Guest Wedding Dresses For The Summer – Fabrics To Stay Cool
The choice of guest wedding dresses for the summer or spring season should meet some specific criteria to ensure you are comfortable and stylish.
While you have no grip on the weather factor, you can choose the best fabric for your dress or suit and pants and avoid sweating too much or ruining your makeup and hairdo.
There are many fabrics that are perfect for a long dress or gown as well as they feel fresh on the skin. These will be described further in this post. You can also have a look at the practical fashion finds that you should bring to an outdoor summer wedding.
Why Natural Fibers Are Not the Best For Hot Weather
Many people love natural fibers for clothing when it’s hot because they are breathable and absorb moisture. Still, there are pros and cons to think about. Linen and cotton are the best summer material. Both breathable, they also dry fast and feel cool on the skin. The main issue with 100% natural fabric is that the garment will wrinkle if it is humid and fold (when you are sitting for example).
Silk is luxurious, soft, very light and, therefore, an appealing option for a wedding celebration guest dress. It does feel warm, though. It also tends to show unwelcome transpiration stains. So unless you plan to stand straight up all day or hide away from fellow guests in search of a refreshing breeze, the solution is to choose a fabric that allies both the natural fiber benefits with synthetic material.
Nowadays, most clothes are a blend of natural and synthetic materials and it shouldn’t be a problem finding a quality and affordable special occasion outfit.
Perfect Fabrics for Elegant Gowns and Dresses
It’s all about the fabric when it comes to guest wedding dresses for the summer.
CHIFFON
Chiffon is much appreciated by evening and wedding gown designers because of its elegant looks, silky feel,
and luster.
It’s a crepe fabric variant and it’s composed of cotton, silk and synthetic fibers like polyester.
Gowns made of chiffon are very soft and light so you can still feel cool even in a lengthy dress
This lace and satin chiffon gown is an interesting option since silk adds a little weight to have a nice drappé finish in the front while cool to the touch and looks luxurious.
CHARMEUSE
Charmeuse fabric contains silk or polyester and has a lustrous and reflective finish. It looks like satin but is lighter in weight and is less expensive.
Polyester charmeuse does not have silk’s insulation properties which make it a great fabric to wear through hot summer days.
This dress is a real eye-catcher with vibrant color and its beaded waist details.
It flows well on the body due to it’s “satin like” weight.
It also comes in many fashion colors but also has many classic tones to choose from.
JERSEY
Jersey is made of wool, cotton, and synthetic fibers.
It can be worn to a dinner downtown and for a wedding celebration as well by adding a nice Swarovski stone bracelets and earrings for example.
Jersey is lightweight and stretchy and is commonly used for any type of clothing from t-shirts to evening dresses depending on the type of knitting and yarn.
This sleeveless matte jersey sheath dress with illusion bateau neckline has a delicately beaded bodice. It’s available in sizes ranging from 2 to 26.
Many people prefer short guest wedding dresses for the summer. Although if you choose the right fabric you can be comfortable in a long dress as well.
If you need dress style ideas, have a look at my wedding guest dresses post. You’ll find dresses of some of the most popular and beloved designer’s like David’s Bridal.
Read more about practical fashion for summer wedding guests.
Why wearing the appropriate fabric is important
Although indoor reception venues usually have air conditioning, the fact that a lot of people are gathered together may make it seem like you’re in a sauna (especially on the dance floor!). If it’s an outside reception or ceremony on a sunny day, it can get very hot under the sun.
I see the following mistake very often when planning for an outdoor wedding reception. People often pray to have a sunny day for their outdoor reception and forget that they will have to stand there, sunbaked!
Most outdoor weddings are breathtaking places with open landscapes without any trees or buildings nearby big enough to provide a salutary shadow space for all guests. That’s why guest wedding dresses for the summer should be made of a breathable fabric that doesn’t wrinkle.
