Be My Wedding Guest: Dress Nicely…

The date of your friend’s weeding is happily circled on your calendar and you have started to scout for that perfect outfit. However, you still have no idea what to wear.

The etiquette for the right wedding attire for a guest over 40 can be very different depending on the wedding’s style. However, clues are available to help you make the right decision. An invitation that is formally crafted in an indication that the wedding you’ll be attending will also be formal. An invite with casual wording will call for nice casual outfit. The invitation can also have direct instructions.

The location of the wedding is also a good basis. A dress that easily gets caught in the wind will not be appropriate for an outdoor wedding. High heels should be avoided, as these easily sink in the grass or in the sand. A breezy dress will help keep you cool in a hot location rather that a suit. A more dressy and tailored outfit can be used in a wedding held indoors such as a five-star restaurant and country club.

Daytime wedding attire for guests

For the Woman over 40

• a dress with a floral design

• a sweater set coupled with slingback shoes and a nice skirt. A light colored suit – avoid anything that looks to formal.

• a beautiful hat that blends with what your are wearing.

For the Man over 40

• In weddings during the summer season a light-colored suit, especially seersucker or linen.

• Warmer clothing is appropriate for winter weddings. Selections include wool suits, a slightly dark blazer with charcoal pants, and possibly a sweater and tie below a blazer.

• A dress shirt, dress and tie pants can be used. A blazer can be used for added touch.

• A dark suit is best suited for a formal wedding. Tuxedoes should be worn before 6 pm.

Evening Wedding

Female Over 40

• Dress like as if you are going to dinner or theatre.

• Wear a not too sexy cocktail dress that is fun to dance in. Black is good.

• A cocktail suit or a dressy suit

• To look more sophisticated wear darker colors.

• Beads or sequins should be avoided if not specified especially if it is not a black tie affair.

For the Man Over 40

• Dark suits are always acceptable

• Blazer and slacks matched with a nice tie can be worn in a casual or semi-formal wedding.

Black-tie optional

Female Over 40

• A cocktail dress reaching the floor

For the Man Over 40

• A tuxedo is the perfect thing to wear in this occasion.

• The guest should dress as formally as possible.

THINGS NOT TO WEAR:

- Anything white is discouraged especially those that do not have prints. Those that choose to do so should make sure they do not upstage the bride.

- Anything dark during a daytime wedding

- Jeans

- Anything too revealing or sexy

- Anything with holes, stained or torn and anything too small or too big.

- Anything strapless or sleeveless in a no-no especially to a religious wedding. A wrap should be brought to cover bare shoulders.

Proper etiquette for Wedding Guests

• Never be late! Try to attend at least 15 minutes before the stated start time of the wedding ceremony. This will give you time to be get settled and find a seat.

• Guests should avoid taking photographs of the wedding. Professionals photographers have already been hired and it is important to preserve the sanctity of the ceremony.

• Bringing a gift during the wedding day is not required. Guests actually a full year to send their wedding gift to the couple. Bringing it will only create a problem for someone assigned to carry it.

• The gift is still a must even if you fail to attend the wedding.

• Bringing will only be allowed if it is specified in the invitation. Serving every person in the wedding reception will likely be expensive for the couple. Bringing uninvited guests is very rude.

• The wedding reception may be nice time to have fun having too much fun is very impolite. Avoid getting drunk and mingling too much people you barely know.

Making The Wedding Etiquette Announcements

Beginning on the day he proposed, there are certain wedding etiquette announcements to be observed. The couple should be aware of these wedding etiquette announcements or else wedding could fall into jeopardy.

There are wedding etiquette announcements to be observed when breaking the news to the parents. First, let the people closest to you know of your plans. The groom must ask the bride’s parents for her hand in marriage. It is traditional that men do wedding etiquette announcements to both families but modern times have changed this. Now, both of them can make the wedding etiquette announcements together personally.

The wedding etiquette announcements for friends can be personally by the couple. They can also plan a party for both their friends and turn it into an engagement party. The couple on this event can choose their maid of honor and best man.

