NORDSTROM

Nordstrom is by far the most popular amongst our followers for shopping for wedding dresses! We have to admit that we are a little salty that the Nordstrom here in Richmond closed and haven’t shopped there in a while. BUT, they really do have a great selection of, well, almost everything. So, we hit our old trusty site to find a few favorites for wedding guests and here they are.

I picked a bunch of VERY different style dresses to hopefully appeal to all styles and dress codes.

REVOLVE

Revolve seems to be a pretty polarizing retailer. You either love it or you hate it. Either way, they have a great selection of wedding guest dresses – including the ones we are wearing in the pic above! (Rebecca’s Saylor Dress, Catherine’s Bardot Dress). Here are a few of our favorite options available right now.

ANTHROPOLOGIE

I have to admit that it has been a while since I shopped on Anthropologie! But when I polled my instagram followers and asked what their go-to retailers for wedding guest dresses were, so many people said Anthro. And DANG. I have been missing out!!! For a while I have had trouble getting inspired or seeing something that really *wows* me and now I know where all the good stuff has been hiding! There are so many fun occasion dresses and not just from in-house brand BHDLN. Now I just need more special occasions.

Here are a few that really caught my eye, but their whole wedding shop is great.

~ PIN FOR INSPO LATER ~

The post Wedding Guest Dresses by Retailer appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

Be the best dressed at your November and December weddings with these stunning black dress options.

You can’t go wrong with black for weddings during any season, but they are a classic for fall and winter weddings. Black isn’t boring, it’s classic. When you pick the right dress it can also make a serious statement. One of our most requested items are always dresses for wedding guests, so we are going to start bringing you regular posts with our current picks!

So our picks for black wedding guest dresses seems like the right place to start! We’ve scoured our favorite sites and retailers to pick out some of our favorites for you guys, but if you want to do some browsing of your own, here are the best places to shop.

REVOLVE

If your budget allows you to spend a little more, Revolve has one of the best selections out there. From sleek and sexy to chic and classic, they’ve got it all.

LULUs

Lulu’s is a great place if your budget is under $100.

ASOS

ASOS is our go-to for a lot of things because the selection is so vast. If you want something affordable, they’ve got it. They also have a great selection in the $100-$200 range in their in-house ASOS Design collection.

NORDSTROM

Nordstrom people are Nordstrom people. If Nordstrom is your go-to for everything, they definitely have a great option wedding guest dresses at an array of price points.

Now for a few of our favorites out there right now >>

~ PIN FOR INSPO LATER ~

The post Black Wedding Guest Dresses For Fall and Winter Weddings appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

This would make the perfect dress for fall weddings or special events.

It feels GOOOOOD to get dressed up again. Like, really good. If you’re like me you really leaned into loungewear over the past year and a half and LOVED IT. I have bought more sweat suits, knitwear and t-shirts than ever before and fully leaned into making the fashionable. Because I do truly believe you can make a LOOK out of sweats.

BUT, as of late, I have been really excited to get dressed up, create new outfits and have just generally rediscovered my love for styling. I reallyyy felt it when I wore the orange dress to my sister-in-laws rehearsal dinner a few weeks ago, and the momentum has kept up ever since. I got really excited for our shoot with Halle of Wild Heart Creative, because it had been a while since Catherine and I created content together just for fun.

Going into the shoot, we had both been feeling a little bit BLAH about fashion lately, so we decided that instead of shooting “practical” looks, we wanted to just have fun. So we ordered some kind of over the top pieces to inspire us and I’d call it a success.

This One Shoulder Zebra Print Maxi is a littttle EXTRA, but also perfect if you want to make a statement (like with the aforementioned orange) at upcoming weddings or events. Its affordable price point makes it an easy sell, and if these photos are any indication, it will seriously wow the pants off everyone. Add some simple jewelry and a pair of heels and voila!

TAG ME if you get it!

~ more statement wedding guest dresses ~

~ PIN FOR INSPIRATION LATER ~

The post Wedding Guest Edit: Zebra Print Maxi Dress appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

Is Orange your color? Have you never worn it? If you said yes to either answer, this post is for you.