As you can see there are many beautiful designs to choose from. Weather is hard to predict in the long term. Like they say, better be safe than sorry!
Guest wedding dresses for the summer, get ready for hot weather!
I hope this post helped you. If you are not used to wearing dresses (like me) it could be a good idea to wear it at home for an hour or so to see if you are comfortable when you’re seating or walking.
Think of how you will feel in it after eating a 4 (or more) course meal. You can even try dancing in it! Remember that once you’ll be at the reception you will have to wear it for a couple of hours straight.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I’ll happily reply.
♥
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Awesome post, and the dresses are beautiful. Mind if I pin them?
Hi Umar, I’m glad you like them! For sure, you can pin them or share if you want to. These dresses are just a small sample of what is available out there.
If you want to see more different styles, you can also read Guest and mother of the bride gowns, Cheers!
There is a lot of options to choose from. Where can you get those dresses? What about the rest of the year, can you still go with these fabrics for your gown or do you suggest something else for the fall/spring season for instance?
Hi Sonia,
You can get these dresses by going to guests and mother of the bride dress and gowns. Just click on the images and you will be redirected to Amazon’s product page and will be able to select the dress size and read all the merchants detailed description of the dress.
Depending if you’ll have to spend time outside to take family pictures, for example, I would suggest looking for fabrics that have a great insulation property like silk. Usually, celebrations are indoor in fall and spring time so wearing a wool shawl or wrap over a light fabric dress is a good option as you can just take it off if you need to.
Hope this helped. If you have any questions let me know, I’ll be happy to help!
you did a awesome job of explaining each dress and it shows in your writing
Hi David,
Glad you liked it and thanks for stopping by!
I have a Jersey dress and I love it. The thing I like the best is that It looks nice but feels casual. I have a love hate relationship with cotton. I Love how cool it is and I Hate the wrinkles. You have several nice suggestions. Do you have any opinions on Autumn weather, when it isn’t cold enough to wear a dress coat, but too cool not not have something… Any suggestions?
Hi Heather, I know what you mean. It’s annoying to stand up and find out that the beautiful cotton garment you’re wearing looks link crumpled paper… Especially when wearing an evening gown!
For cooler temperatures, I would avoid satin as it feels cold on the skin and is often associated to warmer seasons because of that. If you really want something warm but that still looks chic, I would look for fabrics that contains silk or wool.
Great tips! I love your selections, all beautiful. Thanks for the information!
You’re welcome!
Nice article I didn’t realize there were so many options
Thanks Ian. Yes and there are many more
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hi Carolyn, I just love the depth that you go into on your site. Lots of information and suggestions for anybody attending or participating in a wedding.
Hi Sandi, Thanks for your appreciation, I’m glad you like it!
This is a great post with the summer season coming up, Carolyn.
I am looking for something for a very hot time of year and I really like your tips on the type of material that is best for warm weather.
There are some beautiful gowns here!
Thanks for all of the great tips about the many choices. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed!!
Thanks, Stella
Thanks so much Stella and have a great summer 🙂
Really cool post, I actually have to go to my best friend’s wedding this summer and I’ve been terrified that I haven’t found any dress I liked yet. But you gave me some great ideas with the Chiffon ones. I particularly like the first dress from the left, it look amazing, elegant and still extremely stylish.
Do you know if dresses of this material are generally expensive? Because I guess they’re are…But they’re worth it, judging after the looks 😀
Thanks for your appreciation Ashley! If you’re interested in one of these dresses, just click on the picture to see the price, available sizes and colors. There are 12 different colors to choose from. I believe the merchant can make it according to your measurements as well.
Hope this helps,
I live in the tropics where it’s hot all the time so my favorite type of fabric for any outdoor occasion would be chiffon. It’s safe and sexy – you can’t go wrong with it.
You are right about the sauna experience. Chiffon is a very breathable material and even when the heat builds up, the fabric will help to dissipate fairly quick.