Skip to main content

4 Most Asked Wedding Attire Questions

 Wedding Attire Advice

How to Decode the Wedding Attire Dress Code?

The invitation doesn't state the dress code. What to do?  Besides asking, which is appropriate to do so, examine the invitation.  Formal wedding invitations are printed on heavy paper, engraved, and will state "formal or black-tie attire".  The wording is also more formal and in the third person.

Note the venue and time of day as well. A wedding held in a country club would be more formal than one held in a park.  Additionally, daytime weddings are typically less formal. Exceptions are Catholic weddings, which are typically held in the afternoon and are more formal. 

Suggested Wedding Guest Attire

Formal Daytime

  • Men: suits
  • Women: daytime version of the little black dress (or equivalent) 

Formal Evening

  • Men: dark suits or tuxedos (if requested)
  • Women: long or elegant short cocktail dress with beading and sequins. Accessories should be top-notch

Semi-Formal Daytime

  • Men: suits
  • Women: street length dresses, quality separates, or suits 

Semi-Formal Evening

  • Men: dark suits
  • Women: cocktail dresses (or equivalent)

Informal Daytime

  • Men: dress shirts and slacks (sports jacket is optional)
  • Women: attire appropriate for a nice restaurant

Informal Evening

  • Men: suits or sport jackets and slacks if very informal
  • Women: attire appropriate for a nice restaurant—special attention to accessories   

How do I dress the men in the wedding?

Frequently, a bride wants her groom and his men to wear tuxedos.  This is especially true when she wants to wear a formal gown.  However, bridal attire should match the formality of all elements of the wedding.

For example, if it is a formal evening affair, tuxedos would be an appropriate choice.  Consequently, if the tuxedo is preferred, it's best to shift the wedding into the evening. 

Suggested Groom and Groomsmen Attire

Very Formal Daytime

  • Cutaway coat, gray striped trousers, wing-collared shirt, waistcoat, and striped tie or ascot

Very Formal Evening

  • Full-dress tailcoat, matching trousers, wing-collared shirt, white waistcoats and bow ties

Formal Daytime

  • Stroller, waistcoat, striped trousers, and striped ties—darks suits are an option

Formal Evening

  • Tuxedo, bow or four-in-hand tie, and vest or cummerbund

Semi-Formal Daytime

  • Suit

Semi-Formal Evening

  • Dark suit

Informal Daytime

  • Suit, blazer or sport jacket and slacks

Informal Evening

  • Dark suit

What is appropriate encore bridal attire?

All brides should choose attire based on the formality of her wedding, the venue (church attire should be more conservative), and her age.  She can choose any color for her dress, but should avoid including a blusher veil, as it is reserved for first-time brides. 

As MOG, what should I wear?

So as not to rock any boat, it is best to wait for the mother of the bride to choose her dress.  Coordinate with her, while avoiding dressing more formally than her.  The length of the dress is not as important as the formality: material, cut, beading, etc.  Therefore, it's fine to wear a slightly different length. 

Please Don't Wear

  • Red or anything too bright.
  • The same color as the mother of the bride unless it is black.
  • Beading or sequins during the day.
  • Strapless gowns or showing off too much skin. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bride Doesn’t Wants Alcohol or Dances at Reception

Dear Polite One, I've always dreamt that my wedding reception would be alcohol and dance-free - except for the first dance of the bride and groom.  When running the idea past a few people they seemed shocked that I've taken out both of these elements and are making me doubt my idea . The wedding will be in the evening, and then dinner. Is there a steadfast rule that there must be alcohol and dance at a wedding?  Isn't a nice dinner enough? And what things could be added to make it fun for the guests? Thank you, Visitor from Yorkton Saskatchewan Dear Yorkton Saskatchewan, People typically expect alcohol with their dinner at evening wedding receptions .  So, it would probably be better if this were held earlier in the day.  Dancing isn’t that important.  However, it is better to skip all dances, rather than just the one dance with you.  That may seem awkward.  The only hard and fast rule is that we, as hosts, offer our guests what is typically expected at
Post a Comment
Read more

Anti-Clueless Advice: What to Wear and What Gifts to Give

How to Decode the Dress Code and to Give the Right Gift Many questions I receive as an etiquette consultant are from wedding guests. Guests are especially concerned with what they should wear and what they should give as gifts .   All who contact me are deeply worried about committing any type of faux pas, as many weddings tend to be surrounded by drama these days. For example, one guest shared that the bride called fuming that the gift she shipped to the bride's home was inadequate, so she returned it to the store for cash—true story.     With crazy, hurtful behavior like that, it is no wonder wedding guests are apprehensive about wedding guest protocol. How do we know what to wear to a wedding? Wedding invitations are supposed to help guests understand the formality of a wedding.   Often, this is not the case.   Here is a real-life example: a guest received an invitation of heavy-weight paper indicating a formal wedding, but the location listed was a neighborhood park.
Post a Comment
Read more

Should the Wedding Gift Cover the Cost of the Plate?

Hi Polite One, I need help. My step-cousin recently married. She is close with my parents, but not so much with me. Not because of anything bad, we just sort of lost touch, we just never see each other. In fact, I only see her once a year at Christmas. She comes from a wealthy family and her wedding was extremely lavish. I'm guessing minimum $300-$500 per plate. I was invited to the wedding with a guest and was concerned because I barely had the money to attend the wedding ( dress , shoes, etc.), let alone give a gift. My family is all about monetary gifts (always cash or check). My parents were insisting that I needed to cover the cost of my plate which was more than 2 weeks of my pay. I wanted to decline because I couldn't afford to go and was embarrassed. My parents insisted that it was family and that was not an option. I was told to do whatever I needed to do to get a dress, shoes, and cash gift to cover my plate. Because of the pressure, I responded that I would
Post a Comment
Read more