Wedding Weekend Outfits For The Bride: Rehearsal Dinner, After Party & Farewell Brunch

If you’re the Bride-To-Be reading this post, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! As someone about to become a #Wifey in 28 days (eeep!) I can assure you’ll probably spend more time than necessary planning out your Wedding Week(end) attire — and rightfully so! Don’t feel insecure about overthinking any of it, because it’s important to remember that you only get married for the first time ONCE in your lifetime. And if there’s ever a moment to put effort into an outfit, it’s the moment of your wedding.

I’ll admit that I’ve ordered/tried-on/returned too many articles of white clothing in the last 1.5 months, and I’m very glad I did because a lot of what I thought I’d love ended up getting sent right back. Just like deciding on your wedding dress, it’s important to allow time to try on anything & everything you’re envisioning for yourself to wear in the moments outside the Ceremony & Reception – like the Rehearsal, After-Party (if you choose to change), and Brunch the following day (if you opt for such.) The nice thing about being The Bride is that your options are made easier to filter when browsing online *clicks White Dresses option* although you definitely don’t have to do the All White Everything thing if you don’t feel like it. I just find it’s a rare moment where you can wear something that “shouldn’t be” worn by anyone else in attendance – might as well enjoy it fully while you can!

From my experience, I picked my respective looks based on the season in which my wedding would be held (i.e. Fall) followed by the atmosphere in which they’d be worn. Rehearsal Dinner would be considered my most “formal” look other than my wedding dress, the After Party look to be a more flirty & fun number, and the Brunch ensemble as a casual-meets-classy option I’d otherwise wear to an outside event.

Below are a few options that caught my eye & worth considering if you’re looking for inspo. I’ve also included the exact looks I plan to wear myself for each category (hehe!) & snaps for you if you guess correctly which one(s) I’ll be wearing myself. But for the sake of keeping things a surprise for Thomas (because why not) I won’t be sharing photos of myself in them until post-wedding weekend.


REHEARSAL DINNER

Another fun thing to keep in mind when choosing a look for the Rehearsal Dinner is aiming to have it be the complete opposite of what your actual dress is like. For example, if you’re wearing strapless the day of then maybe pick something with embellished/puffier shoulders or sleeves. I’ve been telling Thomas my wedding dress is full of sparkles, rhinestones and tight-fitting AF — he knows I’m full of it, but I doubt he truly has any idea what my dress might actually look like ;]

In terms of footwear: I’m not someone who opts for heels willingly yet for the sake of a formal look, I’ll get on-board for the occasion. Personally, I ended up treating myself to this gorgeous pair of red soled slingbacks that I KNOW I’ll be able to comfortably wear all evening. There’s absolutely NO REASON to spend x amount on a designer shoe if you have zero intention of wearing them again post-wedding. Sorry, but I simply don’t find that being a purposeful investment, especially when the wedding costs are enough as they end up being. Spare your wallet & choose something you’d definitely wear again for another event – even if it’s a fun pop of color or metallic! This roundup of wedding shoe options might help you get some unique inspo.

AFTER PARTY

This is your moment to feel fresh, glitzy and glam — especially after getting out of that wedding dress! Imagine how much lighter you’ll feel when that moment happens, that is if you choose to change into a second look. I’m personally taking this opportunity to do so, as I don’t want to need assistance using the bathroom all evening long LOL. Plus, I want to try to maintain the cleanliness of my dress skirt as long as physically possible to avoid long-lasting stains that even the best dry cleaning service will find trouble removing.

If you’re planning to wear a heel throughout the day/night your wedding dress look, you might opt for a white or fun embellished sneaker to ease those arches. Considering I’m going with a sneaker with my wedding dress (yep, you read that right) I’ll be in the position to incorporate a reasonable block heel (this exact pair in fact) with my After Party look. Seeing that it’ll be late October, a heeled bootie of sorts is more than appropriate of a choice.


FAREWELL BRUNCH

The Brunch is often a more relaxed occasion, but I’d recommend dressing up for it just because. For this sort of vibe, you can easily go with a more casual dress or jumpsuit and might even go with something that’s not entirely white. I’m using this opportunity to wear a Bridal-approved print (aka a pop of color on a mostly white background) that’s seasonally appropriate and still something I’d wear again post-wedding. The white booties I’ll be wearing with my After Party look will also be worn with this chosen ensemble, so it’s still comfortable below while staying classy above the knee.


Hopefully some of these options catch your eye, even enough to buy! But ultimately, my goal in sharing this is to help give you soon-to-be brides a direction when planning your looks. Whatever you end up choosing will be the PERFECT option for you & just remember, you’ll be glowing in whatever you decide to wear because it’s YOUR DAY to shine!