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Wedding guest dress etiquette

(91 Posts)
ftm420 Tue 05-Aug-25 11:36:12

I'm attending a friend's son's wedding next July and want to wear a red dress I have worn to several occasions, including my niece-in-law's (is that the right term?) wedding a few years back. Looking again, everyone else seemed to have got the memo and is wearing pretty muted colours and mine kind of stands out.

Should I stick with my red dress anyway, or should I really be toning it down a bit?

LucyAnna5 Tue 05-Aug-25 12:02:59

Maybe ask your friend what she thinks?

PinkCosmos Tue 05-Aug-25 12:05:01

I had the same dilemma. I was planning to wear a teal and mid blue dress that I had bought especially.

I found out that everyone was mostly wearing pastels. I have ended up buying another dress - lilac, pink and pale orange.

I didn't want to stand out too much on the photos. I hate having my photo taken anyway.

It depends if you are just a guest or a close relative and if there is a colour code.

Oreo Tue 05-Aug-25 12:28:13

I agree if you are just a guest wear your pretty red dress.

Calendargirl Tue 05-Aug-25 12:29:12

Colour codes?

Oh, for the days when you just attended a wedding, wore your ‘best’ or a ‘new’ outfit…

No stressing about colours, designs, ….

Sarnia Tue 05-Aug-25 12:37:59

Unless the bride has asked for a particular theme and colour, then wear your red dress. It looks great. Surely you being there is what's important.

Aldom Tue 05-Aug-25 12:42:05

If the dress (still) fits......wear it!
grin

Esmay Tue 05-Aug-25 13:02:23

I went to a wedding at Easter and I really panicked about my outfit .
It was absolutely ridiculous.
I ended up buying a new dress ,shapewear and new shoes .
Now I think that the dress was a waste of money and I'm not sure that I'll wear it again .
Sorting out my wardrobes recently I found several dresses and shoes which would have been perfectly acceptable .
At the wedding-
Very few women were that dressed up .
Several looked as though they were having a casual day shopping !
If you like your dress wear it and stop worrying-just enjoy the wedding .

JaneJudge Tue 05-Aug-25 13:04:49

it looks lovely, wear it

butterandjam Tue 05-Aug-25 13:11:28

I wore a bright red dress to a wedding.

It was our wedding.

CariadAgain Tue 05-Aug-25 13:19:00

I would wear it in your position.

AFAIK the only "rules"/customs are the bride is the only one that gets to wear white. Other people should avoid the bridal colour.

Last wedding I went to was some time back now - so I wore a "best" dress I had anyway (ie long length/long sleeves/high-ish neckline/Laura Ashley). It was multicoloured. I figured it covered all bases - not white/not sexy (and I was prone to wearing low necklines - but that dress was a bit more cover-up than that).

I think white or "sexy" are the only faux pas these days for female guests at weddings.

twinnytwin Tue 05-Aug-25 13:22:34

If you haven't been advised of a dress code, then wear your red dress. It looks great.

pably15 Tue 05-Aug-25 13:27:32

wear your dress, you look lovely wearing it ,if I every get invited to a wedding and I'm given a dress code, I won't be there

Millie22 Tue 05-Aug-25 13:37:00

There's nothing wrong with a dress code for a wedding. It is a help to know what colours to look for.

Ziplok Tue 05-Aug-25 13:37:04

Your dress looks lovely ftm420. I think it will be fine to wear it.

ftm420 Tue 05-Aug-25 14:00:29

Butterandjam: I wore red when I got married too!

Chocolatelovinggran Tue 05-Aug-25 15:04:15

Wear the dress, ftm, and enjoy the day.

Samsara1 Tue 05-Aug-25 15:08:24

I would deliberately wear something a bit more original than the herd. Wear what you want - your the one paying for your dress and I guess you want several wears out of it.

Allira Tue 05-Aug-25 15:15:50

It's lovely - wear it.

If you did feel you needed to tone it down a bit you could team it with a short jacket or bolero perhaps in a midnight blue shade or similar.

Goodness - the invitations went out early, or is it Save the Date?
We had a couple of Save the Dates then came Covid so one couple lives in unmarried bliss and the other never sent us an invitation so we don't know what happened.

Georgesgran Tue 05-Aug-25 15:46:07

I wore red too - 1972 !

Franski Tue 05-Aug-25 15:53:17

Is that you in the dress ftm? It's gorgeous. And with the floral pattern definitely not too red.
I love it when I see women srandinv out at weddings with sthg that's different- it makes me feel brave too.

M0nica Tue 05-Aug-25 15:53:51

I didn't know there was an etiquette for what you wear at a wedding. I usually just put on my best bib and tucker and perhaps new shoes or a handbag.

Even for my son's wedding after looking for something new and finding nothing I liked, I wore a silk suit I had bought a few years previously and worn twice. I put some braid on the jacket, bought new shoes and a top.

Visgir1 Tue 05-Aug-25 16:25:17

Wear it, it looks lovely but don't bother with the fascinator.

JoyBloggs Tue 05-Aug-25 19:31:08

I have a friend whose grandson is getting married and the guests have all been asked to wear black!

justwokeup Tue 05-Aug-25 19:38:41

I guess no one at that wedding will have seen it before, you feel happy with it, and it’s a very pretty dress. I’d wear it.