Everyone knows that the bride traditionally wears a white gown at her wedding. Equally, does that mean that all of the other invited ladies attending the wedding are forbidden from wearing the ever-so-popular color white too? Skip to the fourth paragraph of this article if you prefer going straight to the answer rather than learning more about the reasons why white became the prevailing color option for bridal gowns in American weddings.
Before answering the question, first we should briefly cover why most Western cultures and American brides wear the color white to get married. It is often referenced that in 1840, Queen Elizabeth popularized the color white by wearing it at her wedding ceremony. Her wedding to Prince Albert was promoted in all of the prevalent newspapers and adored by many. As a result, there was little reason to doubt why masses of future brides preferred to wear white wedding dresses too. Keep in mind, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Prior to 1840, wedding dresses were a multitude of colors because women wanted to be able to wear the dress for other occasions as well. Wearing a practical wedding dress was very important. Other colors were more popular to wear in general because it was very difficult to keep white clothing bright and clean by hand washing at the time.
Another reason for this Western tradition is that the color white represents innocence, purity, virginity, virtue, and even wealth. Other cultures have different colors that hold similar symbolic traits as the color white in the Americas. For example, red is the color for purity in Pakistan and India which is why it is also the color of choice for their brides. In modern Western weddings, a bride may consider wearing similar popular colors such as ivory, champagne, pink, or cream. No matter what the bride ultimately chooses as the color of her adorned apparel, should guests consider wearing white?
Expectedly, wearing all white has become the exclusive right of the bride. You should really think twice before taking attention away from the bride and wearing a white dress to someone else’s wedding is possibly the biggest way of doing just that. Appropriately, you should also avoid wearing similar colors such as ivory, champagne, light pink, light gold, cream, and any other off-white color especially since that part of the spectrum has been trending by modern brides. A lot of money was spent on the wedding and reception to make the bride and groom feel extra special on the biggest day of their lives. You should be respectful of the bride, the wedding party, and her family. As a guest, in addition to not wearing white, you should not wear clothing that is too revealing, sexy, or overly embellished. While you are expected to wear dapper and elegant attire to a wedding, you should not wear anything too distracting to other guests. As much as we all know you took a lot of time to look your best, the bride ultimately needs to be the belle of the ball. It is her ball after all.
Reading a “things not to wear to a wedding” list may sound so limiting but there are some exceptions. Guests are not necessarily forbidden from wearing all white. It’s appropriate to wear some white to a wedding if it is tasteful. It is typically acceptable to wear dresses with some white as long as it is not a prominent color of your outfit. Other colors need to be more noticeable than white or you will get some judgmental looks and eye rolls. You need to have more of other colors than white in your outfit to maintain the status quo. To give you an idea, you can wear a navy blue dress with white shoes, white belt, white bracelet, and white purse. In this case, all of the accessories are white but your actual dress is not white or a similar color. Some people may say that wearing an all-white jumper is fine because it isn’t a dress. While a few brides may approve, much more often than not, that isn’t a good idea.
The moral of the story is, when in doubt, stay more conservative with what you wear to a wedding ceremony or reception. Show a little less skin, stay away from rubberneck wear (clothing that will turn heads), and definitely wear less white if you aren’t sure what is appropriate to wear to a wedding. The bride is the queen for the day and she shouldn’t feel as if she is in competition with any of her wedding guests.
Browse some of our other articles with helpful wedding ideas:
Beautiful Updo Hairstyle Ideas for Guests to Wear Their Hair up at a Wedding
Great Ideas for Bridal Shower Games and Activities
How to Plan a Bachelorette Party
Wedding Toast Tips, Dos and Don’ts