5 Tips for Choosing a Beach Wedding Dress

So, you’re planning the ultimate beach wedding? Well, once you’ve hashed out key details like your budget and venue, you can move on to finding your dream beach wedding dress. Now, you can go with any style you love, but certain types of fabrics, necklines, silhouettes and accessories work better for beach weddings, so you’ll want to keep that in mind while shopping. P.S. if you’re having a destination wedding, you’ll want to check out this dress shopping guide, too.

Here’s how to choose a beach wedding dress.

Go with a lighter fabric
The last thing you want is to be sweating through layers upon layers of fabric on your big day, so do a bit of research on what works best for warmer climates. Chiffon, organza, batiste, crepe, lace, rayon and tulle are fan favourites because they’re lightweight and will save you from overheating. Textiles you’ll want to steer clear of? Velvet, gabardine, faille, silk, satin and brocade. They’re heavier and will probably leave you with more of a wedding glow than you want.

Don’t cover up
Yes, long sleeve dresses can look pretty dreamy, but if you’re opting for a beachy, summer wedding you’re gonna be pretty hot up at the altar with all that coverage. We suggest embracing strapless and short sleeved styles so that you can breathe a little easier. P.S. if you’re feeling a bit more daring you could even opt for a tea-length or mini beach wedding dress instead of a traditional floor-length gown.

Skip the lengthy veil
A beach venue is just not the right setting for a massive veil. Yes, it’ll look amazing in photos when its blowing in the wind, but it’ll be pretty cumbersome to work with IRL. Not only is there a good chance that it will get covered in sand or snagged on pebbles, but you may also get wrapped up in it or hit your friends, family or fiancé(e) with it (which will probably ruin the mood). If you don’t want to kiss your veil dreams goodbye, there are plenty of shorter styles, like fingertip veils, birdcage veils and blusher veils that look just as amazing.

Trainless = better
Like the veil, you probably want to skip the super lengthy train when choosing a beach wedding dress. It’ll probably get mangled by the sand and leave you with less freedom than you’d like. Beach weddings are supposed to be chill and effortless and a long train is anything but that.

Do an outfit change
Regardless of which fabric or silhouette you choose, you may want to opt for a second wedding dress for your reception. Choose something beachier, like a lightweight maxi dress or a cute boho mini that gives you more freedom and comfort when you’re dancing, mixing and mingling. Plus, if you jump in the water or get up to any silly beach games your legit wedding dress won’t get ruined.

Ready to start shopping for your beach wedding dress? Find wedding dress shops on WeddingWire »