Wedding Gear

I love a good American wedding. Unfortunately I have been to very few but I loved every second of it. But I have done my homework on wedding guest attire:

Rule number one: DO NOT OUTSHINE THE BRIDE. I purposely did not write “out dress” because how can you….unless you show up in a full length white sequined gown with a tiara….Outshine meaning: nothing too flashy, over-the-top, short, sexy….

May you wear white? Still a solid no in my book. Black? Depending on the time of year and theme of the wedding; absolutely! You can never go wrong with pastels; soft and innocent. What’s new to me is that the invites will hint what the color of the bridal party’s theme, you all probably already knew that! But for my fellow wedding knit-wits: if you receive an invite with Burgundy accents, the bridesmaids will most likely be wearing burgundy….therefore; you do not wear burgundy….like anyone would really want to….

For most weddings the dress code will be mentioned on the invite. The traditional spot for this is on the lower right hand of your invite. Most couples will also have a wedding website where they will indicate the dress codes but since your great grand aunt may not have on-line access, mentioning it on your card will be a safer way to go.

Quick guide in the terminology:

White tie is as formal as it gets! We’re talking white gloves, tailcoat, white vests and bow ties for men. Gowns for women. Luckily this isn’t common anymore…

Black tie read: evening wear. Men: dark tuxedo’s, white dress shirt, cumber band. Women: long gowns or dressy cocktail dresses, preferably with those crazy uncomfortable heels Closet Etiquette II

Black tie optional read formal. This option would drive me up a wall; make up your mind already! To be on the safe side stick to black tie. But I wouldn’t show up in a long gown.

Cocktail or Semiformal. Men may wear their suits with or without a tie. Women have a lot of flexibility under this dress code, but cocktail dresses or dressy separates are the best way to go.

Casual is so tricky unless it is a backyard or a beach wedding…Jeans are still not ok for either one of these. Chino’s, button downs with or without a sport coat will be just fine. Women can wear less-dressy dresses…like a sundress or maybe even a jumpsuit…

Like I said: what the heck do I know?! I compiled all this from Google and hear-say but hopefully it will come in handy for me one day. Plus every self proclaimed fashionista should be able to answer these questions right?!

My sister had this amazing idea to have us all wear hats to her wedding…with my Shirley Temple curls I looked like a poodle all day…not sure if I salvaged footage from that event 😃