What To Wear To A Wedding

My husband and I had a lovely wedding. At the time, he sold ad space and did circulation for Elegant Bride Magazine, so we had access to lots of great ideas. Compared to most weddings, it was relatively small -- about 100 guests, but it was in the most charming outdoor setting.

Given that it was to be outside in late May in southern Indiana (translation -- potentially hot and humid), we opted to hold the ceremony at 6:00 p.m. with an outdoor dinner reception to follow. I didn't realize that in an effort to try and keep everyone comfortable, I created a dilemma for most of the female guests -- "What do I wear?" Hopefully these suggestions will help.

Morning or Afternoon Wedding

Ladies - a floral or appropriate sundress, skirt and sweater set, or a light colored suit or dress

Men - a suit, dress shirt with a tie and dress pants (but add a blazer if possible), or a dark suit if the invitation says the event is formal

Evening Wedding

Ladies - dress as if you were going out to a nice dinner. Perhaps a cocktail dress (black is OK), dressy dress, or suit. If the invitation says black-tie or formal, then definitely go with a cocktail dress.

Men - when in doubt, always go with a dark suit. If the invitation says casual, you can go with pants, a blazer, and tie. If the invitation says black tie or formal, then wear a tuxedo.

Here are a couple of things to avoid

Wearing white

Black to a daytime wedding

Jeans

Anything too revealing