I love weddings. I love shopping for the perfect gift that both fulfills requests from the registry and adds a unique and personal flair. I love attending showers and celebrating people I hold dear. I love watching both faces as the couple catches a glimpse of each other for the first time on their wedding day, and I love seeing months of planning and years of dreaming come together for one perfectly magical day. It is such an honor to be invited to share in these special moments, but that doesn’t mean the logistics are always easy. Getting to all of the pre-wedding parties can be expensive and time consuming, not to mention finding outfits for all of the events! Last week we wrote about how Village Style can help you dress well for every event on your calendar, but I feel like there’s another point to touch on. If you follow the blog, you may already know I had a baby in January of 2017. I’m still approximately 15 lbs heavier than I was when I became pregnant with Brendan, and on a 5’ 1” frame that feels rather significant. I can’t dress from my arsenal of closet staples this year because none of them fit! I also cannot go out and purchase eight brand new dresses for the eight weddings I am slated to attend. Even if I were to only buy four new dresses, that could easily run me $600-$800!

If you’re on a weight loss journey like me, shopping consignment makes a lot of sense, especially for event outfits. I’ve been very hesitant to invest a lot in anything new because it feels like I’m resigning myself to this new size. Shopping for new things makes me feel like I’ve given up, but that’s crazy! First of all, investing in a little self care to make yourself feel confident and comfortable couldn’t be farther from resignation. Secondly, as we demonstrated last week, I can buy an entire outfit, let alone just the dress, for a third of the cost of purchasing retail when I shop second hand. Furthermore, last time I went into Village Style I left with a pair of Lululemon pants, a Lululemon jacket, an L.L. Bean Signature sweater, a pair of Cynthia Rowley shorts, and a Boden dress. All for $103! And no one needs to know these items were purchased second hand.  So let’s explore some of the fabulous options Shelly has in at Village Style right now and see how she’s helping me work through some of the tricky language couples are using to help communicate their vision. What does “Beach Formal” mean? How about “Dressy Casual? Cocktail is a little more straight forward, but let’s unpack that too! Ready? Here we go.