baby blues

Happy Summer AKA Wedding Season. I love weddings as they are a wonderful excuse to party with family & catch up with friends, & to get a pretty new dress too of course! When I saw this ruffled beauty, I simply couldn't help myself & can't wait to put it to the twirling test on the dance floor at our next event.

This is my first dress with this halter style, & while I was afraid it would look wonky on my shoulders, I actually find the cut to be very flattering. One thing to note about the fit of this dress, I am typically in between a Small & an Extra Small, but ordered this in a Small, & it is as tight as I would want it to be in my bust/around my neck. It works for sure, but if I wanted to go with a loose fit, I would have certainly gone back for the Medium. It does come in 5 gorgeous colors & if you order the coral one ("red saucy" - best color name ever), you have to tag me on social media, because I know it is going to be a showstopper.

Also on my must have list for wedding season is a go-with-everything clutch & this one from Gigi New York is perfection. It has a removable strap, so it is super versatile for those destination wedding weekends where you are exploring by day & then dancing the night away. My new obsession is traveling with the least amount of items possible (anyone who has traveled with me before is laughing, because that has not always been the case) & these do it all wonder pieces are what has been making it all possible.

What are you wedding guest must haves?

dress: Nordstrom halter ruffle dress (available in 5 gorgeous colors, and if you are stuck between sizes, go a size up - I got a size Small and it was just a tad tight)

purse: Gigi New York convertible purse (if you are looking for something smaller, I love the tassel on this clutch, and this style is so versatile!)

shoes: Steve Madden

All Photos | Noah Berg Photography

{shop these exact pieces}

Bloggers Who Budget: Dresses For Less

We had our first wedding of the season this past weekend, & it was such a beautiful & totally "Nashville" shin-dig! I wore this dress, & I've gotta say, it was very nice to receive many compliments on it, and ever nicer to be able to brag about how affordable it is!

This month, the Bloggers Who Budget are showing off the budget friendly dresses that we have been loving lately! Check out these babes below & their warm weather looks:

Pearls & Twirls | Living in Color | Here&Now | Stylin in St. Louis | Sharing My Sole

dress: pink satin dress ℅ Chicwish

When I first tried on this dress, I was admittedly underwhelmed & shared my "blah" feelings on Snapchat. While the dress did have some fit issues, I loved so much about this dress (the open back, perfect blush color, length, thick satin fabric) that I was dedicated to find a way to make it work. I considered getting it tailored, but the open back straps made that route more complicated than I wanted to deal with. Then I remembered my favorite armadillo belt (leave it to Kate Spade to make a chic armadillo belt!) - and as it cinches to any size, it did the perfect trick for making it fit along my waist, & made the back ruffle detail look much, much better.

The wedding involved lots of dancing, and I felt secure and confident in this dress all night. Sometimes just playing around in your closet leads to the best outcomes!

*Backless/open-back dresses do come with their own underwear issues, but I have a low back bra (similar to this one) that I wore on my own wedding day, that I still wear with any open back dresses - I love that the bustier style stays up so much better than most strapless bras do on me!

belt: similar skinny gold belt here & here (both under $40!)

shirt: Suburban Riot graphic tee

shoes: Steve Madden heels

All Photos | Catherine Truman Photography

Have you had any recent triumphs in solving a clothing fit issue?

Any one else super excited for wedding season?? I love getting to party with my friends & see their love cemented into something so special!

watercolor

Yesterday was our 2nd wedding anniversary, & my husband was actually in Denver interviewing for jobs, which perfectly sums up this chapter of our lives - moving & shaking!

These past 2 years of marriage (& 7 years total together!), have been so incredible. It is wild to think of the person that I was when I met Tyler at age 22 & the people that we have grown up into in the intervening years. I can honestly say that we are better together. 

I LOVE love & wedding season is such a fun celebration of the very thing I've signed up for, for the rest of my life #tilldeathdouspart (just realized #TillDeathDoUsParty would be a killer wedding hashtag!). Weddings are all my favorite things - getting to see all of your friends, travel to new cities, & dance the night away (now if only plane tickets and hotel rooms grew on trees!). This outfit below is my Nashville wedding guest look - most of the weddings I've attended here have been dressy, but as Nashville is a slightly more casual city, this is the perfect look for a day time wedding in our part of the world. The best part is that all of the individual pieces can all be worn other ways - both dressed up & down!

skirt: floral maxi skirt c/o Chicwish

top: Ann Taylor ruffle neck shell (the neck has a clasp that can be work open or closed - check out the stock photos to see how it looks open)

shoes: Nisolo "Serena" sandals

purse: convertible clutch c/o Gigi New York

earrings: Bauble Bar ear jackets

All Photos | Catherine Truman Photography

What are you wearing for wedding season? 

