Wedding Looks: May in Austin, Texas

This past weekend was spent celebrating the wedding of my friend of 13+ years, KR and her now-husband BR, who were married in Austin, Texas.

The key to planning and packing for a wedding weekend is knowing how to decipher the language and context clues available to you in the invitations you receive in the mail. Most brides these days (or at least my organized friends) are great about providing wedding itineraries the week of their nuptials to those in their wedding parties, and KR did all of us a favor by including "attire" for each event on her itinerary. 

Rehearsal dinner: County Line Barbeque, Attire: Texas chic

If you attend a wedding in Texas and are not introduced to our versions of barbeque and Mexican food throughout the weekend, then someone has wronged you. Most of the best barbeque in the state hails from small towns, but places like The County Line are institutions- my parents even went there during their undergrad years in Austin which means it's quite old.

My friends and I all wore sundresses- some paired them with their favorite cowboy boots, while others of us wore wedges since heels would have sunk into the ground. 

Eyelet Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal (borrowed from KS), Wedges: Tory Burch, Earrings: Tiffany & Co., Rings: Texas A&M and Unknown (gift)

*****

Wedding: The Smith Family Chapel at Riverbend Church, Reception: Private home, Attire: Cocktail dress in a solid spring or summer color (as part of the wedding party)

In true Father of the Bride fashion, the wedding reception was held under a white tent in the bride's parents' expansive back yard.

Upon arrival, I promptly switched from heels to Jack Rogers sandals for the remainder of the evening.

My roommates (shown above) abandoned their Louboutins in favor of flip-flops as well. The sunglasses were discreetly supplied to all of the "kids" in the crowd right before KR and her father began dancing to Soul Man and were sported off and on by everyone the rest of the night.

(Gratuitous college roommate photo.)

None of my college roommates or I live in the same city, the three of them are married and two of them have babies, so photos of the four of us only happen rarely. Special props to KB (second from the left) for making the trip from Houston, seeing as she is expecting her second child in a mere three weeks (though she looks as good as ever).

Dress: Shoshanna, Shoes: Nina, Sandals: Jack Rogers, Earrings: Unknown (gift), Rings: Texas A&M and Unknown (gift)

Congrats to K & B!

Lakeside Ikat

I spent the weekend before last at a house on Lake LBJ for my friend KR's bachelorette party. My biggest triumph was making the entire four-hour drive down there without stopping, except for that unfortunate five minutes spent on the side of the road right outside of Burnet, Texas saying: "Yes officer... no officer... Didn't know I was going that fast, officer..." before getting back on the road with a merciful warning for my lead foot. 

For most of the weekend I wore either a mismatched J.Crew and Gap Body hybrid bikini with my Ray-Rans or my latest favorites from Lululemon (I went running to try and counteract the nutella french toast damage I had done, among other culinary transgressions). I endured a week with a lot of green juice and power yoga to pay the piper afterward, but it was worth it.

Saturday night we headed down the road to a winery for dinner, which I thought constituted an actual outfit and actual shoes, so I opted for ikat, which is a new favorite print. Our group of 13 was a sea of bright, printed dresses, and apparently looked like we needed relationship advice, because the same 60+ year-old man stopped by our table more than once while carrying a bottle of cab (no glass) to offer his insight on happy marriages, of which he had apparently had a few. 

Dress: Forever XXI, Wedges: Steve Madden (similar), Bracelet: Hermès, Earrings: Tiffany & Co.,
Ring: Texas A&M

Blush + Bashful

Unlike Shelby from Steel Magnolias, pink is not in fact my signature color. I am not partial to the colors blush and bashful and yet, here they are and here I am. Wearing pink.

The warmer the weather gets, the brighter my clothing choices. My rainbow of J.Crew chino shorts get to see the light of day and tweed and tartan plaids give way to brighter ginghams, seersucker and bold prints.

If you find yourself falling on the more neutral side of the street when warm weather rolls around, then I would recommend you pick up items like white jeans and shorts, a white or beige silk top, a tan sweater, chambray shirts, etc. and consider adding bright sandals, wedges or a colorful bag or scarf to your look.

I like wearing color, but prefer clothing to have structure, so this is how I make a more colorful look work for me.

Oxford: Brooks Brothers (similar), Skirt: Kate Spade (similar), Heels: Burberry (similar) Sunglasses: Chloé, Belt: J.Crew, Earrings: Tiffany & Co., Ring: Texas A&M

Chambray + Chucks

KS, MG and I met in college when we all pledged the same sorority, and became roommates a few months after I moved back to Dallas from New York. All of our respective college roommates were either married or engaged by that time (one year out of school), so I like to say that all we had was each other. Poetic, isn't it?

One of the standout benefits of living with friends instead of a guy (other than the obvious: not sharing a bathroom) is the availability of two closets under your roof other than your own. This means that you can walk out the door on a Saturday morning headed to a hotel where a friend is getting married without a clue of what to wear, but know that you'll be fine because there are at least six cocktail dresses in the back of the car. It's also normal to meet up with people for a night out and find that you and one of your roommates are wearing each other's clothes. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. 

The one exception to this rule is shoes, because we all wear different sizes. And it's a shame, seeing as I'm sure that both K and M would love to borrow my six-year-old, beat-to-hell Chuck Taylors.

Hat: J.Crew (Men's, old, similar here), Tunic: J.Crew (Old, similar here and here), Shorts: J.Crew, Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Wayfarers, Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylors, Ring: Texas A&M

Prismatic Print

I celebrated Easter Sunday at my church yesterday, followed by a visit to my parents' home for brunch. My brother and I both had our golf clubs and accompanying gear loaded up in the hope of enjoying a late-afternoon round, but the weather did not cooperate this year and we had steady rain all afternoon.

Instead of playing ourselves, we stayed indoors and watched Bubba Watson win his first-ever major in a sudden-death play-off at the Master's, making him a green-jacketed victor well-deserving of a mimosa toast from me. 

Dress: Kate Spade, Pumps: Prada, Earrings: Tiffany & Co., Bracelet: Hermès, Ring: Texas A&M