August 13, 2021
NewsWedding dress season is in full swing. After a year of cancelled and postponed weddings, along with a lot of elopments, we’re all ready to get back to being wedding guests. By now, your inbox is probably flooding with invitations to the wedding of high school friends, university classmates, and work colleagues. A wedding is the most important social event in your calendar, and you want to make sure you’re dressed to impress.
If you’ve stumbled onto this article, the chances are that you’ve got a wedding coming up in the not-so-distant future. In fact, you might have more than one. Weddings can be expensive, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the need to find different outfits to wear to each wedding. Most of us will have different friends who will attend all of the same weddings as us and no one wants to be seen outfit repeating during wedding season.
While all eyes will be on the bride, you want to make sure you have a dress that will stand the test of time. Although weddings are a cause for celebration, they can also be a major financial headache for any guest.When you add in the cost of a new dress, gifts, transportation, and the cost of the big day, you can quickly see how expensive it is to be a wedding guest. To see you through the season, we’re rounding up our favourite affordable dresses that are perfectly chic and work for every style of weeding.
You can think of this guide as your one-stop shop for every style of wedding guest dress that you’ll need to see you through the season. We have Tory Burch dresses that are perfect for a floral outdoor wedding and long-sleeve designs by Universal Standard and Erdem that will keep you warm against the air conditioning.
Make sure to bookmark this page so that you can come back to it ahead of your next wedding party. Whether you’re attending the service or the evening reception – or even a full weekend event, you want to make sure you have the right dress for the occasion. Here are our 10 top picks for affordable wedding dresses that will help you mark the occasion without breaking the bank.
If you want a classic wedding guest look that you can re-wear for another occasion, look no further than this signature satin pleated mini dress by Ganni. It has a refined and feminine silhouette with dainty puff sleeves, a signature for the brand. Its relaxed silhouette means this is perfect for an all-day event or a more casual wedding. While a little black dress might not be your first choice for a wedding guest look, it’s one of our favourites.
Are you jetting off to a tropical location for the wedding? Does it have a whimsical theme or is the bride known for her love of all things classic? This Zara dress is one of the most affordable on our list and one that you can re-wear for months after the big day. It comes in a lightweight linen blend fabric that is breathable and the perfect choice for the summer months. You can throw on a cardigan or a blazer over-top to keep warm against the midsummer chill if it happens to be an outdoor wedding. The a-line silhouette and wide straps with bows mean that it is a feminine look that you can rely on to see you through any style of wedding.
Nothing is more classic for a wedding guest look than a tulle gown. This signature style has a universally flattering neckline that perfect complements the next tulle of the dress. While it may feel similar to a bridesmaid dress, it has a versatile silhouette that you can wear to any special occasion.
You can adjust the style of this dress to turn it into a self-sash look or use the extra fabric to convert the dress into a one-shoulder or halter-neck dress. If you want to save money and buy one dress that you can change up for every wedding, this is the dress to look out for. It’s one dress that you can wear three different ways.
More weddings are starting to take a lowkey and casual look. It’s no surprise when you think about how the pandemic has changed weddings and made them a smaller affair. You don’t need to rock a full-length ballgown to be the perfect wedding guest. This Erdem x Universal Standard shirt dress is a more wearable piece that you can transition into your everyday closet after the big day.
It’s an effortless chic look that is made using cotton sateen for a lustrous finish. With the right accessories, you can style this ruffle shirt for every day or any wedding in your social calendar.
Mini dresses are a firm favourite for any wedding guest. They’re the perfect choice for the summer and give you more versatility. You can start the day in stilettoes for the service and swap out to flat shoes as the nights starts to wear on. The soft turquoise blue hue and the short puff sleeves mean that this dress is right on trend and a whimsical choice for any summer wedding.
This Staud dress is made using a stretch-cotton poplin for a fit-and-flare silhouette that is both comfortable and stylish, complete with a square neckline to frame your face. If blue isn’t your colour, you can also pick up this dress in a black hue.
