Saturday, February 5, 2011

Etiquette For Wedding Dress

By Owen Jones


People are in a much more liberal frame of mind than they were fifty years ago. In this day and age, people are not so rigidly tied to tradition as they once were. This goes for all traditional customs including the etiquette for wedding garments. Having said that, it is always a good idea to know the rules before you start trying to bend them, after all, you do not want to go too far and either upset your hosts or humiliate yourself.

The bride traditionally wore a white gown to signify her purity and chastity. However, these days many couples live together before they get married, so they feel as if it is not valid to wear white. Therefore, many women opt to wear an off-white shad or a pastel colour.

Bridesmaids should wear any garment that the bride chooses for them. If the bridesmaids are allowed to pick their own dress, they should make sure that they dress in the same colour as the bride. The whole ceremony is the bride's affair and attendants and guests should take their prompt from her.

Which shade the bride chooses, usually depends on the colour scheme of the wedding. Widows and divorces used to wear lilac or lavender, but nowadays they too usually wear an ivory or cream wedding dress. Registry office weddings are even more informal and any smart clothing may be worn.

A rule of thumb for guests is, the more formally the bride and groom dress, the more formally the guests should dress. Do not forget that you are liable to be photographed at some point and you do not want to look at the photo years later and feel mortified at the Elvis costume you thought was a good idea at the time.

Traditionally, men dressed in morning suits or dinner jackets with a black bow tie. Many couples dispense with these formal costumes these days and just dress in a smart business suit. Dinner jackets may be worn to an evening reception.

The groom's attendants, the ushers and the best man have no choice, they have to wear what the groom wears, morning suits, dinner jackets or business suits. Guests should 'follow suit', although it is quite acceptable for those who are not close family to dress down a bit, say, wear a business suit instead of a dinner jacket. Civil weddings are far more informal and the couple may choose to go 'smart, but casual'.

The couple's families should dress in what they are told to wear even if they have to hire the suits and dresses. The mothers should not be colour co-ordinated although it is fine for the fathers to wear the same kind of suit. Brothers should dress in a similar way to their father and sisters are usually bridesmaids.

Guests should check with their invitation and wear what is appropriate although it is frequently satisfactory to dress down a little. The important thing to remember is that it is the wedding couple's day and you should do nothing that will make them feel awkward.




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