What to wear to a coastal fall wedding
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An upcoming family wedding and an afternoon call from my uncle has me thinking about what attire one would wear to a wedding labeled “rustic romance meets coastal charm” during the fall season.
To me, rustic and country are parallel concepts but not identical. “Rustic” feels more of a lodge in the woods situation and “country” is more of a barn in a field scene. While “coastal” is pretty straight forward, but when you pair it with the “rustic romance” concept and add the fall season on top of that, it leaves one wondering, what should I actually wear to this wedding?
Let’s start with fabrics.
Coastal makes me immediately think of linen, but since it’s late fall, linen is not going to be enough to keep you warm (especially on the coast). I feel tweed is the linen of late fall. Not in terms of weight, but in terms of it being a textured fabric that does well at adding visual interest. Wool could also work for fall coastal/rustic vibes. If you’re not feeling the tweed or wool, consider suede for a fabric.
The coast can be CHILLY in the late fall/winter and very breezy, so you want to dress with that in mind. If you’re wearing a dress or skirt, put thick leggings or tights underneath. For wide leg trousers, you can also usually fit tights. For blazers, you can usually fit another shirt under your button down and layer your sweater on top. Basically, you have options.
I love more detailed fabrics for the colder seasons. Since you have to bundle up, you may as well make it look interesting with your fabric choices.
Don’t be afraid to consider an embellished or embroidered piece to add visual interest to your look. If you do this, I would paid it with a solid colored piece so you don’t have a million patterns happening at once.
Since this particular rustic coastal wedding is also casual, you can even venture into some corduroy fabric options as well (I love this fabric idea for a blazer!).
Now for colors at a fall “rustic romance meets coastal charm” wedding.
Rustic Romance meets Coastal Charm - Mood board
Now I tend to lean into matching the seasonal colors (burnt orange, mustard yellow, burgundy, browns, creams, etc.).
If you’re leaning casual, you could also consider a button down paired with a cable knit sweater. Personally, I am OBSESSED with cream colored sweaters (seriously, I have a whole cream sweater section in my closet - it’s a real problem).
The “cream” section of my closet
The obsession continues with a folded section… see I TOLD YOU I have a problem
The coastal concept might also draw you to more blues and purples. I think this can work in the fall, if you go with the darker hues (navy, eggplant, etc.). I would avoid baby blues or lavenders as that will look more summer/spring coastal instead of fall coastal. Stick with the darker hues and more earth tones like brown.
Another way to play to the coastal vibe is through fit instead of color. For example you could select looser options like a wider leg trouser.
For shoes at this point in the year, I would strongly encourage close toe shoes.
While I love dressing up, I also hate being cold. If my feet are cold, my whole body gets cold, and then I get grumpy no matter how much champagne I have access to. For a more casual look, I would avoid anything too shiny for shoes (skip the polished leather look). For a rustic coastal vibe, I would recommend these shoe options.
Finally the accessories.
Pocket squares are a great way to add a pop of color and interest. Ties can also do this, but if the wedding is more casual (like I imagine for a rustic coastal wedding) I would say skip the tie or do a more casual tie (knitted or cotton and narrow).
Headbands (velvet or satin fabric) or a shawl are great ways to add interest to your late fall wedding guest attire look.
When in doubt, dress in a way that feels most natural to you. If you’ve never worn a bowtie, now doesn’t need to be the time to start.
Do the best you can to find some inspiration photos online of wedding looks you like and search your closet to see what you might already have that mimic your favorite parts of those looks. Chances are you will only need to purchase an item or two to complete your rustic romance coastal charm fall wedding look.
Happy celebrating to all the fall wedding couples out there!
