What To Wear As A Wedding Guest

By Curator Grant Alexander, stylist and owner of G ALXNDR

With Spring and Summer weddings just around the corner, it’s time to think about what to wear as a wedding guest again. While a wedding’s dress code will have the most influence on what you wear, there is room to play and show your personality. 

We always encourage clients to wear what makes them look and feel their best, just make sure it’s appropriate for the occasion. Whether it’s something you already own or if you’re picking up a couple new options for this year’s weddings, let’s try picking pieces that you might not have paired together or chosen in the past.

Experiment with different colors, fabrics, and beautiful, elegant prints. Mix a printed skirt with a bold colored top. Try an off-white trouser with a tailored sports jacket or maybe it’s the blue suit jacket you wore to five weddings last year paired with a new silver trouser. This can help you extend your current wardrobe and save you some money, all while looking fresh and put together.

Sometimes you’ll have to make a purchase, and that’s ok. So, what to buy? 

This season in fashion, there are some beautiful colors on trend that we believe will stick around for a while. Various shades of blue, purple, and pink are very much in and appropriate. Choose shades that are less common — one that will make people double take and come across the dance floor to ask you where it’s from. Gem-tone colors such as eggplant, forest green, fuchsia, royal blue, burgundy and burnt orange are increasingly popular. 

These colors are great because they can be worn for not only spring/summer, but can also be transition pieces for Fall and Winter. Patterns and prints such as polka dots/spots, nautical and floral prints are always a hit. Just make sure they don’t wear you.

Playing with different textures, cutouts, and draping are a great way to add extra detail to any garment. If you’re not ready to venture out of your comfort zone, and prefer traditional colors, black remains an elegant, sleek option for most occasions.

Shopping second hand or renting garments are another option as well. Rent The Runway is a platform that allows users to rent, subscribe, or purchase designer apparel and accessories. This is ideal if you have multiple weddings and events to go to. The Real Real and thredUP are elevated second hand stores that can have great options at more approachable prices.

As far as dress code goes, let’s quickly hit on the top three you’ll encounter.

Black Tie 

Black Tie Required/Requested/Welcome means you’ll need a formal outfit. Ladies should be in a floor-length dress or gown, or a tuxedo if you prefer the look to a dress. It does not have to be black. 

Guys should be in a tuxedo, which means those jackets with satin (or grosgrain if you know where to find them) lapels and the trousers with the formal stripe down the side. The tuxedo can be any color really, but most common are black and blue, though we’ve been designing and sourcing many darker green tuxedos lately, too. You should wear a bow tie or a regular black necktie—and shoes should still be black, though you don’t have to wear patent (shiny) leather.

Black Tie Optional/Semi-Formal

If you see these on an invite, we encourage going more formal than not as a show of respect to the hosts (and because you’ll look more elegant and likely feel more confident). If you don’t have a formal dress or a tuxedo, it’s ok to wear the closest thing you have to formal. That will be perfectly appropriate.

Cocktail 

Few people truly know what this means. In fact, after working with so many couples and asking them why they chose Cocktail attire, they really said they wanted their guests to not have to wear formal attire, but still look nice and give them the freedom to wear what they love. 

So this is where you can really experiment, but it does not mean casual. No denim. No minidresses. But bring the fun. This is the time to wear prints that you weren’t sure if they were formal enough for other events. Try new colors and new combinations.

How do you know if it’s appropriate? Ask yourself if it were your wedding, would you want to see someone dressed in your outfit. That usually helps.

If you want to wear a suit but want to change it up, go with a silver, light blue, or pastel colored fabric. It’s different, it won’t stand out too much, and it’s appropriately cool.

Respect is always key. If you think something might be inappropriate, don’t wear it because it probably is.