Wedding etiquette announcements for sponsors should be done personally with the help of the parents. The sponsors can be chosen by influence, convenience, prestige, or by relationship. The important thing to remember is to get them to commit in being your sponsors and list them down in your planner.

The wedding etiquette announcements for wedding details can be overwhelming, which is why most couples hire a wedding coordinator. If your budget can fit in the fee for this person’s services, hire them. It will greatly lift the pressure of planning, organizing and supervising the entire event.

The maid of honor often performs wedding etiquette announcements for the bridal shower. The bridesmaids, mother and other women family members are invited to chip in and join the event. Depending on what they have prepared, the bride can expect something as elegant as a garden tea party or wild as a trip to the local men’s strip joint.

The best man makes the wedding etiquette announcements for the bachelor party or stag party. Stag parties require little preparation since most parties only require five things: the groom, food, drinks, music and entertainment. The entertainments have wedding etiquette announcements of using either a stripper or just a regular DVD player and watching x-rated movies.

There is a third option of making wedding etiquette announcements for a “couple” shower. Friends of both the bride and groom organize and celebrate this event. The best choice for this is to have a themed party, something with fantasy on it like a masque ball or have it done like Carmen Elektra and her husband Dave of Inxs where it was one big stripper party.

The wedding preparations:

The wedding etiquette announcements for the flowers should be booked months in advance. The same goes for the caterer, the arranger and the musicians. If the couple decides to hire a wedding coordinator, this will be an easier job for them.

The wedding etiquette announcements for the dress fitting is should also be made weeks in advance. Any adjustments to the dress can be done as the wedding date comes closer. For the men, their clothes are classic pieces so it is no problem for the coordinator. However, it is a must that the groomsmen have a neat hair cut prior to the wedding.

The photography and video documentation needs of the couple should be provided by the coordinator. As a rule, wedding etiquette announcements for photo and video coverage of the wedding can be open to bidders. This way they couple can sample the best work and hire the one they like most at a price that they can handle.

On the wedding event:

Within weeks of the big day, the wedding etiquette announcements for invitations should have already been mailed. Along with it are the wedding etiquette announcements regarding the attire, program, location of the wedding and a map to the reception.

The wedding etiquette announcements for the wedding program at the ceremony is usually printed and given to the guests as they arrive at the church. The couple can skip this if they prefer an informal ceremony.

With the solemnity of church celebration over, it is now time for everyone to relax at the reception. There is still another program in the event but most of it is well-wishes, thanksgiving and entertainment for everyone who attended the wedding.

Wedding Etiquette Advice for Guests

More often than not, it is the guests that we oftentimes hear complain about the outcome of the wedding, that the bride and groom violated wedding etiquette, and so on and so fort.

Guests seem to be forgetting that wedding etiquette is not just for the bride and groom. There is wedding etiquette too reserved for the guests.

We have outlined here some wedding etiquette advice for guests. These wedding etiquette advice are taken from different sources and may help you understand how to act and socialize with grace and manners in any wedding.

Wedding Etiquette Advice 1: Thou shalt respond to an invitation, immediately!

Invited guests who do not respond to an invitation are the major cause of headaches to the bride and groom. There are guest who will say regrets to the bride and groom just a day before the wedding day. While some guests will not reply to the invitation at all and then show up without notice to the wedding ceremony and wedding reception.

Wedding Etiquette Advice #1 says this act is totally rude! Today, the bride and groom pay for their own wedding. They rely on their savings and salary to fund their wedding. They are not asking their fathers anymore to host their big day.

So, with the limited budget that the couples have allotted for their wedding (of course they need to save some as a startup money). The couples need to know the exact head count so they would know if they will go over their budget. And failure of guests to reply to an RSVP will give the bride and groom headaches. They would not know how many guests should they book in the hotel or caterer. And also, if you aware of this fact, if the bride and groom add you to the guest list and they inlist you for a sit-down dinner, they will pay for your head even though you did not attend the wedding.

