10 Cute Dress Ideas for Attending Beach Weddings

10 Cute Dress Ideas for Attending Beach Weddings

Many Pinterest boards and childhood dream weddings take place by the beach. Beach weddings create tropical, romantic, and picturesque big day celebrations. Whether the ceremony takes place on the sand or on a nearby boardwalk, it’s always good to dress to impress while also keeping it comfortable. Here are 10 cute dress ideas to explore for your next beach wedding invite.

Flowy Wrap Dress

Embrace the summery and tropical aesthetic of a beach wedding with a flowy wrap dress. Wrap dress designs add structure to a flowy fit. They tie under the bust, mid-torso, or at the waist, creating a fitted top half and a loose, free-flowing skirt. Their surplice neckline gives the graceful bottom half a flirty touch.

With the coastal winds guaranteed to make an appearance, wrap dresses ensure your outfit stays secure while still giving you a fun model moment with moving materials billowing in the wind. Plus, the wrap design also keeps you cool, offering lots of breathing room and mobility.

Halter Necks

Halter neck dresses come in various styles, from tied straps to high neck collars. No matter the type of halter, all halter neck dresses give you a stylish beach celebration outfit. The exposed shoulders keep you cool, and like a wrap dress, the halter neckline gives you a secure top half and room for a flowy bottom skirt. Tied halter neck dresses create the ultimate beach aesthetic. They match the island oasis theme and play odes to summer swimwear while still looking formal enough for a wedding.

Off-The-Shoulder Dresses

Off-the-shoulder dresses also symbolize a classic summer and tropical beach fit. The exposed shoulder adds a flirty and practical touch to the dress’ design, ensuring you look and stay cool. They minimize the risks of tan lines on your shoulders and allow the glistening beachside sun to highlight your collarbones. One-shoulder dresses often feature flowy sleeves adding to the beach vibes and providing more location-appropriate characteristics.

Cutout Dresses

Like off-the-shoulder designs, cutouts offer a practical and fashionable purpose. They create cute and fun dresses that also keep you cool under the sun. Whether on a midi, maxi, or mini, cutouts add a creative touch to the dress. At a beach wedding, wearing cutouts doesn’t ruin the formal occasion. It plays with the beach thematics, making it a great wedding guest outfit for a beachside nuptial. To complete the tropical-inspired look, pair the cutout dress with open-toed wedges.

High-Low Maxis

Walking on the beach already comes with multiple challenges, from uneven ground to finicky, flying sand. Adding restrictive dresses and heels into the mix creates more problems. High-low maxi dresses allow you to enjoy a long-length fit with optimized mobility and beach-appropriate functionality. On top of providing you with plenty of leg room and mobility, high-lows also give you a beachy, flowy skirt and added texture, perfect for a coastal wedding ceremony.

Slit Dresses

Similar to high-lows, slit dresses are long, breathable dresses that allow greater mobility. Slits also add a sexy characteristic to your look. You can find maxi and midi slit dresses in flowy and fitted designs. Although similar in theory to a high-low, one major difference between the two is that a single slit is easier to control against high winds. However, both work well when the dress code is formal, despite the location.

Textured Tiers

Since the rise of cottagecore aesthetics and prairie dress trends, tiered dresses continue to rank high in style. Tiered dresses create lots of shape and texture to a dress, creating a detailed outfit with minimal effort required. They come in all lengths, creating both long and short billowy fits. Their flowy skirts make them outdoor-appropriate and a great option for a beach wedding.

Ribbon Straps

Summer staples come in all shapes and forms. For years, ribbons, bows, and straps were the most symbolic summer accessories. They embody the joy and childlike fun of summer vacations, add color to an outfit, and capture a summer essence. They also tie in nicely with seasonal blooms. Ribbon straps bring a summery spin to dresses. They are simple, cute accessories that create a sleeveless design fit for an outdoor affair. You’ll feel all dolled up with a set of ribbons!

Fitted Mini

Along with sand sticking everywhere, one of the biggest downsides to a beach wedding is the strong offshore breeze. Although it feels good on a hot day and makes for gorgeous photos, it also increases your chances of a spontaneous Marilyn Monroe moment. Fitted minis are more casual or cocktail attire than formal wear. However, at a beach wedding, shorter, fitted dresses prevent you from dragging sand everywhere and tripping over loose fabric around your feet. Plus, they stay in place when the wind starts blowing.

Patterned and Colorful

Beach weddings tend to be more colorful than other seasonal nuptials. Bright colors, florals, marble prints, and other playful patterns embrace the summery, coastal theme and tropical vibes of a beach wedding. Pastels also make a great color palette as they match the aesthetics and attract less heat. Blue marble dresses give an ode to the ocean. Light pastels mirror the shoreline and shells. Florals match the outdoor vibes. Numerous patterns and colors embody the beachside’s essence, enhancing the beach wedding’s thematic atmosphere and aesthetic. Just make sure there isn’t a color code for guest attire!

Compared to other wedding celebrations, beachside weddings usually have a specific theme and a more casual dress code. The scenery creates romantic, picture-perfect wedding ceremonies. However, the beachside destination adds environmental influences, like weather, sand, and heat into the mix. Beach weddings open up the door for summery dresses, and they usually require a different outfit than other seasonal ceremonies.

These 10 cute wedding dress ideas for the beach are practical while following typical wedding etiquette. At Two Cumberland, our women’s clothing boutique in Charleston, SC and online store offer a wide variety of dress options perfect for a beachside wedding and other casual and ceremonial occasions. Explore our collection and find a dress fit for your next beach wedding invitation.

10 Cute Dress Ideas for Attending Beach Weddings

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