Style for the Aisle by Keren_Alderson

You've just got an invite in the mail to a friend's wedding. It specifies the day, time (they're marrying at 7pm), and that it's a 'cocktail reception'. You panic – what the heck are you supposed to wear?! You don't want to turn up only to discover that everybody else is spruced up completely differently and you're wearing something inappropriate.

I've put together a bit of a style guide for what style to wear at different times of the day - I'll cover off specified occasions next week. As a bit of a precursor, I've assumed that each occasion is a pretty dressy affair, rather than casual. You may well get invited to more casual weddings; more often than not they'll state on the invite if the dress code is smart casual, and as a general rule, err on the side of smart over casual (avoiding jeans and flip-flops). So, on to the main event, so to speak.

Morning Wedding

Women:  Dress up – you're at a wedding after all! Don't be tempted to delve into evening wear though – think 'special clothes', but not super formal or blingy. Of course it will depend on what season we're in, but generally you should go with lighter colours than you would at an evening wedding. Things like a nice dress, skirt, or suit will tick the boxes. Colourful or patterned is also good. Black is ok later in the day, but I'd tend to avoid it for a morning wedding, though navy is fine (ironically).

Image from Bianco Levrin

Men: A suit or smart sports coat with trousers and a tie is the way to go unless specified otherwise on the invitation.

Afternoon Wedding

Women: What you wear to an afternoon wedding will depend on how late in the afternoon the wedding starts. If it's early afternoon, you'll tend to wear outfits as per a morning wedding. However, the later in the day the event is, the more you can dress up. Feel free to dabble with cocktail dresses or less formal long gowns. Stay away from the sequins though – it's still not formal enough to bling up.

Men: Dress as you would for a morning wedding.

Evening Wedding

Women: Dress as if you were going for a nice dinner out or to the theatre. You can go for darker colours in the evenings, as well as more sophisticated materials, and black is fine. Feel free to bling up with your jewellery, and think about swapping out your purse for a small evening bag.Image from Zeleb

Men: As usual, it's much more simple for you blokes – suits are your evening port of call.

As for the don'ts at any time of the day? Don't be too sexy, don't wear white, don't be too showy. Overtly attracting attention to yourself and away from the bride is poor taste.

Next week I'll talk about specified dress codes.