It is the first question that arises when you are invited to a wedding. What should I wear? Are there rules about what is appropriate to wear or not to wear to go to a wedding?
The answer is yes, although not all are “written” rules, there are common sense rules and rules for ignorance that this post intends to correct, but there are other more important rules if possible, those of bad taste, which are preventable up to a certain way, because, from the point of view of education and aesthetics, there must be a desire to learn to fight them.
The protocols change according to the type of wedding, the country in which it takes place or of which the bride and groom are (one or both), the time of the year, if the wedding is civil or religious and of course the time, if it is a wedding day or night. This post is dedicated to the protocol for a day wedding.
Collect information and evaluate your participation, details such as the estimated duration or if the event will take place in the country or in the city. On the other hand, your participation in the event will not be the same if at home someone close, a brother or a good friend, as if you simply attend as a guest to the marriage of a son of your boss.
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What to wear in case of wedding protocol with “long” dressing code for her?
The protocol changes according to the wedding, and the conditions are usually established in the invitation you receive, if there are no precise indications in the invitation, it will be you who freely choose the outfit, there are no rules, although particularities to be taken into account so that all , including you, feel comfortable.
From the point of view of who is home, it is convenient to choose a dress code and communicate it on the invitations, so you will not put your guests in a difficult situation.
Although are evening weddings that usually require a long woman’s outfit code, there are many day weddings in which the bride and groom choose “long” attire and that definitely condition the feminine look.
Fabric and color are the elements that you must choose for a perfect look and silhouette and the vaporous fabrics and soft colors are usually the preferred option with difference, but I invite you to verify the color tone is not too clear, in our culture the Brides usually wear white and the first unwritten rule is that the absolute protagonist of the event is the bride and no one should rival her, and pay also attention to necklines, especially in a religious wedding.
What if it is a luxury day wedding?
The social environment is also decisive, keep in mind that will not be the same to choose a look for a wedding in a castle of very wealthy people, then a wedding of people with less purchasing power in a hotel in the city.
Long dresses with patterned or brocaded motifs give a striking and aristocratic look, they are perfect if you want to send more in a “difficult” ambient, but you must be aware that they are not easy to wear outfits. Heavy and almost always bulky, you need control and concentration to take them in addition to that, if you notice that you are uncomfortable, it can be torture and can make a fool of yourself.
In case of long protocol there is something that usually takes the female guests off their sleep, the nightmare … the outerwear.
On the blog you have a dedicated post with options: Which coat should I wear with a long dress? but my favorite is always a long cape that, although it seems complicated, is easy to order from a trusted dressmaker, if you do it with time.
Wedding protocol of other cultures, “long” alternatives
Last but not least the possible cultural peculiarities, such as a Muslim bond or a Hindu wedding.
If possible, speak directly with the bride and groom, if not, look for well-informed people about the event, especially if you attend a “engagement” wedding, there may be a strict protocol that you must follow. Inform you, attend a wedding without information is to throw a social and style cliff.
Adapt to the norms and characteristics, do not try to fight against the norms and customs, you will lose, if you do not like the norms, do not go, be flexible and try to find solutions among the resources of your closet and think about alternatives, all the cultures of the Planet have wonderful clothes, dive among their outfits until they find the best adaptation to the situation and your physical characteristics. A jumpsuit, for example, may be a “long” alternative that you are not considering, and with which you may feel more comfortable without missing the “long” protocol required in the invitation.
When the dressing code protocol shows to wear “short” …
Short dressing code for a wedding has both, advantages, and disadvantages, as an extremely slim woman will find it more difficult to find a “short” dress that does not make her look filiform. Structured fabrics come into play here, perfect for short wedding dresses.
Dress short with structured or lightweight fabrics?
If the invitation indicates “short” do not rebel, in it is the key to know how to go dressed to the wedding, there is nothing worse than going to a wedding dressed against the current, you will be exposed and will be in a bad place, As much as that long dress that you wanted to wear feels good to you.
Look for a silhouette based on your physical characteristics, if you are for example very thin, as I suggested before, look for a structured fabric that gives volume to your silhouette.
If it is also a wedding you are forced to attend and you want to look cool and “important” , I suggest brocade fabrics, the dresses in these fabrics are too impressive, but in a short dress the weight of a mate brocade fabric (the shiny is very “party”), makes the garment more valuable and not out of place.
You can also look for plain or printed taffeta, great looks but more accessible if you are looking to go dressed to a wedding with a cheaper dress.
Light fabrics have a tendency to swell, so I do not recommend them if you are a curvy girl.
As for the color, I always recommend against the black color, but only because in a daytime wedding it is the color that is worse in the photos, there is no other reason, and of course the protocol does not prohibit it.
If you are looking for a dark color for silhouette reasons, remember that black is not the only dark color: Navy blue, dark Auvergne, or deep Olive green, they are alternatives that come to life with the right accessories.
Protocol and necklines, beware of uncovering too much
Short dresses have usually wide and deep necklines styles, so let us talk now about a fundamental theme at weddings.
If you need to know how to go dressed for a day wedding, one of the things you should know is if the wedding is going to be civil or is it a religious wedding.
In the case of civil weddings, the limits when it comes to necklines are more relaxed, but if we talk about religious weddings, they become a critical issue.
Even when after the wedding there is a banquet, you do not attend a party but a wedding, and deep necklines are not welcome everywhere.
When the wedding is in a court you can uncover your beautiful shoulders and those fabulous legs that everyone admires, but in the case of a church wedding, the right thing to do would be to politely decline the invitation if you don’t go to churches and don’t want to accept limits in dressing code.
