The dress is a head turner but it looks demure enough to me. Although it is form fitting and has a v neck, I think it just looks charming. Perhaps the addition of a silky shawl could detract from the va va voom factor and also protect your shoulders from the sun or provide some warmth if its cool during the ceremony.
I'm not a bride yet, so this is just a personal opinion that hasn't much worth... but I love it! I think the first commenter's idea of a shawl if you need is a good plan too :)
I love the dress; I wore a dress almost exactly like it to my cousin's wedding in October (but mine had cap sleeves). I got a lot of compliments, but I don't think it took attention away from the bride.
As for your boyfriend's shoes - For the ceremony, I'd recommend that he either a) wear sturdy kinda nice looking flip-flops then change into more formal footwear for the reception or b) buy a pair of really cheap "formal" shoes at Goodwill or Salvation army that he won't care get ruined, but change into a nice pair at the reception anyway. I'm thinking too of the reception venue's POV, and I don't think they'd be too thrilled about 100+ people dragging in sand (which could impact the bride's deposit).
I agree with all of this. I never really think red is a bad color to wear to a wedding.
OP, where is the reception? If the venue is a more formal location than I definitely think you need to bring a change of shoes. Further, I would probably leave any suit jacket in the car or hang it over the chair. I wouldn't expect anyone to wear that during the ceremony on the beach. To the reception? Yes.
The reception is drinks and dancing at a country club. So, yeah, better shoes there. And fortunately I can trust my boyfriend to look around at other men and take a cue from whether they have suit jackets on or off. But only just.
I didn't even think about the shoe changing from the venue's point of view. I guess I just pictured all the guests lining up and hosing off their feet before the reception, which is some insight for you into why I am not confident in my ability to be effortlessly semi-formal. Thank you for your opinion!
It's a "semi-formal" beach wedding, and the wedding website has a link asking "what is semi-formal wear?" which specifies it's a suit and a nice dress, so I'm pretty sure the suit is what they want, even if a semi-formal beach wedding is a contradiction. So is the dress still inappropriate then, in your opinion? Thanks so much for your input.
Regardless, I would never let my husband wear a suit on a beach. With all the sand and moisture it could damage the suit. It just looks weird to me anyway. I would have him wear some old dress pants/dark khakis and a nice shirt tucked in with a tie. His suits are too nice to be ruined on a beach. especially if you're just a guest and you're not going to be in all the professional pictures. Sand in all the cuffs...ahhh. Not to mention how hot it would be to be in a suit on a beach for a wedding. The bride'll be out there maybe 15 minutes? While you'll be waiting/seated/waiting/seated/waiting for at least a half hour to 45 minutes. I'd also have him wear some nice sandals but not flip flops
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Wow, thank you for going to all this trouble to find those photos! I agree, it seems like a strange contradiction in location/formality, but I'd rather look silly than look rude, and to me that means trying to follow the instructions, even if they are weird. I doubt whatever suit my boyfriend comes up with is going to be as nice as it sounds like your husband's suits are, and if he wears sandals as you suggest and stays away from the water I don't see how much his suit can be damaged. The average highs for that area are only 66, so I don't think we'll have to worry about heat either.
If the dress looks like I'm going out to a club, then I definitely need to change it. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
I think the dress is lovely! For shoes I would find a nice pair of flat sandals for the beach, maybe bring some heels if the reception will be elsewhere. I wore a very similar dress to a beach wedding with a pair of brand new flip flops for the ceremony and nice heels for the reception. The bride didn't mind one bit.
Thanks for the advice! Was your dress also the same color? To me it seems the height of arrogance to say to myself "I probably shouldn't wear this dress because it's so sexy and I look so good that I will distract everyone" but the internet is telling me I need to worry about this!
I tried to add a picture, but it seems I only have it on Facebook. The dress is bright red an low cut. Between my sister and I it has been worn to 4 weddings, two quinceanras, a homecoming, the symphony, 2 ballets, a few plays, a fire fighter banquet, and several dates. We both love the dress! Ironically I have custody of it right now but with a baby coming in August I couldn't zip it if my life depended on it!
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As for your boyfriend's shoes - For the ceremony, I'd recommend that he either a) wear sturdy kinda nice looking flip-flops then change into more formal footwear for the reception or b) buy a pair of really cheap "formal" shoes at Goodwill or Salvation army that he won't care get ruined, but change into a nice pair at the reception anyway. I'm thinking too of the reception venue's POV, and I don't think they'd be too thrilled about 100+ people dragging in sand (which could impact the bride's deposit).
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OP, where is the reception? If the venue is a more formal location than I definitely think you need to bring a change of shoes. Further, I would probably leave any suit jacket in the car or hang it over the chair. I wouldn't expect anyone to wear that during the ceremony on the beach. To the reception? Yes.
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If the dress looks like I'm going out to a club, then I definitely need to change it. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
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