How can I request that my guests don't wear white? Wedding in 8weeks (2024)

FAQs

How to tell a guest not to wear white? ›

It's simply not done unless a guest wants to draw attention to themselves." However, if you absolutely want to acknowledge the matter, ask a member of your bridal party to politely pull this guest aside and kindly offer them a jacket or shawl to add some color to their look.

Be Clear and Concise

If you want them to stay within a certain color palette, be sure to list out the acceptable colors and even provide a picture of them! If you want them to avoid certain colors, for example, the bridal colors, so guests don't end up looking like accidental bridesmaids, be clear about that as well.

The last thing you want is for someone to mistake you for the bride or be in photographs where guests think you're trying to steal the spotlight. All in all, it's respectful and customary not to wear white as a guest to the wedding unless the bride specifically asks you to wear white or she says it's okay to wear it.

Don't be afraid to abandon tradition.

Though it might be long-established that you're expected to wear white on your wedding night, this is really between you and your partner—so do what seems right for you. If white feels impractical or inauthentic to you, then skip it.

There is absolutely nothing you can say or to to ask your guests not to wear white. It doesn't matter if you think it's rude or tacky. You can't control your guests' behavior. In fact, you say, "Unless it's requested by the couple," but that's also not something you get to dictate.

Put It on the Invitation

The simplest way to tell your guests what they're expected to wear is to put a dress code in the invitation. There is a time-honored glossary of dress-code wording short enough to include on invitations, or on a card inserted with the invitation.

The Dress Code

Couples usually specify the guest code at the bottom of their invitations and on their wedding website, so if you've been invited to a formal affair, black is a resounding “yes.”

Unless you're the bride, wearing a white dress to a wedding is (still) a major faux pas. Leave all white, ivory, and champagne-hued shades alone, unless the invitation specifically designates an all-white dress code.

Your Wedding Invitation

You can include your Dress Code on the lower left or right-hand corner of the invitation. Alternatively, the Dress Code can be placed at the bottom centre of the design.

Wearing white.

Wearing white on the day you get married is a dress code that dates back thousands of years and this verse explains why: “Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in grey, you will go far away.

What does a white wedding dress symbolize? ›

A large, traditional wedding with the bride outfitted in a princess-style white wedding gown became a symbol of the American dream. From WWII through the end of the 20th century, the white gown symbolized prosperity, virginity and a lifetime commitment to one person.

As long as it's not considered culturally inappropriate or against the dress code, you can wear black to a wedding. Depending on where the couple is exchanging vows, which season their special day is taking place in, and what time of day everything begins, black may or may not be your best color option.

However, nowadays, the idea that you must be 'pure' in order to wear a white dress is rather outdated. Many brides choose to wear white on their wedding day, even if they aren't a virgin, or even if they have children already. These days, white is merely chosen because it's traditional.

There's an easy way to gauge if your floral ensemble is appropriate or not for a wedding. "If it's a pattern with a white base or a print with white in it, I would suggest sticking to a rough visual ratio of 75 percent color to 25 percent white," says Gabrielle Hurwitz of Gabrielle Hurwitz Bridal Styling.

Second-marriage wedding dresses can be white.

If they'd love you in white (and you would too) go right ahead. Even if you chose something super classic and "bridal" for your first wedding, that doesn't mean you have to forgo white this time around.

In the early 1900s, those who were well-to-do often favored lightweight, bright clothing—white linen suits and breezy dresses. Wearing white after Labor Day meant you were someone who had the means to have end-of-summer vacations. Wearing your whites beyond Labor Day was just, well… showing off.

By the 1950s, women's magazines started making this “no white after Labor Day” rule more public. Wearing white only between Memorial Day and Labor Day now signified that a lady was part of the in-the-know fashion club.

It was an age when there was a dress code for practically every occasion, and the signal to mark the change between summer resort clothes and clothing worn for the rest of the year was encapsulated in the dictum "No white after Labor Day." And it stuck.

Get right to the point. Say that this person's attire is unacceptable and that you need to discuss what can be done to fix it. Relate your points back to the company's written dress code, which can help prevent it from feeling like a personal attack.