Could you switch out for boots if it's cold? Get a maxi that would go with your cowboy boots. It could work.

This issue with those boots are the heels. Last summer (before the country wedding) I wore those books to an outdoor grad party. The weather was fine but I almost fell several times. The heels are too high to be stable on a less than perfect lawn. Thanks for remembering my boots! I was thinking of a maxi that could be paired with my jean jacket BUT I wore that jacket to the other wedding and this is the same family. If the dress was different would it be OK to wear the jean jacket if it got cold?

Buy several different outfits and shoes then you can decide what will work when you know the weather and can return what you don't wear. I'd buy dressy casual and dress it up with jewelry......you'll get more mileage out of the outfit.

Be prepared.....my son's reception was in a tent...it got chilly and while there were heaters the heat was not disbursed. The table next to us was roasting and we were freezing. Friends went to a tent wedding in June or July and there were fans just blowing hot air around....everyone was sweltering.

I would not wear a maxi dress with sandals unless you are quite sure the ground will be dry. If the weather conditions are right that outfit will be perfect. If there is a chance you might sink into the mud I would wear a tea length dress with a jacket or wrap and flat shoes (and take galoshes, for heaven's sake!) or an outfit as described by JLC, above, with nice black ankle slacks or leggings and a very dressy tunic top or mini dress if over leggings. The more casual your clothing type the dressier your fabrics and jewelry.

I really do not understand the farm/ rustic / homemade bridal mania when they still want everyone to dress formally.....it's a farm, not the Colony Club!

Farm+ sandals= wet, dirty feet. I've never had to manage a maxi dress in a port-o-potty, but I did have to cope with the world's tiniest bathroom while in a hoop skirt. All I can say is, have a plan.

This couple really isn't making it easy. I would choose a dress that's a bit more on the covered up side. If the day turned out to be really cold I could wear a base layer underneath and my jacket or wrap.

I'd go with a dress to the knee or longer, but not maxi. Definitely do flats, though they need not be sandals. If you can't do flats, then do a wedge which is a little dressier but won't be aerating the lawn with each step, and they are more secure on rougher terrain.

I was at a similar rustic wedding two years ago and it rained and was chilly- in the 60's. The woman who looked most appropriate to me, was a wearing a very cute skirt, top/sweater and rainboots!
The venue involved a walk down a dirt road to the chapel, btw.

Most of the wedding party were dressed up but otherwise everything showed up. I wore a sleeveless dress and sandals and was cold.

What type of surface is the driveway? Gravel? Will they lay down a surface for the dance floor? I've seen this done within tents so was just wondering if this was the plan. And if the grass area is somewhat level and not wet it might be ok, but you're right, it could be a damp mess.

I agree with the no-maxi, especially with the porta-potties to deal with. I'd have an alternative outfit in mind for different weather conditions. A tank-style top with a long cardigan and skirt would be good and dress it up with jewelry. I'd also stick with wedge heels, not too high or a slight platform if you are secure in those. I recently bought some Teva sandals that actually look pretty dressy-casual & are very comfortable (I bought them in crockery). http://www.zappos.com/teva-cabrillo-strap-wedge-2-black

What I'd do is head to TJ Maxx for a maxi dress for around $30 (make sure it's washable, not dry clean, because your going to want to wash the stink out of it after). I'd get flat sandals AND ballet flats that are embellished to dress them up.

Bring a shawl and a pack of Wet Ones.

I hope for the love of everything holy that this bride and groom provide wash stations.

Dear lawd!

I love long dresses, but with portapots, I would choose shorter!!! I would have a couple of shoe options available depending on weather- none too expensive so they could be disposable if need be! (a couple of my shoes have gotten fairly ruined at grad parties!!)

I literally roll up the dress (or long sweater, even) and tuck it into my bra!

I don't take any chances!

I agree with the knee length dress and a dressy cardigan in case it's cold. If it's really cold, bring a jacket along. If it became forty degrees and they expect you to be outside, i don't think I would care how I looked!

I like Joanie's idea of having a few choices. i was invited to a special birthday party a few weeks ago. I found a cute sweater with lace 3/4 sleeves. It worked well even though the weather was very warm that day. But, before I bought it, I had two other seater choices in the wings.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I will skip the maxi idea. I will buy at least 2 outfits and leave on the tags until that day. I have never worn pants to a wedding so that would be a new concept for me. The more casual your clothing type the dressier your fabrics and jewelry. I never heard that before but is great advice.

