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Attire & Accessories Forum

How much does venue & TOD matter in dress selection?

Went into bridal store looking at vintage lace styles. Ended up with three finalists that look nothing like my original vision but are better on my body. The family favorite is a dramatic satin gown. Train, but more A-line than poofy ball gown. I havent committed, but need to decide soon because that particular dress is likely to be discontinued.

The stylist we spoke to suggested that lace and tulle gowns were better for daylight and that evening weddings brought out the best in satin. We have been contemplating a late afternoon ceremony going into an evening reception.

Can I get away with a satin dress if the ceremony is going to be outdoors? Would it look weird if we ended up choosing an earlier start time, like 3-4 pm, instead of 5ish? Am I over thinking the heck out of this?

Re: How much does venue & TOD matter in dress selection?

  • I think it's really up to you. I wouldn't let venue or time stop you from getting a dress you love. The only thing I would really take into consideration is that you don't want heavy fabric if wedding is outside during hot summer day or a light fabric that will leave you freezing in winter or spring. Yes, satin is typical more formal material, but wedding is formal any time of day so it doesn't matter too much.

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  • I think if you love the dress, then you should get it.
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  • @nicoann ours is in July, but not till evening, so I'm iffy on it. It could be blazing, or it could snow. (Really. It did last year and it was FREEZING out.)
  • I wore silk taffeta for a morning wedding. Didn't think twice about it and no one commented. Wear what you like.
  • I am surprised you are buying your dress before choosing a venue.  Perhaps you should solidify your wedding venue and time befoe deciding on your dress. 
  • I don't think time of day matters as much as venue. I think attire should generally match the formality of the venue. You also want to match your groom's formality.

    In other words, I don't think a simple cotton "courthouse" style dress make a lot of sense in a formal, fancy church with fancy hotel reception anymore than a poofy ballgown with a giant train would make sense with a barn wedding. It's not like it's hurting anyone in either of these scenarios, but it's just something to think about from a style perspective.

    To the same token, if your groom is wearing a tux, you'll want to match that formality. If he's wearing khakis and a white button down, a giant poofy ballgown would look awkward. KWIM?
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  • I wore a satin ball gown Saturday at an outdoor wedding! I think it looked awesome!
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  • kitty8403kitty8403 member
    1000 Comments 250 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    edited November 2013
    @ktjanesmom, I'm not! We have the venue! I am trying to figure out if this dress is ok to go with it. It's very different from what we went in looking for.

    We are still 8 months out--the exact start time will depend, in part, on the guest list. I prefer later but if we get tons of parents, we might move it up an hour or two for their sake.
  • Sorry. I misunderstood your OP.

     

  • @southernbelle0915, he will be in a tux. It's a "barn" only in the sense that it's a wood structure designed for events that's open like a barn. Inside has a bar space, band stage, etc.
  • I don't think it matters so much.  That being said I thought I wanted just a simple lace dress and we were going to get married outside and then just have punch and cake reception at like 2 in the afternoon. Then I went and fell in love with my dress which has a train, poof, and plenty of sparkly crap.  So I revisited my ideas and decided to go a little later in the day 5 and have a buffet and limited bar instead. 

    I also picked my dress before I picked my venue bc I wanted to get a dress I loved not something that was just appropriate for where I picked.  Maybe it's backwards but it has worked for me!

    Good luck
  • i think formality and style of the wedding is much more important than time of day. and i think that whether you love the dress is even more important than that! =)
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  • We're having an outdoor winery wedding, and I tried on a lacy beautiful dress but fell in love with a beaded satin dress and am having a full cathedral length veil with a blusher veil and a headpiece.

    I think if you love the dress that's what matters. It's better to go too formal than the opposite direction, imho.
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