Labor Day on the Bay

This past Labor Day weekend two of my friends tied the knot (or as they like to say "tied the sailing knot") in a lovely ceremony on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. I was fortunate enough to contribute to the music by playing in a double string quartet consisting of the couple's friends and relatives. Typically us musicians wear black but given the rather hot weekend and the festive outdoor venue, we were granted permission by the groom to wear whatever we wanted. Woohoo! I have been dying to debut this dress that I purchased last summer at Ross for $30. I saw a similar dress at Macy's for 3 times as much so I was pretty excited with my find. All I needed was the perfect occasion.

I felt very comfortable in this dress and it is long enough to still cover my knee when sitting down. If I had been in the audience this wouldn't have mattered to me but since I was up front in the string group I wanted to up the modest factor a bit. I love this quote by designer Edith Head which sums up this dress.  "Your dresses should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady."  (Preach it, Edith!)

Dress: Ross, Shoes: David's Bridal (from my friend's wedding a year ago), Purse: Thrift Store, Ring: Beachside market in Rio, Brazil, Watch: Timex.

For the ceremony my hair was down with a festive headband (pictured below) but by the end of the wedding the humidity had poofed my hair out into something entirely different. So I used the fancy elastic (also pictured below) to pull my hair back. A quick change that was easy to prepare for.

Check out the detail in this lovely vintage purse that I bought for fifty cents at a thrift store. 

One final outfit...this was what I wore to the music rehearsal for the wedding. I LOVE shirt dresses because they make me feel instantly sophisticated and polished. Not to mention that it can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. I've had this dress for a while (from Target) and these "new" H&M shoes (compliments of my friend, Heyni) were the perfect touch. I'm not gonna' lie....I felt like I should be toting a passport and introducing myself as Annie Walker in this outfit. If you missed the reference, catch up on episodes of Covert Affairs. :-)