The Trendiest Spring/Summer Wedding Guest Dresses

Let's talk prints!

Back in October of 2023 I wrote The Best Fall/Winter Wedding Guest Dresses and I was amazed by the number of readers! Whenever you clarify that something is for a wedding, both the price and interest skyrocket. My Fall/Winter article was organized by dress code: from semi-formal to black tie. For my Spring/Summer wedding guest dress recs I am going to do it by venue type. There is more opportunity for variability with Spring/Summer weddings v. Fall/Winter weddings in most parts of the US due to having the option to have all or part of the evening outside. Dressing to your environment is a big part of pulling something off! Weddings, are probably the #1 event that people plan out outfits for. So today, I answer the age-old question: what do you wear?

Garden: A Garden theme wedding has become more popular for Spring and early Summer weddings! Odds are, you will likely be surrounded by blooms and pastel colors. Everyone expects you to wear floral prints or pastels. But, if you’ve been reading this blog since its conception in 2019, you know I always like to give myself one degree of separation from the crowd. Wearing what everyone expects you to wear is fine, but boring. It’s like in a group picture, you could be just about anyone. 

Think of this purse as the cutest lipstick case ever!

Think about what else goes in a garden besides flowers. There is a huge foodie print trend going on right now that is perfect for garden weddings!  Everyone loved my cherry print asymmetrical silk slip dress, because the pattern is so fun! If cherries aren’t your thing, strawberries make the same statement. If you really want to mix it up with a tomato girl aesthetic, root vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and corn on the cob have been on everything from hair clips to cocktail dresses. Pick your favorite fruit or veggie, google it, and you’ll find your dream dress!

Garden weddings tend to be less formal, so kitschy patterns that you’d pass up for a black tie function, still play! The back of my dress had a cutout with a tie across the center, making it easy to adjust to all chest sizes. (I was having too much fun dancing and eating Zahav to get a picture of the back of the dress.) In a bold patterned dress, accessories should be easy. Long thin earrings or a bracelet add the right level of sparkle. I always get excited to use my red ruche mini bag that I’ve had since 2007. Think of it as the cutest lipstick case ever!

City or Destination: Out of all the locations, a city is the one where it's hardest to stand out therefore, but show up and show out! Be your trendiest self. For me that means shoes, shoes, shoes! I highly encourage wearing a fun pair of patterned heels because, when else will you get to show them off? Also, my most outrageous heels are always my easiest on the wallet because most consumers wouldn’t dare pick them up! I love these strappy snakeskin ankle-wrapping sandals. In black and white, they match most things! 

Ruffles & rouching travel well!

If heels aren't your thing, truly don’t be afraid to wear flats! There is no rule saying you have to wear a dress and heels to a wedding, you just have to show up looking your best! And sometimes my best is a pointed toe, tulle and crystal-bow adorned, Badgley Mischka flat in icy blue, you know?

A photo for the flats!

When I shop for a winter wedding dress I focus on the silhouettes that will flatter me most but, for a summer wedding I also take color into account. Summer 2025’s MVDCs (Most Valuable Dress Colors, to you.) are: mint green, pale yellow, lavender, and firetruck red. Metallics always play, so I was super excited to find a mint green dress with a sparkly sheen thread woven through it. 

This dress was worn to a city destination wedding in Belgrade, Serbia. For a wedding where you have to fly, I always recommend doing an initial steaming of your dress at home. This doesn’t make complete sense, since you are just going to pack it but, you never fully know the steam/iron situation at your hotel, until you arrive. I recommend a tiered dress for a destination wedding because they wrinkle less easily. Silk, polyester, and nylon hide wrinkles while cotton, linen, and satin will show they were stored in an overhead bin for many miles.

Always test if your dress dances well before buying!

Beach: Beach weddings are probably the easiest to dress for because tropical prints and bright colors can be pulled off because the environment gives you permission. This dress has been passed around the family for decades because, it's never once, not even for 5 minutes, has gone out of style. The hem ruffle adds shape and flirtiness to an otherwise, classic beach look. Suntan shoes to match suntanned skin always make one look tall and slender. For those who prefer solid colors, pick the colors of a beach! Mint aka seafoam green or sunny yellow. People always get nervous about wearing a big dose of the happy color, that is yellow, but then you remind them of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and then they get that yellow makes a moment.

Happiest at the beach!

The designer had a beach wedding in mind when she drew this dress, I can feel it!

Summer Black Tie Optional: I’ve heard from many guests (even about weddings I’m not invited to) that a Black Tie wedding in the summer is their least favorite. They don’t know how to be seasonally appropriate in a high-end dark colored dress when in fact it's 80 degrees and mostly sunny. Again, the focus is dressing for the environment, not even necessarily for the weather. The couple spends months, sometimes years executing their wedding vision, so the best thing to do is to follow the dress code as well as the style of the website and invitations. 

One of the most me dresses in my aersanal.

Black Tie and Black Tie Optional typically require women to wear a floor length dress. With floor length dresses becoming more mainstream than the last decade’s go-to, of knee length, the option of wearing a short dress to a summer black tie wedding simply does not exist. Knowing this, I went with a lighter pink wrap dress with a short flutter sleeve but a long length. Lighter colors at black tie weddings are more rare, so I was sure to pick a more formal one with an all over floral beaded pattern to satisfy the bride’s request and nail the vibes. 

Had to show off the hair! I take "Black Tie" as an invitation to go all out!

As always, if you ever don’t know what to wear for an occasion, you know where to find me.

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