The driveway is just dirt. There will be a floor laid down as a dance floor but unless you are dancing you will be standing on dirt or grass.

In this case I think most of the decisions are driven by cost.

Shoes will be a pain as of right now, I don't have any shoes I could wear. Almost all my shoes are either boots, high heels, sneakers, or flip flops. I really need new shoes so hopefully I can be a pair or two that I can use again and won't get ruined.

You think I have it bad? My daughter has a part in the wedding and also needs a dress and people will be looking at her. She runs hot so she won't mind if it gets cold or even snows!

Port-a-potties and pants is not a good idea. Your pants will be down on the ground and you'll be trying to hold them off the ground while trying to pull them up at the same time.

Ugh....port-a-potties are not fun anytime, especially when dressed up! We went to an outdoor wedding, in a tent, in torrential rain. The water flowed through the tent like a river. I was wearing a knee-length dress, left before I needed the potty, and threw my shoes away when I got home.

I laughed out loud at the " tuck them in your bra" comment...!!

There are ports potties and there are portable bathrooms.....the latter are the size of 18 wheeler trucks (which brings them in) and they can be beautiful and luxurious, with hot and cold running water, several stalls, pretty mirrors, etc..... one for men and one for ladies. Whoever thought of those is brilliant!

I'd wear slacks, nice top, flat shoes but I'd bring two more pairs of alternates in case there was rain or mud. Just so you can decide when you get there, I'd also have a shrug and a jacket of sorts in the car for later in the day. Be prepared.

Those portable restrooms are great! A friend rented one for her daughter"s rustic wedding and we had fun determining the fanciness level for the budget.

Great point about port-a-potties and portable bathrooms. BIG difference.

And super pricey. Lol, bumble, that must have been a hoot!

you really need some land for portable restrooms! I am pretty certain that if I ever hosted a wedding at my house I would allow at least one indoor bathroom for guest use!!

The wedding just took place this past weekend. It all turned out well. The weather was supposed to be terrible with rain for a few days before and rain all that day. Well, that never happened thankfully.

Here is what I wore.

I picked this dress because the material didn't wrinkle easily and I thought any spilled drinks etc. would be hidden in the pattern. The heels on the shoes were higher than I wanted. I could not find flats that looked good. I had a white sweater in case it got cold but I never put it on.

Many people came in jeans. The port a potties stayed pretty clean and they set up an outdoor working handwashing sink.

If the weather had been bad it would have been completely different story.

Very pretty! And perfectly appropriate!

Perfect. Thanks for sharing your picture with us.

Love the dress. I would wear that if I ever wear a dress again.

Hey, were you the one who was trying to go purseless?

Working on at least reducing the size of my purse. I tried putting only 1 check from each check book in my purse and that didn't work out too well because I used one and forgot to replace it and then had to use the other from a different account (which I didn't want to do). So its still a work in progress. Going out Friday night and am going to try being purseless. I think the key to purseless may be keeping a bag of stuff in my car. This was brought up on the other thread but I really need to do it.

The dress is a Ralph Lauren, about $90 at Macys. It was so comfortable and you could crunch up the fabric and it did not wrinkle. And its machine washable! Also, not see through as so many dress are now.

Yes, absolutely perfect dress, Debrak, and very flattering!

Ooo, pretty dress and it looks lovely on you. I might have to take a stroll thru Macy's to see if they still have it.

hhireno, they didn't have too many and instead of a regular 8, which were all gone, I ended up with a 12 petite. I never wear petite but tried it and it worked!

Really nice dress. Very flattering. Great colors.

Debrak ~ I love your thought process..

"I picked this dress because the material didn't wrinkle easily and I
thought any spilled drinks etc. would be hidden in the pattern."

The french pedi looks great !

Went out Friday night without a purse! Put my license, cash, and a credit card in one pocket of my jeans. My phone in the other. My phone didn't fit too well so most of the night it was on the table unsupervised which was not a good thing but didn't know what else to do. Needed my phone because we wanted to take lots of photos and I would have had to leave it in the hotel room which I didn't think was a good idea either. Where to put the phone seems to be the obstacle for going purseless.