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It’s officially spring wedding season. I was never really into weddings until I became a bride myself, but now I’m so excited to attend them and see what my friends come up with!

For the last wedding I attended,  I tried to find an outfit at a few different Atlanta malls for the occasion. I never settled on one because I didn’t really want to buy a dress for an occasion I’ll only wear once.  Granted, I have more weddings coming up, but I knew I wouldn’t want to re-wear the same dress to them because, #Instagram.

I decided to go with my go-to combination pairing a top and skirt. Going with this lets you have so much more depth in your wardrobe because you can always pair them differently and I won’t feel like I’m re-wearing the same dress again.  I can wear this top with white jeans, a different skirt, denim shorts in the summer, or even to work. By the way, I think you can get away with sizing down in this shirt. I’m wearing a small here but wish I purchased a xs.

While I was at this wedding a few people asked me if I was wearing a dress or if it was two separate pieces. A friend said she has so many skirts but never the right tops for them and vice versa. So today, I wanted to share my tips and some inspiration to make the top and skirt combo work for you!

Pick one that’s patterned: either the top or the bottom, but not both unless they’re the exact same print from the same line. Florals are always a good option for a spring wedding.

Find a skirt that fits higher up on your waist; I always wear skirts at the narrowest part of my waistline. It’s very flattering and doing so will also give you the illusion of longer legs! Tip: you may need to size down if you wear it at your natural waist.

If you’re not sure, still try it on! I didn’t think this top would work with this skirt, but it was the best option in my closet so I tried it on and loved how it turned out.

Always tuck it in to define your waist: I love this trick because you’re guaranteed some shape at the smallest part of your waistline.  Tucking tip: I always pull my top down completely through the bottom of my skirt to take away some of the bulk at the waist. The only time I don’t tuck in the top is if I’m wearing a bodycon skirt and I want to cover my backside. If your shirt isn’t looking right, you can also try wearing a belt with it.

Picking a skirt: Since it was a day wedding, I didn’t want to wear a pencil skirt because it would look too much like work wear. A midi skirt would have been cute, but it would have looked really unbalanced with this somewhat flowy top. I went with a shorter (but still wedding appropriate) skirt to give me a little more shape. I would definitely not recommend wearing a tulle skirt to a wedding, otherwise, I’m all about them. I wanted to buy this skirt for the occasion but it was online only and I wouldn’t get it in time.

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xo Amanda John