Surviving Wedding Season: Wedding Guest Essentials
Okay, so school is back in session in some cities and stores have already put out their Halloween decor, which means that soon there will be pumpkin-flavored-everything everywhere you go. This also means that round two of wedding season is fast approaching! We all know that spring and fall are the best seasons to wed, with March and October being two of the most popular months for weddings! Now that my own wedding has passed, I’m gearing up for a few weddings in October, and will hopefully have time to celebrate my own one year anniversary as well! Here are some essentials I will definitely have on hand for this wedding season:
First, and most importantly, a great dress to fit the occasion! One of the weddings we are attending in early October will be an outdoor wedding in Philadelphia and I am excited to be up North in the Fall for the first time ever! I am already trying to find a dress for the wedding, but I’m incredibly indecisive. My personal rule of thumb for dressing for most occasions is that I would rather be over-dressed than under-dressed. When choosing a dress for a wedding, it’s important to know the environment and dress code (if there is one).
For example, Philadelphia’s average high in October is about 67° but it’s early October, so let’s push that up to about 70°, which is still cold for my Floridian blood! So, I will need to find a dress preferably with some kind of sleeve and plan on having a light coat on-hand if necessary. It is also outdoors in a grassy area, which means I definitely want to forgo high heels, but some thick wedges might be okay. There was no dress code stated on the invitation, but from what I know, it will be a pretty casual affair, so a long dress is not necessary if I don’t want to wear one. Here are some wedding-appropriate dresses I’ve been looking at for this fall:
BB Dakota ‘Rhianna’ Illusion Yoke Lace Fit & Flare Dress • $98 • Nordstrom
Eliza J Lace Tulip Dress (Regular & Petite) • $158 • Nordstrom
Eliza J Embellished Neck Jacquard Fit & Flare Dress • $188 • Nordstrom
Eliza J Print Chiffon Maxi Dress • Eliza J • $158
Adrianna Papell Short Sleeve Sequin Mesh Gown (Regular & Petite) • $278 • Nordstrom
After you’ve picked the dress, you’ll need some cute, and hopefully comfortable, shoes! And a cute clutch or purse as well! In regards to your shoes, like I said above, it’s definitely important to know your environment. If it’s outdoors or on a beach or somewhere that doesn’t have solid ground, I wouldn’t recommend wearing heels. Wedges might work on grass, but probably not so well on sand.
Whatever bag you decide to bring, I’m a personal fan of large clutches, make sure it is big enough to fit everything you (and your date, if he makes you carry everything like mine does) bring, so you don’t have to keep track of that and whatever doesn’t fit in it. I love these clutches at Charming Charlie’s! They come in every color and they’re so cheap but still stylish; they even have the option to use a chain strap so you can wear it on your shoulder if you’d prefer.
Once you have a dress, shoes, and a bag, all that’s left is jewelry (if you want) and hair and makeup. I personally like getting at least my hair done for weddings because when I do it myself it’s hit or miss, and weddings are supposed to be special events, so why not? It’s always nice getting dolled up for the night, whether it’s a casual or formal wedding!
A few weeks ago I received the I Do VoxBox from Influenster that was filled with wedding day essentials for me to test, whether you’re the bride, bridesmaid, or a guest, all of these items could be of use to you! Here’s a quick breakdown of what I received and what I thought about each item:
Snacks
Weddings can be an all day ordeal depending on how you’re involved, and it can’t hurt to keep some snacks on hand in case you get hungry, either while getting ready or while waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle. I tried the Skinnygirl protein bar in the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor. In terms of protein bars I thought this had a better flavor than most, but it’s still a protein bar in the end. If the label didn’t say the flavor, I would have had no idea what flavor it was. I also tried Sahale Snacks almonds with cranberries, honey and sea salt, and they were delicious! I would definitely recommend sticking some of these in that clutch we talked about earlier!
Beauty
Everyone should already be familiar with Neutrogena Hand Cream, I remember my parents using it when they had rough/dry hands when I was younger. It’s super moisturizing, and my hands don’t get too dry, but it’s great for other areas too, like elbows or knees!
If you don’t get your makeup done professionally and you do it yourself, Covergirl makes this Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation and I was impressed that it lasts all day long, and it really does brighten my face up compared to some other foundations. It’s also a great price if you don’t want to go drop $50+ on foundation from a designer brand. And you can top that off with Nanoblur – a cream you apply over your makeup that makes your skin camera ready in seconds.
My VoxBox also included Covergirl Outlast Longwear Lipstick in Magnetic Mauve. I’ve just recently started getting into wearing lipstick (like once a week), but I tested this out and it lasts through breakfast and lunch, but should be reapplied in the afternoon.
Unexpected Situations
Not everything will go as planned on the day of a wedding, whether you’re in the wedding or not. UrgentRx makes these fast acting relief powders that you take if you get an unexpected headache or have other aches and pains. How awful would it be to get a terrible headache on your wedding day? Or on a day you’re in a wedding and you have to run around all day smiling? Sounds pretty unpleasant to me! The flavor I received was lemon lime for ache & pain relief. I actually hate lemons and limes, and anything of that flavoring, so I forced my husband to test this one out and his headache did happen to go away shortly after taking this powder.
I’ve never noticed there were wedding “seasons” until about two years ago when people I actually knew started getting married and now it’s just like clockwork in the spring and fall. And then the next year the babies come, and more weddings, then more babies… man, I’m getting old. I’m still at the age where I’m excited for all of these weddings, but I’m sure in a few years I won’t be as excited. Do you have any go-to advice for making it through wedding season? I’d love to hear about it!
xx,
Kirsten
The VoxBox products mentioned in this post were given to me complimentary to test and review, but all reviews are certainly my own.