Simple and elegant toddler dress pattern

I am attending a fall wedding with my 2 1/2 yr old.  I want to make her a dress.  Any pattern suggestions for a beginner seamstress?  I can handle zippers and buttonholes.  Also, while velvet would be an obvious choice for a formal fall dress, I know it's verboten for beginners (found out why when I made a velvet pillow).  Is there another dressy fabric that's easy to work with?

You can get a lot of ideas by looking through past issues of Sew Beautiful magazine, maybe they are at your local library. Many are for sale on Ebay, and come with patterns, or tell you what patterns are being used. Silk Dupioni is not too difficult, although it unravels easily. You just have to finish all your edges as you cut them out. When you use an elegant fabric like this, the pattern can be very simple and the dress will look formal. Check out marthapullen.com for ideas and fabrics to order. Lots of beautiful trims also. If you don't get any more suggestions here, they have a message board also; you can ask the ladies there for ideas.

All of my fancy toddler girl patterns are from several years ago, so I doubt they still sell them, but if I were you I would just go to JoAnn's or your local fabric store and look through their pattern books. Most patterns out of those are fairly easy to make. As far as fabric, I would stay away from the more expensive things like taffeta, silk, and velvet (like you said) because they stain VERY easily (just a drop of water can ruin them). Instead, I would go for the more durable dressy fabrics like :

baroque satin (which is  a somewhat heavy fabric so it creases well)
crepe (very lightweight and flowy),
and/or organza (see-through lightweight fabric with body for accents or overskirts and extra layers).

Be sure to read the label to see if they are machine washable and dryable. 100% polyester ones are durable and washable.

Have a look at Children's Corner patterns.  They tend to be more classic designs rather than something you might find from one of the more mainstream pattern makers.  Some call for smocking or embroidery but there are also many that do not.  The Lucy (all the patterns have names like Taylor or Amy or Lucy) is a very simple a- line jumper/ sleeveless dress  that is fully lined (and thus reversible).  It is EASY.  It also goes together very quickly.  I have made this pattern several times for my daughter.  If you spend some money and get beautiful fabric I think it would be completely appropriate for a wedding.   

You can make a very plain shape look gorgeous with very nice material.  Dupioni silk is beautiful and not too difficult to sew with, but it does unravel easily. If you feel you can handle it (zigzag your seams or something as you go) then that would be my choice.  Otherwise, I would honestly pick out a nice quilting cotton from a collection that you really like and make a simple dress and add lace trim and a big ribbon belt to it.

There are lots of ways to use lace to trim a toddler dress. Here are two of the easiest:

1. zigzag the bottom of the skirt (or just cheat and cut it on the selvage), then zig zag or straight stitch on some lace on the edge.  You can do the same thing on cuffs

2. lay a piece across the bodice, either horizontally or vertically, and use a narrow zigzag on each side to hold it down. And as many pieces as you want.  You can make "stripes" vertically up the front, or make a starburst pattern. Don't even worry about cutting away the material behind it, just make a design and stitch it down.

If you want a simple pattern to embellish, Simplicity has some decent ones.
* Simplicity 4246 is very easy if you leave off the collar
* Jumper in Simplicity 5936 makes a great little sleeveless dress- you could put a sweater over it or a nice shirt under if it will be cold out
* Burda 9885 is a bit trickier but super cute with a lace hem
http://www.burdafashion.com/en/Patterns/Kids_Collection/9885_Dress_and_top/1270778-1129000-1005022.html

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.  I ended up making Butterick B4701 (version A) using silk dupioni.  I finished the edges after cutting all the pieces out and I'm glad I did because it really unravels.  I had planned to make a version in cotton to try it out but ran out of time and just ran with my expensive fabric.  I lined the bodice in cotton for comfort.  It has turned out beautifully--just need to install the zipper tonight.  I will post a pic after the wedding this weekend.

http://www.butterick.com/item/B4701.htm??tab=yes_its_easy_see_sew&page=8