Dress to Impress
Wedding Wear, Outer Banks Style
Can you imagine a barefoot bride in Washington, D.C.? How about a groom in a tuxedo jacket and shorts in Cincinnati? Such fashion would never fly in the city, but on the Outer Banks anything goes. Whether you choose traditional, formal attire, the
casual, beachy look or a combination of the two, you're free to dress exactly like you want.
For some couples, the desire for traditional wedding attire is strong. The bride in a full-length gown with a veil, the groom in a tuxedo with tails, and the attendants dressed formally signifies a respect for the institution of marriage and it lends an
elegant tone to the wedding.
If you choose to dress your men in tuxedos, you can rent them on the Outer Banks. This is good news if you are planning a
destination wedding. As long as everyone gets their measurements in on time, the tuxedos will be waiting for you when you arrive for your wedding weekend.
It's very easy to rent tuxedos these days, thanks to handy measurement forms that the stores offer. You can email the form to your attendants, who fill in their measurements and shoe sizes on the form and return it to the rental store. (Remind your groomsmen that it's best to get professionally measured. Most any formalwear store will do this for them.)
Black Tie Affair in Kill Devil Hills offers tuxedos from a variety of top-name designers, and you can find their measurement form online. For the women, Black Tie Affair offers wedding dresses and formal gowns for mothers, bridesmaids and flower girls.
Brides looking for formal and semiformal wedding and bridesmaids dresses may want to visit Barr-ee Station in both Southern Shores and Duck. Barr-ee carries dresses from a famous-name catalog (which we can't mention here) at great
discounts and savings. It's also a great place to find clothes and bathing suits for your honeymoon.
Nontraditional
At the beach, the casual and relaxed atmosphere makes it okay to break the
traditional rules, and many couples, especially those who get married outdoors or
on the beach, choose to wear less conventional wedding attire. Remember, if you are dressing it down and having a more casual wedding, be sure to say so on the invitation so your guests can dress appropriately.
Although the vast majority of beach brides on the Outer Banks still choose to wear the traditional white wedding dress, they often dress it down by forgoing shoes, the veil or the train. Beach brides typically choose simpler white dresses, sometimes a more casual, shorter length to allow for easier maneuvering in the sand. A long, clean-lined, elegant strapless white dress seems to be the most popular beach-bride attire.
But casual beach brides have so many options beyond the white dress. We've seen brides wearing a colorful sundress, gauzy pants and a billowy blouse, even a white swimsuit and sarong.
Even if the bride wants to wear a
beautiful white gown on the beach, you can still have a nontraditional wedding by dressing down the groom and attendants. For instance, the groom and groomsmen might wear suits instead of tuxedos, or just sport jackets without ties, or white linen shirts. Some fun-loving grooms choose to wear black shorts with their formal tuxedo jackets and bow ties sans those black socks and shoes, of course! There have also been sightings of Outer Banks grooms and groomsmen in tuxedo tops and board shorts.
Hawaiian-style shirts match the theme of a beach wedding perfectly. One couple decked out their entire wedding party
in flowery, bold-patterned beach attire a long dress for the bride, shirts for the men, dresses for the attendants and even a
knee-length dress for the flower girl. Simple sundresses or shifts for bridesmaids can also make a beach wedding feel more casual.
One of the newest trends is to forgo the white gown altogether and wear a favorite hue of your own. From scarlet red to blushing pink, brides these days have a choice about what they wear down the aisle. If you like the idea of bucking tradition, but can't quite see yourself wearing a purple gown on your wedding day, consider wearing a white  gown with an accent hue the most popular color being blue. That way you have your "something blue" right there on your dress! If you're looking for nontraditional beach wedding attire, several nearby stores can fill the bill. These are also great places to look for resortwear and attire for your honeymoon trousseau.
Birthday Suits, with several locations on the Outer Banks, offers the fun, colorful, very beachy Jams World brand attire for men and women. Plus they offer a great selection of Hawaiian shirts and bathing suits.
Located in Virginia Beach, Caribbean Wraps International specializes in bridal sarongs. Embroidered, beaded
or fringed, they have it all. Accessorize with their unique white paper parasols or silk
wedding bouquets. They also carry tropical shirts for the groomsmen.
Remember, what you wear as you walk down the aisle is less important than the attitude you have while you're wearing it. Relax and have fun!
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