Please follow this wedding etiquette advice if you don't want to be called an unmannered brute. Reply to an invitation immediately if you must, or at least two week before the wedding day.

We, guests, expect the bride and groom to practice wedding attique, and so should we.

Wedding Etiquette Advice 2: Thou shalt be dress appropriately.

This wedding etiquette advice is not meant to promote fashion, although being fashionable is really good. This wedding etiquette advice came next to the wedding etiquette advice on responding immediately to an invitation. Because after you respond to an invitation, the next thing you will do is either buy a gift (if you still have some spare money to buy your bride friend a gift) or attend the wedding (if you do not have the money to buy a gift, you can skip the gift giving).

This wedding etiquette advice is for your own good. You would not want to look like a gate crasher in your friends weddign, or do you? If it is a formal wedding, you would not want to be caught wearing a jeans and t-shirt, right? You would definitely look like a gate crasher if you are not dressed properly. 

The wedding etiquette advice if the event is informal: please refrain from wearing jeans and tank top or t-shirt. For women, kindly wear a cocktail dress or a pretty Sunday dress. For men, please, if you may, wear your suit. Just forgo your tie. You can even roll up your sleeves and open the top button of your shirt to make it look less forma. You would definitely look dashing in a suit!

Wedding Etiquette Advice 3: Thou shalt greet the newlyweds.

Brides and grooms want to feel you are happy for them and your greetings will greatly be appreciated. This wedding etiquette advice is not hard, isn't it? All you have to do is go to the bride and groom and greet the bride, "Best Wishes" while the groom "Congratulations."

Saying your greetings is not only a thumbs-up act, it is also a kind one.

Wedding Etiquette For Cancelled Weddings

The worst nightmare of any couple is the cancelled wedding. Despite months of preparation, things can still go wrong even at the moment of saying “I do.” From a cheating partner to having the extreme case of cold feet, one must remember to maintain wedding etiquette throughout the entire ordeal.
Depending on the seriousness of a cancelled wedding, one can still turn a failed occasion into a positive one. An obvious wedding etiquette procedure is to inform the family and guests that there will be no wedding celebration. If the wedding is cancelled a few days before the actual ceremony, sending cards to family and friends announcing the broken engagement is a suitable wedding etiquette.

All arrangements made for the wedding date itself should be cancelled. Some companies will ask for payment, an amount that could be equal to the preparations taken by the supplier. It is a wedding etiquette to handle all this with grace and finesse.
However, if the cancellation happens on the wedding date itself, the announcement must be made verbally and as soon as possible to avoid public humiliation. The family should use the wedding etiquette of comforting the one left at the altar and make it a point to shield him or her from other people since this is a sad situation.
Gift wedding etiquette should be followed. This means all the wedding gift items will be returned, including cash, appliances or properties. It will be hard to do but at least the aggrieved party will not be accused of impoliteness.
When calling off a wedding, it really is a proper wedding etiquette to do it months before the wedding date. That is what pre-marriage counseling is for. The wedding etiquette dictates that all couples should take marriage seminars to make sure that they are prepared emotionally and mentally for the huge responsibility ahead.
A broken engagement is embarrassing as it is but as a wedding etiquette, you have the freedom not to question the couple why they decided not to continue with the wedding. And being the couple, you also have the right not to tell anyone until you feel you are ready.
Not all broken engagements happen because of a lonely partner. When a relative’s death occurs, it is proper wedding etiquette to cancel the wedding. This shows wedding etiquette in respect to the deceased’s family and expresses sincere sorrow.
Proper wedding etiquette is to allow six months to pass before attempting to walk down the aisle again. And even if the couple decides to wed two to three months after the death in the family, one must be ready to simplify the ceremony to observe wedding etiquette.

Engagements broken by family members also happen. If this occurs, try to resolve the matter as discretely a possible. Wedding etiquette dictates that only the couple can decide on canceling the weeding or postponing it to a later date.

