On My Radar: Dresses for a Beach Wedding

I love spending hours at the mall trying on dresses. Almost as much as I love trying on jeans – SARCASM! No thank you. Let me tell you a story on why I’ll never go to the mall without RESEARCHING dresses online extensively first. 

My friend Bridgett got married last Friday. I sort of started looking online for a dress months ago. By “sort of,” I mean I looked for an hour like two times. I knew the general style that I wanted, but had no actual dresses in mind. 

So… what did I do? I’ll break it down for you.

• Mistake #1: I waited until the weekend before to start trying on dresses in-store. 
• Mistake #2: I roamed aimlessly around the mall, walking in the same stores over and over again, hoping something would magically appear.
• Mistake #3: Since I waited until the last possible minute to shop, my budget was TINY. Forever21 tiny. I’m not against shopping at Forever21 in dire moments like these, but all their dresses were skin tight and barely covered my bootay. No real surprise there… it’s Forever21. 

Luckily, I ended up wearing a really cute pink dress that I wore during my honeymoon. I paired it with a black cardigan from Target and the clutch I used for 2 seconds at my own wedding. I even somehow got Bryan to buy a light pink tie to match.

But trust me, I won’t be this lucky for the next wedding. I’m fresh out of dresses. 

So, my next wedding is in July and it’s on the beach {hey Christy!}. I refuse to wait until the weekend before to start shopping. I spent literally HOURS last night scouring the internet for some dresses perfect for the occasion. 

My requirements are:

• No black – although I LOVE me a LBD
• Flowy and lightweight – it’s gonna be the middle of July in Delaware
• Not too short – it could be windy on the beach…
• Not pink – I wore that to Bridgett’s wedding

Here are the contenders. 

1. Resort Maxi by ONE Pink Stitch: I don’t think I own anything in this color blue. I’ve worn navy to a wedding before, but cobalt is perfect for a beach wedding. If cobalt isn’t your thing, this dress comes in 16 other colors, so I’m sure one will work. 

2. Tie Front Dress by Leith: OMG you guys. This dress is my favorite of them all. FAVORITE. The orange is going to look amazing with a tan, and that little cut-out on the front makes an otherwise “vanilla” dress really interesting! You better believe that I’ll be stalking my local Nordstrom + the website for when my size comes back in stock. 

3. Lace Off the Shoulder Dress by Storee: Looking at the model, this dress seems a bit short. Luckily, I’m 5 foot 3 and dresses are almost always longer on me than how they appear online. I’ll just have to try it on in-person and determine if it works or not. 

4. Off the Shoulder Floral Maxi by Brigitte Bailey Nichelle: Do we see a trend here? This dress clearly looks very similar to the last, but I love how flowy and effortless this one is! I could definitely see myself rocking this on the beach. If I’m ranking these, this is my second favorite. 

5. Slit Halter Dress by Blue Life: I’ve seen many of my friends acquaintances on Facebook wearing slit dresses a lot lately. I’ve never tried one on, but the slits could certainly make me look even shorter if it’s not cut properly. Either way, I’ve got to give this one a shot. I love that it’s a bit sexy on the bottom, but it’s conservative on top. 

6. Print Midi Dress by Roxberi Elle: This dress is the epitome of flowy beach dress. It looks like a lot of other dresses I have, so I’m not 100% sold yet. I want to step outside of my comfort zone a bit. However, I know the shape is flattering on me and it won’t break the bank! 

DECISIONS, DECISIONS! Let the shopping begin. 

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