[ this post was written in August 2021 but edited with updated selects in May 2024]

When I took to insta-stories with an ASOS haul to help me figure out what to wear to my sister-in-laws rehearsal dinner, I was blown away that so many people loveddddd the orange dress option! If you’ve been a follower around here for any amount of time, you know that I tend to stick to black or neutrals for basically all of my clothing.  But lately, I have been inspired to branch out with new colorful pieces, and was so glad I decided to add this orange dress to my cart as an option for the rehearsal dinner.

Since choosing this dress and wearing it and doing some more searching online, I found that I am not the only one loving orange right now.  I looked at some of my favorite retailers and rounded up some orange wedding guest dresses for inspiration for late summer or fall weddings and was so excited to see so many great options out there right now. I got sooo many compliments because the dress truly stood out, and if you are looking to make a statement, I encourage you to try orange, too! Step out of your comfort zone and try something new, it can be REALLY fun and a great way to express your personal style.

Yes, I know I wore this to the rehearsal dinner, but it would be so so perfect for a wedding as well- I was just in the wedding and already had a bridesmaid dress to wear. This dress is only available in a few sizes still, but here are some other gorgeous orange dresses I found perusing my favorite retailers today.

~ ORANGE WEDDING GUEST DRESSES~

my favorite gorjana pieces to accessorize

~ PIN FOR LATER INSPIRATION ~

The post Spotlight on: Orange Wedding Guest Dresses appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

I was helping my sister-in-law find some dresses, suits and white pieces to wear on her bachelorette and all of a sudden I had rounded up almost 30 pieces, so here we are! I soooo miss planning for all things wedding related. The Crystal Press was only a few months old when I got married, so I didn’t get to chronicle the whole process for myself here. When Catherine got married, she did things a little less traditional and I’m not even sure if she wore anything white on her bach. *edit, I looked, she did, once* So, give me a reason to help out a bride-to-be and I’m THERE.

While I was looking for photos for this post, I could hardly find any photos of us wearing white dresses, which is weird because I feel like we often wear them IRL. *note to self for next shoot*

Anyways, like I was saying, I will take any and every chance to help friends & family plan their outfits for all wedding related events! I know that weddings still look a little different, but hopefully if you are a bride-to-be, you’ll still have a few excuses to wear white. Some of these dresses would be perfect for a drive-by baby shower, there are bathing suits for your small bachelorette getaway, casual maxis and minis and everything in between. We will do our best to keep this post updated with current picks, because we know you guys always come for the wedding content.

I am particularly loving this dreamy maxi for any and all occasions, and you can’t go wrong with this classic ASTR the Label lace number.

and since we are low on white dress photos, anniversary photos work, for aesthetic purposes right? still loving this shoot from last year! I can’t believe this was 9 months ago, sheesh.

~ PIN FOR LATER INSPIRATION ~

The post Style Edit for Spring & Summer Brides-To-Be appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

You can tell at first glance that Catherine and I had completely different aesthetics at our wedding! Cath had a chic sequins Jenny Packham gown and us bridesmaids all wore black. I had a more traditional wedding, where I wore my mom’s dress and my bridesmaids wore various shades of ivory and champagne. (See all of the details from Catherine’s wedding HERE and from my Homestead Wedding HERE.)

One thing we both had in common was how much we love our bridesmaids! We both wanted to find the perfect gifts to show our girls how happy we were that they were a part of our special day. Catherine gave us all face masks for day-after revival and diptyque candles – our fave! I gave my bridesmaids wrap bracelets that they wore on the wedding day and a little box of goodies for the weekend. We both toasted our girls with Veuve on the magical days, of course!

If you are engaged or planning your own wedding, here are some options for great Bridesmaids gifts to show your girls you love ’em. No matter your wedding style, these gifts can be customized to fit both you and your girls personal styles and personalities.