Otherwise, you have to accept that the bride and groom have chosen a religious wedding with its rules and regulations and, if you want to accompany them, you have to adapt, knowing that they and the rest of the attendees deserve the same respect you asking for yourself
More than necklines we should really talk about showing a small amount of skin, I do not mean only the deep necklines in a peak, but necklines of all kinds, back and shoulders, but also very, very mini skirts
If you do not want to condition your outfit to church and want to dress more freely, you can look for jackets, shawls, etc. (remember that you can also wrap yourself in a wrap closed in a knot on the back like a shell), or simply wait for the bride and groom at the exit of the church and dress freely and without protocols for the subsequent celebration.
I give you alternatives, but I think that in the end decisions of this type are made based on the relationship you have with the couple, and how important it is for you to be present at that moment in their lives.
Wearing short” casual style, two pieces or dress
Not all wedding outfits have to be with shiny fabrics, there is a trend with more followers every day in which a more casual outfit takes center stage, is not inappropriate and of course respects protocol.
If you need to know how to go dressed for a wedding in late evening, an elegant skirt to wear with a blouse or a top like in the image above, can be an excellent choice.
The midi length is perfect on these occasions, you can read my post learn Dressing perfect with Midi Skirt-How to combine it according to your Style and Occasion to know more.
The fact that the skirt is elegant does not mean that the fabric is necessarily a “party fabric”, look for skirts of significant shape and volume, that have a good image and are made of a special fabric, for example with a print that catches your attention … accessories will be very important in a look like this.
A dress with a particular shape and with details that are out of the ordinary, is a current, simple and practical alternative that adapts to the protocol of a short dressing code for wedding, and I say practical because it becomes an investment for your wardrobe, since you can then transform it, always with the help of accessories to use it as a look for a Company dinner look or a more informal event.
From the point of view of today, dressing “short”, much more modern, and smarter and is more fashionable. Personally, I prefer it, in fact this it and these weddings are more common in countries with a more advanced fashion culture.
Did you believe it?
It was just an experiment to make you understand the influence that bloggers, “opinionizes” and alleged fashion experts have on what you wear and what is worse, on how you feel.
Do not let any “guru” tell you that you cannot absolutely wear something you want, obviously you are reading this post because the rules of protocol exists and, if you do not want to violate them (something legitimate on the other hand if you have personal reasons to do so), you have to know them and use them, so you can dress appropriately, but with “freedom”.
For the rest, and if there are no precise indications in the invitation, you are free to dress as you like, which means that you look good, which goes through an adequate search for garments made with fabrics that favor your silhouette creating an outfit with the one you feel comfortable with.
The objective is for the mirror to return the image of a “you” that you like, with which you can attend the wedding feeling great, without doubts about your appearance and with a sense of security, the true guarantee of achieving a good look wedding guest.
I also want to emphasize once again the dangers of white in case of a religious wedding, whether you are going to wear short or long, and even if it is a jacket suit instead of a dress … better black, even if you take risks to look like a stain on the photos.
Remember that fashion changes, turns and revolves on itself like a cat, which six months after the wedding is the latest, when the time comes is just ordinary so do not let yourself be conditioned by sudden death trends and look for you same in the outfit you choose.
No protocol can make you give up your personality
Do not dye your hair a color that you do not like because it seems more appropriate and of course do not try desperately to hide that tattoo you did when you were on vacation, you are you, marry who marries.
Disguise is never a good alternative, before or after your authentic self appears and in disguise you will not even know how to behave Instead I propose that you always look for solutions with which you feel comfortable and that are within the protocol rules that the bride and groom request in the invitation
If you feel you are running out of resources and can’t solve the problem, call me. MD Personal Shopper‘s Events and more service is designed precisely for these situations; a personal image consultant guarantees you an impeccable appearance and how to have style.
Wedding protocol rules that you should not violate
In addition to the protocol rules in themselves, I want to add some “good taste” rules, because in reality the protocol as such is used if you have to attend a “royal wedding”, and believe me, in that case it will be Royal House , which leaves nothing so important at random, who will contact you if you need assistance or have any questions.
The other rules, those of good taste, have more to do with common sense and education, one that avoids a “bad time” to you and the other participants in the event.
The basic rule if you are in a religious wedding, is always the same: avoid outfits that may resemble the possible dress of the bride, long and light colored, the brides do not always wear optical white.
Finally, the list of horrors, which always fall under the category “bad taste”, and in which there are things like transparent garments (yes, I mean it, there are those who are capable …), because there may be Many ways to remove the prominence to the bride.
From the opposite point of view, that of personal ridicule, I invite you to reason about certain excesses, although in truth this point is also applicable to everyday life …
I talk about the tons of makeup that, being a special occasion, some women decide to increase in a “special” way, taking the result to the absurd.
The “carnival masks” are far from sophistication and very close to extreme vulgarity … if you do not know how to put on makeup do not experiment because it is a special day, better your natural beauty, and if you know, and you usually abuse, you could ask opinion someone objective around, the answer might surprise you.
The theme of excesses also applies to ornate garments that are full of applications, and of course also for jewelry and even for hairstyles.
Just one more thing, there is nothing more “seedy” than taking off your shoes because you can’t take it anymore … better to choose less “fabulous” but more comfortable shoes, that you can wear until the end of the day … that is why protocol!
Become an example of good taste, this is always a bet to win, MD Personal Shopper’s vow.
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