Wedding Etiquette: What is the correct dress code?
Three golden rules to navigate the tricky wedding dress code and help you turn up as the perfect gentleman guest.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attending a wedding.
Ah, wedding season. The time of the year everybody loves, even though the build-up for the guest can be a stressful cadaver, let alone for the bride and groom.
With the joyous jamboree of jolly nights we all like to attend coming up, it is probably prudent to settle one of the most tricky problems wedding guests face – dress codes.
You might be sick of asking your partner or family these questions every time a wedding comes up,
This jacket's fine, isn't it?
Does this tie go?
What shoes do you think?
If that’s the case, then let me help clarify things as briefly as I can by explaining the three golden rules to navigate the tricky wedding dress code that will help you turn up as the perfect gentleman guest.
What is the correct dress code for weddings?
Answer: Morning Dress.
As written in the Dress Code Cheat Sheet, the correct British dress code for weddings is Morning Dress. However, this is less common nowadays and isn’t much use for non-British weddings.
It should be said that it is not exclusive to weddings. Morning Dress can also be worn at formal memorial services, formal daytime events in the presence of The King, and Royal Enclosure at Ascot.
Historically, you could assume that Morning Dress is the dress code, and that would look like the following:
Black or grey morning coat with a curve-front
Mid-light grey pin-striped trousers
White or light double-cuff shirt
Waistcoat in buff, grey, or duck-egg blue.
Silk tie (no cravats)
Black polished (not patent) lace-up shoes
Traditionally, you would also wear a silk top hat, but that item has been another victim of modernity. Should you wish to don a top hat like Prince of Wales, then Lock & Co. Hatters on 6 St. James’s Street is the place to go, not least for the fact they are the oldest hat makers in the world (founded in 1676).
Why are wedding dress codes tricky?
The reason wedding dress codes can be such a nightmare for men is that weddings themselves can be so inconsistent. People can have weddings more or less how they like, and so this broad range of wedding styles filters through to the guest attire and thus causes confusion.
Three golden rules for the gentleman wedding guest
1. Ask the host
Traditional weddings will and should state Morning Dress on the invitations, and you should adhere to that. If not, then ask the host.
If the host insists on black-tie (though historically incorrect), then you must do your best to respect their wishes.
Hosts themselves may not be very clear, and this results in vague dress codes such as depicted above. ‘Dress formal’ is not a dress code since there is a range of formal dress codes.
As a guest, you just need to know if it is Morning Dress, Black Tie or Lounge Suit, as these three dress codes are most typical for weddings.
2. Dress up
Wedding attire means wearing the smartest thing you have. Something that is a bit more sartorial than a silk and sleek business suit, but not so loud and interesting so as to outdo the groom.
The above example is a fine act to follow since the double-breasted and patch pocket nature of the suit is sartorial enough to satisfy the need to dress up while being modest enough to not draw attention to oneself.
Navy blue suit by Pini Parma
3. It’s not about you
Most importantly, you must consider the bride and groom. It’s their special day, not yours. Most women are acutely aware of not wanting to outdo the bride, yet men often fail to apply that philosophy to the groom.
Weddings can be wonderfully simple, and they’re most elegant and heartwarming that way. Etiquette is all about other people. When it’s someone’s wedding day and you are there as a guest, it is not about you, and most definitely all about them.
