THE ART OF DRESSING FOR WEDDINGS

There’s nothing like an impending wedding to dress or suit up. Weddings are a special occasion, and by their very nature, a bonafide reason for you to look fabulous.

For wedding outfit success, these hard and fast rules will help raise the stakes on the big day.

1. MOTHER OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM

These two roles seem to bring the most amount of pressure and stress, second to that of the bride.

The first thing to remember is that you are essentially dressing for the family photo that will sit on your mantle for years (no pressure!). The photo in question being of you, your partner, the wedding couple and your family, or the bride, groom and both sets of parents. You will most certainly not be photographed with the bridesmaids as part of the wedding party, so there is no need to coordinate there.

One mistake that many Mothers of the Bride or Groom make is going for very bright outfits. Unless it's going to be a bright wedding all this serves to do is to take visual attention away from the bride, your daughter or daughter-in-law. Niggly!

As a rule, look for clean or soft block colours. Avoid prints as they can be tricky in photos with other people. Ideally the mother of the bride and mother of the groom would both be dressed in a similar coloured palette or tone (without completely matching in style).

With all this said, in the lead up, weddings can be a little like Christmas - full of pressure and taken way too seriously. So, it’s important to relax into and joy what should be a magical day for those involved.

Above: Trelise Cooper Silk Society overcoat. Pair this with a paler slip dress as an extra layer and stunning earrings for maximum effect.

2. FOR BRIDESMAIDS

First things first - friends and family come in all different shapes and sizes.

A popular number for bridesmaids often sees them appearing in groups of three or four. Very, very rarely do all groups of women come with the same body composition and height.

Dressing in the same dress and colour creates a natural visual comparison which can easily be avoided. Ideas for this can be arming your bridesmaids with the same fabric and an open (or tight) brief to have a dress made in their preferred style. Or seeing different dresses made is slightly varying tones within a similar palette.

 Above: Image from www.wilkieblogs.com and Instagram @wilkieblog

3. WEDDING GUESTS

Before passing go, assess the dress code and location of the proposed wedding. 

If it is a wedding on grass, wedge heels for women are a must, or applying heel stoppers to stilettos and kitten heels work wonders.If an outdoor summer wedding, a panama hat will lift his or her outfit, bringing instant chic and serving the wearer well after the event.

As for the big question, can you wear white? For woman, yes as long as it doesn't look bridal in any way, shape for form. If in doubt, checking in with the bride will give you an immediate read on the status quo. For women it is also good to avoid big cleavage or skirts or dresses that are extremely short and can come off looking too brassy on someone else's special day.

Above: Magpie Style Fashion Editor Louise wears Trelise Cooper Love Skirt (only black left) and Trelise Cooper belt. Pairing this skirt with an animal print belt and oversized earrings takes it from bridal to wedding guest effectively.

Styling tip: Try this black skirt with a lighter or bright top, statement jewellery and metallic shoes will make this style wedding appropriate. 

OTHER WEDDING FRIENDLY PIECES

Trelise Cooper much tutu about nothing skirt. This style looks fab when styles with a white, cream or metallic top.

Above: Flower earrings by Four Corners. Divine! And fabulous for winter too.

Above: Tassel earrings by Four Corners

Above: Shjark Morrow dress. Style this with softer coloured large accessories, a brighter jacket or pale Panama hat to prevent it looking too formal or cocktail.

Above: Sarah J Curtis Panama hat.

Below: The look as worn by Stacey Harris to a wedding just recently!
Stacey wears the Shjark Morrow dress and Sarah J. Curtis boater.

Words: Bridget Hope, Wardrobe Director - Magpie Style. 

First published in Metropol magazine