In December, I attended my friend Andreea‘s destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. So what do you wear to a beach wedding in winter? Well, basically the same thing I’d recommend wearing for a beach wedding year-round, just in a deeper color palette. Here are some of my tips for what to wear to a beach wedding:

Do go for a feminine print

You can never go wrong with florals. So many of the wedding guests were in a floral print, including myself. I did a deep purple floral lace dress (now on sale!).

Don’t wear anything too loud

Prints are great, but not when they’re in your face. The rule of thumb for any wedding attire is you never want to distract from the bride and groom. So stay away from bold stripes and large polka dots.

Do play with color

Whether you wear a print or prefer a solid dress, a beach wedding is a great occasion to have fun with color. For winter, I recommend jewel tones, like amethyst, sapphire or emerald.

Don’t wear white

I think this should be a given at this point!

Do opt for a lightweight fabric

Even though my dress was lace, it was very lightweight. Being by the beach, you want to have movement. A jersey, chiffon or rayon is a great choice. You can also do silk if it’s in a darker color. Anything too light and you run into the risk of showing sweat on the dance floor!

Do play with boho accessories

An easy way to make your dress beach friendly is with accessories. Play with tassels, fringe and straw when it comes to your jewelry and handbags.

I hope these tips help you if you’re attending a beach wedding this winter. For more details of the wedding, you can checkout my video recap of the weekend over on my YouTube channel!

Subscribe to watch my Mexico wedding vlog

You can also see more photos of the beautiful bride in Andreea’s destination wedding feature in Brides. 

Shop floral dresses for a beach wedding

And just for fun, here are a few more snapshots of the destination wedding weekend…

I brought along my new favorite bikini top. It’s a push-up bikini top that is perfect for small chest gals! I mixed it with an older bikini bottom that had pink in the floral print.

I wore bikinis all weekend (you might remember this palm print bikini from my last Mexico trip). But I loved the one-piece Andreea wore the day before her wedding. It was off the shoulder to avoid tan lines… so smart!

Hats off to a beautiful wedding weekend!