Love on the B e a c h

She's got her hair permed,

She got that red dress on!

Everybody loves being at wedding. Its a carousel in the celebration of finding true love. Whats not to love when you're celebrating with a bunch of friends, all dressed to the nines- looking super fly, and you are within close proximity to an open bar and moving trays of delicious treats? There is absolutely nothing not to loveee!

My friend Dawn and her now husband, Billy had an early September wedding and it was simply lovely. It was at a beach club and the universe was on their side on this day as they had the most perfect weather and breathtaking sunset. Dawn was stunning and her wedding was almost as beautiful as she is.

She requested the attire be beachy chic-casual. I didn't have a particular dress or color in mind so I just let the search begin. My friend Erin and I began the hunt at Saks 5th Avenue near where we live, then we ventured out to a larger mall where we tried every department store and dress shop: no dice. So I began internet shopping, which can be dangerous ( a. the possibilities are endless b. your bank account isn't and of course c. things don't always arrive as they appear).

I was indeed on a budget, but I scored from the cute company LuLu's (check out there blog too), the dress was under $30 dollars and even had affordable rushed shipping. I decided on a little grecian inspired styling with the coin necklace, long "gown" and snake bracelet. After receiving my red maxi dress I realized I had never worn a red dress to a wedding, then I panicked- "is it crass to wear a red dress to a wedding?" To my relief it is another one of those silly old-fashioned made-up rules. Rules are made to be broken anyway-- as long as it was okay with the bride.

Since the wedding was beachy and some were going to be dressed casual I convinced my boyfriend Aaron to ditch the tie and opt for just the button up with a blazer look. He didn't think this was formal and of course I insisted he would look great: I won. And he did. He wore a gingham shirt with gray suit and a red pocket square with brown shoes and a gold and silver watch to tie together our looks together. I think our looks were great for subtly matching. This is part one of two of the fall weddings we attended. Look for part II soon for more boldly matching outfit pairings.