More Wedding Season Fashion: The Church
Covered but fashionable. From Adam.
Still have weddings to go to? Let’s talk about the classic venue: the church. A church ceremony calls for the most conservative clothing choices, particularly if there’s going to be an actual religious service. Destination weddings are increasingly popular, but this formula still covers the vast majority of all weddings I’ve been to: a church ceremony in the afternoon starting somewhere between 2 and 4 pm, with or without a full service, depending on the couple, followed by a dinner reception starting around 7. If you’re friends with a lot of New York natives, you may end up at 7 pm ceremonies with a black and white ball at midnight, but if you live in the Midwest or elsewhere in the country, there’s a good chance that the foregoing description fits an awful lot of the weddings you’re expected to attend.
It’s always a good plan not to flash too much skin at a wedding, but church ceremonies are a special case. Weddings generally pull scores of people into churches who may never have set foot in a church for a service in their lives. If you’re one of those people, making sure you’re covered up and appropriately dressed may not be instinctive, but it’s still a place of worship even if it’s not yours. (Me, I’ve only been to mass with my grandmother as a kid; imagining my grandmother’s opinion if I went into a church in a miniskirt generally takes care of that.) So general rules for a church? Covered shoulders, skirts to or close to the knee, and not too much cleavage. Do not wear a mini dress into a conservative church ceremony. Yes, you have great legs, but a mass is not the time to show them off. If it’s summer and you’re worried about the reception venue being hot (hey, we all love to dance!), no worries. A wrap or a light jacket will take care of a little too much exposure on the top, and you can always take it off once you get to dinner. (I know, it can be tough to find a dress with actual sleeves at this season.)
Here are some picks for a church wedding. What I’m aiming for here is the standard Catholic or Protestant ceremony, but there are plenty of other possibilities calling for slightly different garb, depending on the situation. Of course use your discretion. (I’m not going to pretend to know what to wear to a traditional Indian ceremony or a conservative Muslim wedding.) The same caveat as to skirt length from my post on beach wedding fashion applies.
Again, conservative doesn’t have to mean boring. Take a look at the detailing on some of these covered-but-cute dresses:
Love the draping! From Keemia.
Also in Glo (pink). From Trina Turk.
Simple, flattering, and on sale! From Abaete.
Prints are also a classic for a church wedding. If you like a little splash, try these on for size:
Florals are a classic, but this yellow and black print is a little out of the common way. From Donna Morgan.
A bold, fun print. From Miss Davenporte.
[...] to summer! Wedding season is in full swing. We’ve covered wedding fashion outdoors, in the church, at the beach, so hopefully you have your eye on the dresses you’ll be wearing at this [...]