We think this J Crew dress is the perfect choice for a summer garden wedding. It’s a feminine silhouette that works for any special occasion, whether it’s a big white wedding or a small reception at a local restaurant. This dress is effortlessly chic and easy to style with its flattering scoop neck and defined waist, while keeping a comfortable smocked fit.
Best of all, this dress is made using responsibly grown cotton that is cultivated through the Better Cotton Initiative. Plus, this dress has pockets!
Olive green is one of the ‘it’ colours of the season, so it’s only right that we add it to our list of wedding guest dresses. We love this wrap front tiered maxi dress by Waft, which has a surplice neckline and puff sleeves. You can wear it to a beach wedding or an outdoor reception. It’s easy to style with everything from sandals to mules or espadrilles. Once the wedding season is over, you can style it as a transitional staple for spring or autumn wear.
One of the best-selling designs from Everlane is their Smock Dress. It’s a classic silhouette that always makes a reappearance during wedding season. We think that the red floral colour is the perfect option for wedding season. It’s made using 100% cotton, giving it a breathable feel that is ideal for any summer wedding or special occasion. You’ll be both comfortable and stylish when you’re rocking this smock dress. The subtle sheen gives this smock dress an effortlessly chic look.
The form-fitting smocked top has bra-friendly straps, meaning you don’t have to rush around at the lastminute to look for a strapless option. It’s one dress that looks cute with any style of shoe – whether you’re head over heels for stilettoes or prefer sandals.
Floral dresses are ones that dominate the wedding guest trends. They capture the romanticism of the big day and are the perfect choice for a small and intimate wedding or a bigger occasion. With this Rixo maxi dress, you’ll stand out from the crowd in this on-trend shade of mustard-yellow. The dress has a pleated bib neckline and shirred cuffs and make it easy to style with everything from sneakers to stilettoes or sandals for the big day.
Tory Burch is one designer brand that we always go to during wedding season for dress inspiration. The classic chicness of the brand makes it the perfect choice for any occasion, with timeless silhouettes and colour palettes that work for every style of wedding. This wrap dress has a crisp and lightweight silhouette that is nipped-in at the waist and finished off with ruffles for a feminine finish. The cotton poplin fabric helps to regulate your temperature and keep you from overheating during the summer months.
Being a wedding guest is something that everyone looks forward to. It’s one of the most important days in the life of your friends and family and it’s an occasion that you want to remember forever. You want to choose a dress that makes you look and feel amazing about the big day.
Which of these ten wedding dresses would you wear this wedding season? Let us know in the comments below!
Once the temperatures start to rise and we get the first taste of spring, we all head straight to the back of our closets to grab our favourite dresses. After the last year of living through a global pandemic and wearing nothing but loungewear, we’re all ready to get back into some spring dresses. We think it’s time we all treated ourselves to a few new dresses to celebrate the spring and the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.
Summer is right around the corner. Once the temperatures start to rise, we put our jeans firmly to the back of our closet and rediscover our love for dresses. During summer, there’s nothing else that we can wear other than dresses. Whether you’re working on your summer tan or want to stay cool, then a dress is your BFF for the summer season.
Refreshing your wardrobe every season can be expensive. More of us than ever are choosing to build capsule wardrobes and take a vow of minimalism. Unless you’ve got the budget of a Hadid or a Kardashian, it’s unlikely you can buy into every fashion trend. Thankfully, trends are like boomerangs that eventually come back around.
Gone are the days when collars were kept for fancy dresses. They’re now official in the mainstream of fashion and it’s time for you to jump on the bandwagon. The collars that we are seeing everywhere in fashion aren’t the dainty sort that you would put on your dog. Oh, no. The larger the collar, the better! We want collars that make a statement, that have ruffles and sequins. The sort of collars that you spot across a room and that make your outfit.
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