Little Brown Dress (HELP!)

[thekster]

A friend from high school, K, is getting married in a little less than two weeks, and the hubs and I are invited. I asked her how we should dress cuz it's at a church at 3:30pm, and she said "Sunday best." That's a little vague, especially with the lazy way people dress nowadays, but I figured I knew basically what it meant.
I happened to go to a thrift store, and found a kinda fancy dress in my size(!) So, of course, I had to buy it. However, if it's too formal for K's wedding, I don't know where I'll get the chance to wear it. I'm trying to think of ways to dress it down, and haven't come up with much, other than a shrug made out of a kinda t-shirt material but I feel that looks a little off.
I need help deciding if it's too fancy, and if it's not, what I should pair it with.
Excuse the mess on the table. I couldn't pull the dressform out from its corner because DH refuses to help me clean the man-cave. It's really plain, but I like the little pleats in the back And yes, I realize it needs to be ironed/steamed/pressed/whatever. I'll get to those details later.

Looking at them all lined up, I think I like numbers 2 and 4 the best. If I wore number 2 I think I would try to find the lace shrug my mom and I made that I've never worn. I dunno, it might be too fancy though.
was really excited that this fit me because it's 2 sizes smaller than my wedding dress, but I feel it needs a few things fixed before it's perfect. It had a little brown bow on the back but I didn't like it so I removed it. The hook at the top needs to be sewn back on. I don't like where the hem hits me, so I'm going to shorten it a bit, to knee length. I'm thinking about making a colored petticoat and having a bit peak out underneath, but probably not. I was also thinking it might be cute to ...oh how do I describe it? Bunch it up on one side a little bit so that the petticoat would stick out more. I dunno, maybe that's stupid. And, seeing as how K's wedding is at a church, every rule of etiquette I've read says to not bare too much skin (i.e. no strapless/sleeveless) so I need to do something about that too.  I'm thinking the petticoat + bunched up thing + something to make it more church-appropriate would all be a bit much. I guess I just wanted opinions before I started hacking it up. So, ladies and gents, any opinions?

[Aislynn]

It's cute!  And I don't think it's too formal for a wedding.  I wouldn't pair it with a tee-shirt type shrug, but how about a knitted one?  Depending on the church, I'd definitely opt for either a shrug or a shawl--or cardigan.  I wouldn't pair a contrasting belt and contrasting shrug, personally--I think it divides the figure too much.  However, a contrasting belt with a shawl or something that's not fitted would be cute!

Just my $.02!

Oh, and keep jewelry and makeup to a minimum, and wear your hair down or in a low pony tail--all that will help minimize the formality.

[elijor]

Ditto what Aislyn said about the t-shirt shrug - not a good mix IMHO. Also the contrast belt and contrasting shrug would be too busy for me.

I personally like #5 - but then I love me some brown and turquoise. Also if you have turquoise jewelry that might "dress it down" a bit for you. Although I think it is fine for a wedding. Some more casual shoes would also "dress it down".

I think for most churches some sort of wrap/shrug/sweater would be appropriate. Then at the reception you could take it off.

[Thesingingllamas]

I don't think it looks too formal for a wedding. I'm always a big fan of cardigans, so I would suggest a classic cardigan and a fun necklace. I like the vertical lines of an open cardigan more than the horizontal lines of a belt. Remember, it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. 

[violentjayne]

maybe pull the hem up inside and sew it to where the waist hits .. to make like a bubble hem I think those look nice but still casual and I'm thinking instead of the shrug Id try to get a lace top that's short sleeves ( cap sleeve ) and wear it under the dress .. if you use brown it would look like part of the dress or you could do a cool contrast... the idea of turquoise was mentioned and thats a great color combo

[elijor]

I just saw Shalyn's Lace Wedding Blouse on the completed projects page. Something like this would be cool. Maybe you can head back to the thrift store and score a lace blouse.dress to recon.

[Alexus1325]

I like the idea of a shrug with it, but the pink one looks kinda awkward to me. I think an open-fronted shrug (just to keep the shoulders covered) might look better, and would also allow you to showcase a funky casual necklace. I also like the idea of a knitted or crocheted shrug. I think the turquoise and light yellow are the best colour combos. For shoes, you might want to wear ballet-style flats to keep it more casual, but with beading or something on them to complement the sheen of the dress.

Oh, and I just happen to ADORE the back pleating Gotta say that's a wicked find for a second-hand dress!

[kjlutz]

I think the dress is fine for a wedding on its own.

My experience with weddings is that the church gets really hot, so I wouldn't worry about something over it for the ceremony, unless it is a really conservative church.

[thekster]

My other friend who is in the wedding finally replied, so I'm probably going to go with her answers, but I appreciate all the help!
I wasn't really wondering if it was appropriate for a wedding in general. Really, just if it was okay for a daytime wedding. But F it. I'm wearing it haha. And I don't have very many flat shoes cuz I absolutely hate the way my legs look in them. Maybe I'll wear my silver flats for the ceremony and change to heels on the way to the reception. It'll be later then haha. I agree with whoever said it - it's better to be overdressed rather than under.
I agree with you all - the t-shirt type shrug doesn't go with it well. And I LOVE the yellow or blue mixed with it, but those are both colors of the wedding so I kinda wanna avoid them so I don't look like I'm in the wedding party.
It's a Lutheran church, I think, and I'm not familiar with their traditions or anything so I don't know how conservative they are. My friend who is a bridesmaid, said their dresses are teal and strapless so I think mine won't be inappropriate. However, my hubs is bringing my lace shrug with him from my mom's house today so I'm going to see how it looks with the dress.
Violentjayne - ohhhh bubble dresses look horrible on me. absolutely horrible. And I think the way you said would make it way too short for me to be comfortable in a church. But when I was trying different options, I did put the pink shrug underneath to see how it looked. I felt silly but maybe it looked okay. I'll try it with the lace shrug
Thanks everybody

[violentjayne]

yeah I wasnt reeally sure how tall you were its better not to be to short  ... oh maybe wedges  if you like heels but want something casuall .. just a suggerstion