Night shirt / Robes / Getting Ready outfits //
I gifted my bridesmaids Ralph Lauren nightgowns to get ready! I knew I didn’t want to do the floral silk robes so this was a fun alternative. If I got married today, however, I would have probably chosen my favorite Nordstrom night shirt or used our Let’s Talk Towels turkish towel robes. If you’re interested in our LTT robes for your bridesmaids, leave a comment here or send us an email!

Candles //
Every girl could always use more candles. We love, love, love diptyque, but also love more affordable options like Voluspa. Find our favorite candles over on this blog post! If you wanted to do something custom to commemorate the day, Etsy has some great options.

Framed photo of you + your ‘maid //
Choose a favorite photo of you two from the past, or after the wedding gift your favorite photo from the wedding and frame it! If you use an instax mini polaroid camera to document the wedding day, like we did at Catherine’s, giving one of those photos is an adorable idea. Again, Etsy has some really cute custom frame options.

Jewelry //
Giving your bridesmaids all the same piece of jewelry to wear on the wedding day is a popular idea, and I did it! Since all of my girls had different dresses, I liked having the bracelets to tie everything together. A simple pair of earrings or a dainty necklace would be perfect too. Kendra Scott has their own line of Bridesmaids jewelry and we love Gorjana for simple, elegant pieces too.

Recovery Kit //
Sheet masks, eye gels, Liquid IV, Advil and rose water are perfect recovery kit items for the day after the wedding! Liquid IV is crucial for rehydration and the other self-care items should be must haves for any morning after a night of celebrating! Gift sets like this Mario Bedascu Rose one are a great idea as well.

To all of our married friends – what did you give your bridesmaids? We’ll update this post periodically with your ideas included! Leave a comment below.

~ PIN FOR LATER ~

The post The Best Bridesmaids Gifts for Every Bride appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

this post first appeared on sartorial meanderings on july 25, 2020.

Okay, so I couldn’t resist a sneak peek at our photos on IG and in this post on my personal blog – featuring the wrap dress, BUT HERE ARE EVEN MORE!

We shot these photos with the lovely Halle Kennon a few weeks ago, and I have been dying to share them ever since. If you have read the past few posts, you know I ordered three dresses from Rent The Runway and couldn’t decide which one to wear, so I wore all three! {More about Rent the Runway and Why I am Loving it, in this post, as well.}  From the dresses, to the location, to the shots that Halle captured, this shoot turned out exactly as I had imagined it! Considering that all of my photos for TCP & RP are usually all black, simple and minimal, I wanted to try something different for this shoot and I am SO glad I did.

I don’t have much more rambling to do, as the photos speak for themselves but just one quick suggestion. If you have an upcoming couples shoot, I recommend checking out pinterest beforehand for inspo (pin this post for later!) because the photos where we used some inspiration that Halle found turned out much better than John and I just wandering around in the field! Sometimes a little direction goes a long way. Don’t get me wrong, we did capture some great photos at the beginning, but it helps to change up the posing to get a little variety.

TO JOHNNY: I love you. Thank you for always supporting me and encouraging me; for always making me laugh and being the straight up weirdest, most unique person that I know.  I am so glad that we got to celebrate in our favorite way, at our favorite place, The Homestead and hope that we continue that tradition as long as we live! Quar with you wasn’t always easy, but I am so grateful for the extra time we got to spend together. May we keep on laughin’ hon! CHEERS TO MANY, MANY MORE YEARS!

John is wearing custom Alton Lane white button down & pants. 

Pin for later ~

The post Reb’s 5 Year Anniversary Photos appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

After hiding this news from you guys with lots of old photos, unique angles, and dummy drinks – Kev and I are beyond excited to finally share this big life update with you all! 

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind. Around July 4, I found out that I was pregnant and it was quitethe surprise. Kevin and I have always wanted kids, but in my mind I was going to become a parent in a couple of more years. Obviously the big man upstairs had bigger plans for us so we are embracing this surprise with open arms and a side of nausea!

