What To Wear to a Casual Summer Wedding/Celebration

I know what you're thinking, "didn't you just write about dressing for a summer wedding?" I did, pal, but here's the thing: The wedding celebration we went to this weekend was so different from our other friend's wedding in Pittsburgh last month, I had to share. Because I bet you've got some casual weddings on your calendar – or fancier parties – and striking the right balance can be hard! Knowing what to wear to casual wedding vs. what to wear to a formal wedding...

This past weekend we drove inland to our hometown area (in case you didn't know, Chris and I grew up about 20 minutes apart in Western Maine/and the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire) to celebrate two of our longtime friends making it official. Instead of a formal wedding, they chose to have a big party (score!) with lots of food (double score), and lots of dancing (yes, score again!) at a local conservation center. For these reasons, I didn't want to wear the long, somewhat delicate Reformation dress I bought off Poshmark for the Pittsburgh wedding and opted instead for something a little more casual. I'd been eyeing this wrap dress for months, waiting for it to go on sale, and this past weekend it finally did. And it's from a very unexpected source... Yeeeeeep. My younger self is rolling in her grave. But a great dress is a great dress and that's the thing about being older – you stop giving a shit. Anyway, it was on sale and fit perfectly and is a style I know I'll wear constantly this summer, so here it is!

I paired it with dance-friendly lace-up wedges, the most perfect straw bag, and a few simple jewelry pieces. Done and done. Best part? It looked fine when I eventually tossed my shoes aside and went barefoot. I was in the woods of New Hampshire, after all.