Wedding Client Question: What Do I Wear to a Casual Spring Wedding?

Wedding Client Question: What Do I Wear to a Casual Spring Wedding?

About a month ago, I received an email from Irene. She lives a few hours from me and was looking for virtual personal styling help for a family wedding coming up. The image above is the quick snap she sent me this past weekend, and I can't wait to share more images with you.

Irene wrote: 

In April my brother is getting married and I was wondering if you could help me with some fashion questions. I already have a dress but would like some help putting together the rest of the outfit. I'm not sure what kind of shoes, jewelry and hairstyle would look good with it.The wedding is on a Friday in the afternoon at a church and then the reception is at night. Even though its a Friday night reception its not formal because there will be kids and families there...I will be about 36 weeks pregnant that day, I'm thinking I don't want to wear flats maybe a wedge because I would like to elongate my legs. Maybe it would take some of the emphasis off my heavy middle area. I'm afraid wearing flats might make me look frumpy. Can you think of what might be a fun color to wear from afternoon to evening?  

My hair is shoulder length in layers. I was thinking about getting a blow out. Would that be enough?

Thanks so much!

 My first email back was this:

Of course! How exciting! OK, here are a few thoughts:

Can you remove the tie around the waist? What if you did and subbed in something different? Like a gorgeous belt like this or this or even a white belt would make the dress feel more unique, more like you. You could even wear it without the belt during the day and slip the belt on for the evening?

Other ideas: 

What about a hat to wear during the day, might help separate it from the nighttime? Target has some great wide-brimmed, straw hats. What about a coral or bright short sweater to wear during the night if it gets chilly? Or for an adorable and casual vibe, what about a dark denim jacket? That's something you can wear over and over again. 

For shoes, something that goes up the ankle always elongates the leg. It doesn't have to be a wedge or heel, as long as your ankles aren't feeling too puffy at this point! Here's a nice example (just happens to be from a maternity store, but there are many like it at DSW or Zappos). I love the idea of a bright color for you. Then you could wear a darker version of this color (maybe a Kelly green?) in earrings, a belt, a jacket, or a cardigan. Or go with lighter blue shoes and deeper blue earrings or belt? 

I don't know how much of a wedge you were looking for, but this is a gorgeous color that you could look for in a shorter height if it's too high?  I'd love for you to go with ivory (dress), gray and coral as your color theme. What about these?  or these?  or flats? 

Or wear darker shoes (like these) and lighter color earrings or a necklace, like silver for the cool tone of these shoes. 

If you want flats instead, I really love the florals that are out this season, and they'd be so sweet with a jean jacket. You could wear a bold, red lip with these to tie it all together. I highly recommend getting the Dr Scholls arch inserts for any flats, especially being pregnant! They make all the difference. 

Also these  or these, in a wedge.

On the flip side, you could look really gorgeous in all neutrals. The dress, then neutral shoes (like these), then perhaps gold earrings, pearls or a gold necklace? Look around at what you might have that you never wear and go from there. I'm happy to look at pictures of any accessories you might have! I love the way this outfit feels, and you could re-create something like this in a dressy look.

Also, I've got some awesome ideas on my Pinterest board for maternity/nursing.

Debrief

As you can see from her snapshot, Irene incorporated some of my ideas into her gorgeous outfit. I suggested that she roll up her jacket sleeves a little more for the big day and consider a bright lipstick. Thanks for reading along as we planned a cute wedding guest look for her!