Be The Best Dressed Wedding Guest

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Norfolk Botanical Garden

Whimsical Wedding Inspiration Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Norfolk Botanical Gardens

It's wedding season! I shared a post HERE on the perfect dress for attending a wedding shower. This time I want to share how to be the best dressed guest at the actual wedding (without upstaging the bride, of course). I'm so excited about this post because it features my friend and beautiful bride, Lucy! Lucy is marrying her college sweetheart, and I couldn't be more excited for her and her husband to be.

Lucy is not only a beautiful woman that I've had the pleasure of watching blossom from college undergrad, to grad student, to mother (Puppy and now baby girl ;-). Now she's ‘all growed-up’ and transitioning from fiancée to wife. I couldn't be prouder of her, and I'm so happy to introduce her to you!

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Straight to The Banks wedding

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop She's married

Lucy's wedding is this year, mid-August, and it's an outdoor garden wedding, followed by an indoor ballroom reception. It’s in Richmond, the capital city of Virginia. She and her fiancé both have close knit families and a host of college friends. Lucy was also a college cheerleader. If you attended her bridal shower (see a pic in this post HERE), you’d know that her wedding is going to be picture-perfect. Four people are RSVP’d from my household, with my mom waiting in the wings if one of us comes up sick!

Per Lucy’s very elegant invitations, (the most beautiful that I've ever received, by the way) the bride has requested that her guests wear black to match the couple's chosen wedding colors of black and white. A black dress is pretty easy to find and accessorize, but y'all know that I'm all about the whimsy! With the bride's permission, of course, I chose this fanciful black (emphasis on black) sheer and floral dress from one of my favorite online boutiques, SheIn.com. I couldn't be happier with my choice!

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Norfolk Brides

I've been a SheIn brand partner for months now. The garments on their website are so eye catching. In person, they’re even more beautiful and the quality is superb! For me, SheIn’s outfits have generally been true to size. I'm usually a size XSmall in a long dress because of my short stature at 5 feet. I love how this dress shows off a silhouette of delicate sheer over a little black dress that covers all of the important places. Keeping it classy, you know. The sheer part of this dress has to be my favorite, even though I was wowed by the extreme detail and multiple colors of the embroidered flowers. There's also an attached sateen belt that accents my waist. Oh, and this dress has three quarter sleeves. Translation: no jacket or shawl to keep up with because I always get chilly!

Click any picture below to shop!

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Norfolk Bride Magazine

Hey, It's Me! Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop Japenese gardens

Lucy’s dress is the one she wore at her bridal shower. The lace is so romantic and the style so figure flattering. She wore it beautifully at her shower and in this shoot. I think this dress is also a wonderful choice for a smaller ceremony, a destination wedding or even as a second dress for a bride at her reception.

Both of our dresses are under $50 each! The bride's is $45 and my dress coming in at only $28!

Take 20% off the price of my dress, or anything you want at SheIn.com (No minimum order)! Use my savings code: LUX20.

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The rest of this post is the gallery of summer wedding images featuring Lucy and I, photographed in the beautiful Japanese and rose gardens at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. These gardens are a favorite in wedding venues. I hope you enjoy our pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them. Lucy has a personality that’s even taller than she is! (Although let's be real...anyone is tall compared to me ;-). It's always so much fun to hang out with her. Years ago, when she was only a student and not a bride to be, she used to work with us making hair bows. Lucy made it her business to make everyone’s work day so much more memorable. She was that big sister that all of the girls on our staff could count on. During this photo shoot, I'm surprised that I still had any eye makeup on after all of my laughter with tears! It's so easy to be happy for really good girls like Lucy ;-)

Shaunda Necole iPersonal Shop bridal All inclusive sizing

P.S. Being the best dressed guest is all in the details and the whimsy. My dress is black, but also sheer with an all over embroidery design. Another effortless way to stand out amongst the crowd of wedding guests is to top off your outfit with a beautiful fascinator hat.

Large statement earrings can accomplish this too!

Gallery Of Summer Wedding Inspiration