The last big event before you walk down the aisle, the rehearsal dinner is one where you want to dress to impress.

The rehearsal dinner usually takes place the night before the wedding or some other equally stressful time. It’s a way of saying thank you to everyone who has helped make this happen, a time to iron out the last minute details and just a moment to breathe and enjoy with your closest family and maybe a few friends. It is also a moment to impress your new in-laws and you should definitely take it. It’s good to shop for a new dress bright and early because as your wedding gets closer and closer you will have less and less time to think about buying a new dress and though you might be tempted to just bring out your tried and true party dress this is an occasion that definitely merits a new dress. In some ways your rehearsal dinner is more important than your wedding for impressing your in laws because there is still some uncertainty at this point, even though it might be terrifying to point that out.

This is the time for that transformation to take place. While you wore a fancy cocktail dress to your engagement party and bridal shower was youthful and feminine (let’s not even talk about what you wore to your bachelorette party) this is no longer the time for the balancing act but for the commitment. We want to see you in a full fledged grown up party dress this time and you better deliver. What does that mean? Are we talking matronly necklines and shoulder pads? Not unless they are artfully done or your personal taste. This isn’t about making a jump to the retirement home but celebrating that you have gone through the arduous process of planning a wedding and that you are about to make it happen. When you think about it that way it’s a lot less intimidating and you can get more excited about finding the perfect dress. You want to keep it short to make the dress more informal but not so short that you would be afraid of the nuns catching you with their ruler. Make a short dress more appropriate by staying away from swinging flirty hemlines and also away from fitted bodycon silhouettes. Instead strive for the middle of an A-Line. If you can find a structured A-Line hemline that is the golden land of the rehearsal dinner dress.