With wedding season in full swing, the quest for the perfect wedding guest dress is of utmost importance. However, the question of what colours you can and can’t wear to a ceremony is something guests must always keep in mind.
Wearing the wrong colour may run the risk of a faux pas, as former Love Island star Georgia Steel discovered over the weekend when she donned a pale yellow dress to attend the wedding of Dani Dyer and Jarrod Bowen.
Georgia, 27, shared a clip on TikTok to show off her stunning lace Miss Circle dress, which featured a long skirt and a ruffled bust with a midriff cutout, to Dani and Jarrod’s outdoor wedding in Buckinghamshire.
But she was swiftly admonished by fans for wearing a dress that appeared ‘a bit too close to white’.
It’s a well-known rule that guests should never wear white to a wedding, as this is the colour typically reserved for the blushing bride.
According to Zoe Burke, wedding expert and Editor of Hitched.co.uk, guests attending a Western wedding should steer completely clear of ‘white, ivory, and anything so pale it’s not immediately clear it’s not white’.
There are some exceptions to the rule, particularly among royals – for example, the Princess of Wales wore a primrose yellow dress to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 ceremony that appeared almost white on camera; while Queen Camilla wore a pale pink coat dress for the occasion.
What about weddings of other cultures? Divya Chadha, founder of luxury destination wedding planners A Klass Apart, adds that the colour white may symbolise different things – and you may still want to avoid wearing it even then.
Former Love Island star Georgia Steel recently found herself in trouble with fans for wearing a pale yellow dress that was ‘almost white’ to Dani Dyer and Jarrod Bowen’s wedding
But rules around wedding guest attire has evolved, and there are even some very rare instances you can wear white, like Dua Lipa did when she attended designer Simon Jacquemus’ wedding in 2022
Even the royals are partial to light colours as wedding guests, as seen when the Princess of Wales wore a primrose yellow coat dress to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding
‘For example, in some Asian cultures, a woman wearing white typically depicts a widow, and in other South Asian or Far Eastern cultures, white is often worn at a funeral,’ she explains to FEMAIL.
However, that’s not to say that pale colours are completely off limits. Zoe says that pastel pinks, yellows and other light shades ‘are OK, especially at a summer wedding’.
However, Zoe tells FEMAIL, there’s a caveat: ‘I would always say if there’s any chance it could be mistaken for a wedding dress, you should avoid it.
‘If you’re ever in doubt, steer clear of it, or if you’re close to the couple, send them a picture and ask them to give their honest opinion – and then respect what they say!’
Wedding guest attire has evolved over the years, with certain colours that used to be taboo becoming more acceptable and even the norm.
Some people believe that wearing red to a wedding suggests the guest in question has had a fling with the groom in the past. Others simply think the bright colour takes attention away from the happy couple.
Wearing black to a wedding was similarly frowned upon, as black is usually reserved for mourners at a funeral.
However, modern weddings call for modern interpretations of old rules, and many colours like red, black, and pale colours are given the nod of approval – as long as they fit within the ‘wedding dress code’, which is a rising trend among nuptial celebrations.
Wearing red or black to a wedding used to be frowned upon, but these days, couples are more relaxed about such rules
The trend, noted in the 2024 Hitched Wedding Trends Report, sees couples setting out specific guidelines for their guests, whether that’s to avoid a particular colour, such as the wedding party’s colour, or to dress to match a theme.
Zoe adds: ‘A big TikTok trend recently was the ‘upstage the bride’ theme, where couples would encourage guests to dress up as much as they can!
‘I think part of this now is that wedding guest lists are smaller than they were 10 years ago, where the average wedding would have 100 or more guests, couples are now inviting around 89 and we’re seeing micro weddings rise in popularity again.
‘This means couples are more in control of who is coming to their weddings – it’s their friends, not their parents’, or distant family they hardly know.
‘Therefore they don’t have to worry that people won’t know who the bride is, so they can be a bit more relaxed in what people are wearing.’
While white remains the colour to avoid at all costs, you could get a very rare occasion when you may be able to get away with wearing white as a wedding guest – and that is only if the bride and groom want you to.
Some high-profile wedding guests who got a free pass to wear white in the past include Beyoncé, who was among about 200 other guests wearing the bridal colour to her sister Solange Knowles and Alan Ferguson’s white-themed nuptials in 2014.
Dua Lipa also got the green light to wear a stunning sheer white dress designed by Simon Jacquemus to the French designer’s own wedding in 2022, when he wed Marc Maestri in France.
‘The only time it’s acceptable to wear white to a wedding is when it’s explicitly stated by the couples – for example, a black and white dress code, or an ‘upstage the bride’ wedding theme,’ Zoe says.
‘If that’s not the case, then I would always advise to steer clear of wearing white to a wedding! I always say, you have 364 days of the year to wear white, and the bride has one. Let her have it!’
Divya adds that, if you were to wear white by request of the bride and groom, the style of the dress you choose is just as important as any hint of bridalwear could be controversial.
‘Make sure your dress isn’t full length; avoid lace detailing on the dress; add a pop of colour or colour block the outfit and throw on some statement accessories that take the focus away from the actual outfit,’ she advises.