Any fun destination weddings on your planner for the coming months?

a year later: the best wedding gifts

Now that we have been married over a year, we have really had the chance to enjoy all of our wedding gifts. We were so blessed to have family travel from all corners of the US that the wedding gifts were truly not necessary, but they sure have made married life fun! We lived together for 2 years before we officially tied the knot, so I think we did a pretty decent job making our wedding registry more needs than wants, identifying things that we had found lacking in our home life on a weekly if not daily basis. The lady at Bed, Bath & Beyond kept trying to make us add more items to our list (something about needing 2 times the number of gifts for the number of people on the guest list), but we stuck with things that we really really were going to use, & not just pretty things to sit around & get dusty.

Inevitably people did go off of the registry list, but these were mostly people who knew us very well, & gifted us personalized items like restaurant gift cards to our favorite local places, bar cart accessories because they knew our love of adult beverages, or monogrammed items with our last name. Additionally, Tyler's parents very generously gifted us a honeymoon package to an all inclusive resort in Antigua. But if you know that this is not being provided, this is also a category that many couples enjoy being gifted. Below are the 10 products we have enjoyed the most over the last year, but that might not be on everyone's registry list:

1. I grew up making rice in a pot on the stove, but Ty was the one that pushed to have a rice cooker on our registry & it has changed my life. This one is so easy & even has a tray to steam veggies too! 

2. This was probably our #1 want/need item! All of our knives were hand-me-downs that were basically worthless! Having a quality knife set will make cooking fun again! 

3. I don't think a waffle maker was on our registry list (?), but I am so glad that we were gifted it! Armed with my great-grandmother's waffle recipe, many many weekend mornings have been waffle mornings! This one is so easy & delivers a perfectly crispy/fluffy waffle every time!

4. If you know the couple isn't being gifted a complete honeymoon, there are many modern registry lists that allow you to purchase a portion of the trip (massage, dinner, room service, bottle of bubbly) for the newlyweds. 

5. We love our bar cart so we were so excited to get beautiful accessories to put on display. If you know a specific household area that your couple enjoys, this is a great place to go off registry (coffee connoisseurs? cheese aficionados? homemade ice cream junkies?). We were gifted this classy wine decanter, gorgeous gold accented bottle & the adorable Kate Spade "his & hers" rocks glasses that we use all the time!

6. Along with the knife set, the cutting board is also a heavily used item in our house. The solid wood is beautiful enough to stay out all the time, & we certainly use it almost every day!

7. Good pillows are things that people don't often think about asking for, but they make all the difference. Maybe this makes me an old person, but I am very particular about my pillows & it is so nice to lie my head down on pillowy goodness each night. 

8. If you know your couple frequents a particular restaurant, or has had a certain place on their restaurant bucket list for a while, you can easily call the establishment & either get a physical gift card or set up a credit for them there.

9. Oh, the olive oil sprayer! This is a low cost item that blew my mind. Instead of using spray on your pots & pans that is filled with chemicals, you can just fill these up with the oil of your choice! Healthy & more affordable!

10. Maybe this is the Southerner in me, but I love our deep fryer. This one is no mess, no fuss! Ty loves making panko-breaded chicken tenders in them & I love to eat them!

wedding ruffle

Another wedding went into the record books this past weekend. My good friend got married here in Nashville, & my recipe for wedding guest success is below:

1. Humidity protection. The Living Proof "No Frizz Styling Spray" is worth its weight in gold. We have had some very rainy days here lately, & my curls stayed frizz free without being oily & slicked down. 

2. Dancing dress. I love this dress from Entourage! All of their clothing is super affordable & their new Summer arrivals are on fleek!

3. Lawn friendly heels. While the wedding was in a church, I knew I needed some all terrain heels for the garden reception. I love my Steve Madden nude heels, & with the help of the SoleMate heel protectors, they become resistant to sinking into grass. Of if you are a clumsy city gal like myself, they protect you from ripping your leather heels on city grates too! Check out how seamlessly they blend into your heels in the photos below.

{ What I Wore: dress ℅ Entourage // necklace ℅ Chloe + Isabel // Steve Madden heels // heel covers ℅ SoleMates }

All Photos | Kate Davis Photo 

What are your wedding guest survival secrets?

