wedding guest dress

I have been invited to the wedding of the year people. Dear, dear friends of mine are tying the knot and although I am incredibly excited to attend the event, I have got the pre wedding guest jitters - what do I wear??? Long gone are the days where you could rock up wearing off the peg high street attire, nowadays what you wear as a guest is super important, and it’s causing me distress! 

After pouring through numerous websites I have come to the conclusion  and it is with this epiphany that I have decided nothing is right or wrong, so anything goes. The old rules state that you dont wear black or white. Follow these - white is reserved for the bride - even if you know she's going for off white - this is not your place. You must NOT compete in any way with the bride, it is an unspoken rule although, I have read in my research quite a few horrifying stories that the mother of the bride/groom has turned up in white. Black is a no no - which I didn't know - I have worn black to many weddings - oops! Black is reserved for funerals or evening guests only.

 Pastel  & muted colours are a danger zone  - often reserved for bridesmaids and mother of the bride - the softer look has to be avoided as you don't want to look like you are trying to be part of the bridal party. Which brings me to patterns and florals - also tricky - too floral and you risk looking like the bouquet - not floral enough can look dated - and lets face it,  who wants to look back on their wedding pics and see out of date prints on their guest, ruining the wedding pictures. I guess it depends a lot on environment and time of year too.  

My mother got married in a beautiful white two piece suit, peplum jacket and pencil skirt. I always admired the photo that hung above our sofa of mum and dad in the wedding car, mum even had a little had with a net partial veil - even though it was early 90's it was very 80's chic. Then there was my wedding, that took place in Paphos, in an orangery, under a big gazebo, overlooking the beach. It was all white linen for the men and a princess white dress for me. Guests chose to wear bright and florals and the whole day was ball of sunshine.  

Then we look at location, I have attended weddings in stately homes (wore a Lilac cocktail dress), gazebo's (wore a black Breakfast at Tiffany's style ensemble) and even a cave, (black and gold boho dress, told you I didn't know about the black rule!) 

I think also it is important to remember the right undergarments. If you chose to wear shapewear, dont do what I did and buy a size too small then double up. It was a mad idea and I had to remove a pair and abandon them in the ladies and hope no-one knew that they were mine! 

Another good tip is avoiding anything too bold. Sequins, but subtle, colour, but tasteful. Drawing attention to yourself as a guest is a no no, the focus should always be on the bride, not what you chose to sport. I once went to an English wedding where a Christian guest wore a sari, and another wore an abba style headdress. It was all too much.  

So what conclusion have I drawn? 

I've decided on muted metallics and two outfits, one for day, one for night. I think it's for the best, even if my bank balance disagrees. Both Jenny Packham dresses, which is my all time favourite designer. Oh, and I've got the thumbs up from the bride too so seal approval done.