet." Agreed.

Instead of defining the body and drawing the eye to the narrowest part of the torso, the high stance of the "skinny" empire waist belt on this gown adds volume. I don't recommend this gown for petite girls or for anyone with a large chest or a curvy figure as it will make you look a lot bigger than you actually are. It might work on someone who's tall and willowy.

Which one of Dummeow's picks is your favourite? When you envision your dream wedding dress, what does it look like? If you're a married reader, what sort of dress did you wear for the ceremony?

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Bridal Style: Beautiful Brows

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the eyebrows are the all-important frame, and on a bride's big day, this frame had better be in tip-top shape—for photos, loving gazes, warm smiles, and every moment in between. I recently had the chance to pick the brain of Blink Brow Bar owner Kiran Darred for her tips on how to get the best brows possible. Because brows grow so slowly, her advice starts as early as 6 months in advance, which means if you have a summer wedding like I do you better sit up and pay attention. (And hey, even if you're not getting married, good brows never hurt anyone, right? The advice still applies.) More after the jump!

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15% Off Dresses At ShopMapel.com!

With all of the wedding style advice I've been posting lately, this terrific offer that I received from ShopMapel.com couldn't have come at a better time. Mapel sells its wares at its brick-and-mortar store in Leavenworth, WA, and online. Its physical store carries gourmet chocolates alongside casual cool brands like 7 For All Mankind, Kensie, Kersh, and BB Dakota, thereby perfectly living up to the store motto "Fashion is sweet." Online bargain hunters should check Mapel's website daily between 2-6pm for the Happy Hour special, a one-time incredible deal on a surprise item.

Exclusive for Solo Lisa readers! As part of Mapel's "Borrowed & Blue - but what about YOU?" promotion, they're offering 15% off all dresses plus free shipping for US residents and $7 flat rate shipping for international orders. To get the discount, use the coupon code SoloLisaYOU during checkout.

This sale is a great chance for the stylish chicas out there to find the perfect wedding guest dress. Even if you don't have any summer weddings on the agenda, you can pretend you do and just order a turquoise halter maxi dress or bright yellow sun dress for yourself. Sneaky!

Here's a look at some of the pretty frocks that caught my eye.

Kersh belted butterfly dress, $68



Melane Renee Design 'Bianca' dress, $146



Kensie elongated print dress, $102


Happy shopping!

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Bridal Style: Pre-Wedding Skincare Q&A With Collective Skincare's Kathryn Sawers

For years now, I've entrusted Kathryn Sawers when it comes to facials. Kathryn boasts 14+ years in the skincare and spa industry, and her spa-in-shop Collective Skincare (located upstairs at BeautyMark) takes a holistic approach by addressing diet and lifestyle factors as well as skincare. Facials at Collective aren't just facials: depending on the treatment, they often involve potent natural products (they're the only ones to do Tata Harper facials in Vancouver), acupuncture, and facial massage. With such a breadth of experience and knowledge, I had to pick Kathryn's brain about getting one's complexion ready for the big day. Consider this Q&A everything you've ever wanted to know about bridal skincare!

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Bridal Style: Wedding Planning So Far

Don't worry, this blog won't turn into a Bridezilla-tainted place. But that being said, it has been 2 months since I announced our engagement, and when I'm not thinking about work or the blog or plans for next weekend, my attention is focused on planning our big day. I've got some fun wedding/bridal content in the works, which I'm kicking off with a status update on how our own nuptial planning is going. More details after the jump!

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