Stay tuned for a giveaway for this necklace + earring set tomorrow!

neon scallops

{ What I Wore to a wedding: J.Crew Factory dress // zig-zag wrap ℅ The Poshmina // ShoeMint lace up heels (similar linked below) // Clare V. leopard clutch // J.Crew Factory "Clare" cardigan (if you are a cardigan person, you need this in every color!) // Kendra Scott cuff bracelet and tassel necklace }

Photos by Bryn Newman of Stone Fox Style

That awkward moment when you ask your significant other for fashion feedback & they say the exact opposite of the idea you were seeking validation for… & then you have to either take their advice & act like you value their insight, or just go with what you wanted to do in the first place, & risk getting them to play along with your little fashion shows in the future… not like anything like that has happened to me before…

In fact, I took both the wrap & black cardigan to wear with this neon dress to our friends' wedding in San Francisco. I was leaning towards the colorful wrap, but when I asked Tyler, he was solidly team black cardigan. Which one would you have worn?

Everything is 60% off + an additional 20% at J.Crew Factory! Shop my favorite wedding guest dresses from there below:

(this neon number has an especially awesome back!)

all season long

{ What I Wore: dress ℅ Maggy London (shop this dress + my current crushes at the bottom of the post} // Steve Madden heels // vintage clutch // Toloni scarf // Ray Ban aviators }

All Photos | Kate Davis Photo

With a wedding season that stretches from March to September this year, my wedding guest attire is going to have to get creative!

Thankfully I was recently introduced to the amazing cocktail dresses from Maggy London - the cuts are super flattering, with unexpected finishing touches like mesh tops, low dipped backs, and exquisite embroidery, patterns, and colors. While the temps are still a little chilly at night, the dress I picked out is perfect with a light wrap. But seriously you have to see this dress in person to really get all of the amazing details!

Shop my favorite Maggy London picks below (the dress I'm wearing is now available here - it was just released today!)

What are you best tips for surviving wedding season as a guest?

go to

Do you have a piece in your closet that you grab over & over again for a certain occasion? 

This dress is my wedding season dress. I love the long sleeves, it is pretty much impossible to wrinkle, & the colors/pattern are so fun! It was the perfect dress for the rehearsal dinner during our recent wedding festivities in San Francisco. The heels are very easy to walk in & the cross body bag is the perfect size for the essentials.

See how I've worn this dress 3 other times on the blog.

All Photos | Kate Davis Photo 

{What I Wore: H&M dress (several years old, loving this similar style + shop all of my current favorites at the bottom of the post // Michael Kors cross body bag // Shoe Mint lace up heels }

With longer sleeves, hemlines can go higher. Shop my favorite mini dresses with statement sleeves below:

Bloggers Who Budget: Wedding Guest

Wedding season is still in full swing, so I am super excited to steal lots of style inspiration from my fellow Bloggers Who Budget ladies today. 8 wedding guest styles for under $100!

Sharing My Sole | The Style Letters | Let It Be Beautiful | Here & Now | Pearls & Twirls | Stylin in St. Louis | Living in Color | The Pumpkin Spot

{ What I wore to a wedding: dress ℅ Androbel // Steve Madden heels // sunglasses ℅ Krewe Optic // Rebecca Minkoff purse }

All Photos | Rae Marshall Photography

My wedding guest style tips:

1. Don't wear white. While many style rules have been repealed, this one is still in full effect.

2. Dress to impress, but keep it out of "party in da club" territory. The bride and groom invited you to share in their big day, not to give their grandparents a heart attack.

3. Keep it simple. Weddings can be long days, even if you are just a guest. Pack the necessities in a small bag, wear clothing that you feel comfortable in, and rock a hairstyle that will hold up on the dance floor.

4. Ask the bridal party. Invite didn't have a dress code? Not sure what "boho chic" means? Reach out to the bridal party, they will have the inside scoop.

I have a few more weddings this year & then next year's dance card is already getting filled up too. This hi-low dress from Androbel is definitely going to be my go-to wedding look. I love how easy breezy chic this dress is! Pick up one of your own here.

I was just introduced to Androbel and am obsessed with their selection of feminine, elegant, fun & original pieces! The founder of the brand believes in "pieces that will be "in" season after season", & this dress is certainly that!  

What's in my bag? Urban Decay "perversion" mascara, Pla Beauty lip gloss, Gigi New York wallet.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Adorn Media Group + Androbel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.