Once we got the news, I officially declared that summer was over (the heat was not my friend, for the first time in my life) and that winter needed to hurry up. Why did I crave winter time, you ask? Well, I was really sick for a couple of weeks and who wants to be in the summer heat watching everyone drink Coronas when all you can think about is throwing up? The answer is no one. Between the nausea and the hormones, winter was looking like my new BFF. I should also take this time to clarify that pre-pregnancy, the only thing I liked about winter was Christmas aka nothing weather related. 

Can I just say – this concept people speak of called “morning sickness” is a complete trick because what I had was more like 24/7 sickness. Can we call it that from now on????? I know it’s different for everyone but fueh, it was tough. I often found myself thinking I can’t believe my mom did this NINE TIMES. It didn’t matter how many hours of sleep I got, how many Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations I did,or how much ginger ale I drank, it felt like I had the never ending hangover from hell. So, if I didn’t show up to your gathering during this trying time, please forgive me!

A couple weeks in, Kevin (bless him!) came home with these bracelets called sea-bands. I knew exactly what they were when he showed them to me because my dad used to wear them for motion sickness. I had no idea they could be used for this 24/7 pregnancy sickness (I refuse to call it morning sickness bc, like I said, thats a misleading trick…) To my surprise, these sea bands WORKED like a charm. They use acupressure for nausea relief and are the best thingsever. I was finally able to workout again and leave the house without fear of wanting to throw up everywhere. 

Once the 24/7 sickness dissipated, I finally felt semi-normal and just needed, well still need, to wrap my head around the whole labor and delivery part. I regularly freak out about this. I am still working on calming down ab it so any tips would be greatly appreciated! Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for this little miracle but if I’m being completely honest, I AM SCARED and secretly hoping someone comes out with a meditation that I can listen to while I sleep to help my brain with this whole process. Universe, are you listening?

All the candor aside, Kevin and I are very excited to finally share this pregnancy news with you all, to see where this journey takes us, and of course – to meet Baby S in February! There is def a learning curve with this first time parenting thing so send me all your tips!! What do you think the gender is? Don’t worry, there will be lots more pregnancy related content on the blog soon!

PS – Despite the smiles in the picture below, I miss champagne ALOT. Bubbly water is not a good stand in.

PPS – Special thanks to the magical Kaytee Lauren for making these photos possible with her beautiful baby sidekick, Thea Rose <3

The post Surprise, Cathclaire is Pregnant! appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

One of my favorite parts of wedding planning was styling and shooting my engagement photos with my photographer and friend, Kaytee Lauren. Aside from the usual selfie and occasional iPhone photo, this was the first time that my fiancé at the time (now husband, Kevin) could join in on the professional photoshoot fun that I do constantly creating content for Cathclaire and here with Reb on The Crystal Press. And what a better time to do it than to celebrate being engaged?

I treated my engagement photos like any other photoshoot for my blog and took a lot of time and care to make sure that no detail was left out. This might not be your style, but for the two of us, it ended up being a fun outlet to express ourselves while capturing our engagement simultaneously. We rented a beautiful house in the countryside of Charlottesville, VA and spent the weekend there with Kaytee and her husband. Not only did Kaytee capture magical photos, but it was also SO MUCH FUN! I highly recommend making a weekend out of it.

Read on to see my tips on how to plan your engagement photos.

Hire a Professional Photographer: I always recommend shooting with your wedding photographer for these photos so that you and your lover can get to know your wedding photographer better and begin to get comfortable shooting together. This will make you more comfortable on your wedding day and anything that makes the wedding day shots easier is an A+ in my book!

Bring Several Outfits to Choose From: Your mood might change or you may feel inspired to wear your most daring outfit you brought but one thing is for sure, curated outfit options are ALWAYS a good idea.

A few more outfit tips…

Just because an outfit looks like you, doesn’t mean that it will translate in photos. If you are having a hard time distinguishing between what will look good on camera, ASK FOR HELP. Get your friend to take some iPhone test shots so you can get a feel for how your look translates in photos. If you still don’t know, ask your photographer. My guess is they have a LOT of experience shooting couples in the same outfit conundrum that you are in right now and they will have great guidance.