When a partner is left cold on the altar:
Things can become worse but you can also turn it into a positive one. If the wedding reception has been paid for, the person who paid for it can use the reception and continue on with the party for the guests’ benefit. Wedding etiquette may not require the aggravated person to attend but it is a better way to forget the embarrassment.
When the cancelled wedding occurs out of town, it is an important wedding etiquette to have a clear head and sort out the pre-made plans of the wedding. Things like the honeymoon trip and the hotel accommodations must be taken cared of. If the aggrieved party has paid for the trip, he or she can choose to take it as a getaway and period of reflection.

Bouncing back from the broken engagement:
The first few weeks are the toughest to face. Be prepared to here the question “Why?” and “What happened?” a lot. Wedding etiquette dictates that you have to face these people with a smile and offer as little detail as possible.
As attractive as the sound of revenge is, you must try to keep an open mind and be as civil about everything a possible. Remember that this person once had an important part of your life and part of a wedding etiquette is to respect their decision.

Wedding Etiquette on Tipping and Other Lost Wedding Etiquette

Even in our modern times, wedding etiquette still survives. The wedding etiquette that we have come to know dates back from the Victorian era. Victorians are known for their education, intelligence, social grace and manners.
The wedding etiquette on who should pay for the wedding has changed a bit although the old Victorian wedding etiquette, the father of the bride should host the wedding, is still being practiced today. Because of economic issues and that both couples are already earning their own money, the bride and groom today hosts their own wedding.
On social graces, some Victorian Wedding Etiquette still exists like having bridesmaids and groomsmen on your wedding and throwing the bride's bouquet for maidens to catch. But on the issue of wedding etiquette on tipping, does tipping of the hat to greet the newlyweds still exist?
Wedding Etiquette on tipping is an old Victorian social grace of which people from many parts of Europe also do practice. But as time has passed, the etiquette of tipping a hat to acknowledge a person or greet a newlywed is becoming an obsolete etiquette.
One of the reasons, according to some wedding etiquette specialists, is that the modern clothing has excluded hat as part of fashion. So, how would a person do a tipping when there is no hat to beging tipping with? American formal clothing does not include a hat, unlike in some European countries, a hat is still part of their fashion. This is the reason why the wedding etiquette on tipping from some European countries is still being practiced.
Wedding etiquette on tipping is not a big issue anymore in American society. In fact, most wedding etiquette books that we have now do not mention anything about wedding etiquette on tipping nor they have mentioned anything about it being an old custom of the American society.
But there are couples who wish that their guests would practice the wedding etiquette on tipping. These couples are those who celebrate their wedding with a Victorian era wedding theme, or the 1950's Casablanca theme of which fashion from these years requires a hat to complete an ensemble.
Aside from wedding etiquette on tipping, another lost wedding etiquette on our society is the choosing of bridesmaids younger than the bride and requiring them to wear a dress similar as that of the bride.
Today, this wedding etiquette, just like the wedding etiquette on tipping is completely lost. Brides now choose older and sometimes even married bridesmaid. This is not being scorned today, but yesterday, during the time when wedding etiquette on tipping is being practice, bridesmaids are young and really maiden.
The reason behind the Victorian wedding etiquette on young and maiden bridesmaids came from the old belief that a devil is tasked to abduct brides during their wedding day so that he could have her for himself before her groom can take her. The bridesmaids acted as decoy, being maiden and wearing dress that resembles the bride's dress will confuse the devil as to who is the real bride.

This wedding etiquette has been passed on from generation to generation until it evolved and became the wedding etiquette that we have now. According to wedding etiquette specialists, this practice has long been forgetten because people, through time, has become modernized and become less superstitious. Besides, the bride can now have her favorite sister or best friend, even if she is older than her or married, to be at her side on her very special day.
There are still lots of wedding etiquettes before that have been changed to fit our current culture and society. In fact, some of the modern wedding etiquette we have now may also become oblete in time, like the way the wedding etiquette on tipping and wedding etiquette on bridesmaids that our culture had before.