Don’t confuse “wear something that you are comfortable in” with “wear something that is comfortable”. Of course, wear something that is comfortable to move around and pose in – but also wear something that has a bold photographic quality to it. Think clothing that has movement: big sleeves, ruffles, chiffon, a dress with a billowy skirt. Clothing pieces and accessories with movement will make your engagement photos come alive beyond the hold-my-hand-and-kiss-me photos.

When all else fails for picking your outfit, start with how you want to feel in your photos and build your engagement photo look from there.

Location Scout: Whether your dream engagement photos are in beautiful nature, the city, your home, or in a rented space (a studio, an airbnb etc) – decide where specifically you want the location of your engagement photos to be. Keep in mind that regardless of the place you choose, clean backdrops are always preferable because it keeps the focus on the two of you in the engagement photos.

Be Prepared with Poses: Have several different poses that appeal to you and your significant other saved on a Pinterest board or in your iPhone photo library. Notes can be helpful, but like they say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Make it easy on yourself and keep some photo inspiration handy. This will make communicating with your photographer so much easier and help your vision for your engagement photos come to life even more!

PROPS, PROPS, and MORE PROPS : Get together with your significant other and talk about your favorite things. My husband loves making music – so it was a no brainer to include one of his guitars. We both chose a drink of choice for the shoot, a record we loved, a polaroid camera, some clothing accessories and other trinkets of sorts. Those are just the props that made sense to us but literally anything can be a prop when it comes to engagement photos!

I hope you enjoyed my tips on how to plan your engagement photos and I hope they make planning your engagement photos magical and just how you always wanted! XOX

~ PIN FOR LATER ~

The post Wedding Tips: Planning Your Engagement Photos appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.

To all of the brides out there planning a wedding from home, do not get discouraged! Catherine found her dress online and it was picture perfect. Read on for her tips about finding the right dress <3

While choosing your wedding dress is the most fun part of wedding planning, it can be one task that the bride (YOU!) doesn’t prepare properly for to maximize your wedding dress dreams potential!! Here are our 6 tips on how to choose your wedding dress! 

1. Gather inspiration and create a vision board or a Pinterest board. See my wedding Pinterest board here. Side note: do this before consulting anyone else, after all – you are the one walking down the aisle and you want your inspiration to be untouched from your inner circle’s influence, at least to start.
2. Get clarity on what style wedding dress you want and how you want to feelin that dress on your wedding day. (and everyday ) For me, I wanted to feel like a rock-star fairy-tale queen. Hence the sequin Jenny Packham gown, cathedral veil, and black nail polish. See my wedding details and blog post here.
3. Do your research before buying. Check out which wedding gowns are available online – my go-tos for this were Net-a-Porter, Shopbop, Revolve, ASOS, and YOOX. This will give you great information in terms of what is currently out there (sizing, styles) and how far your wedding dress budget can get you. I know, I know – wedding budgets suck but the more information you have – the farther your budget can take you. I had a wedding budget and these steps got me my dream dress!
4. Decide if you want to go into brick and mortar stores to try dresses on or if you want to do it in the comfort of your own home. I had plans to go wedding dress shopping but ended up falling in love with the first sequin wedding gown I ordered online. 
5. If you decide to try on wedding dresses in stores, keep your bride entourage for this endeavor on the smaller side. There is nothing worse than a huge peanut gallery full of opinions muffling out the brides opinion – AKA yours!!! Another tip for buying in store: don’t confuse what the sales person wants you to buy and your vision for your wedding dress. Nobody wants the bride to have buyers remorse!
6. When in doubt, wait to purchase your dress until you find the one. You will know when you find it. Just keep in mind the length of time that alterations may take if you are going that route. The process can take anywhere between 6 and 10 months!

Happy wedding dress shopping, beautiful! I wish you your dream dress and your dream wedding.

Stay tuned for Reb’s story on how she restored her grandmother’s vintage wedding dress!

XO, C

~ PIN FOR LATER ~

The post Cathclaire Tips: How to Choose Your Wedding Dress appeared first on the crystal press fashion blog.