what to wear to an English wedding

[sthorn]

I'm going to attend my first "English" wedding, as I am a foreigner. The groom is British and the bride is American. I had asked the wedding planner via email to tell me the appropriate attire . She said it was formal - jacket and tie for men and dresses for women (hats optional). The wedding takes place at 5 pm and dinner will follow. I'm still not clear about whether I can wear a shin-length dress or whether I should wear an evening gown. Any suggestions?

[Peter Pedant]

The men wear suits and the women wear summer dresses with hats.

The only person who changes is the bride who may change before she leaves on her honeymoon -with the groom.

Other wise go dressed one would in your country of origin - and say this is how people attend weddings formally.

[woofgang]

Shin length dress is fine. The information "hats optional" suggests to me that this is going to be an informal style of wedding rather than the full dress affair.

Not sure how close you are to the bride and groom. Generally the more distant the connection, the less expectation there is that you will wear "special" clothes.

The last wedding I went to was about this time last year. We are friends of the brides parents. I wore dark smart trousers and a silk shirt and Mr Woofgang wore smart blazer and tie and we were not the most dressed down couple there. The actual wedding party were dressed well up from us.

[Bluemukka]

Just to add, under no circumstances wear an all white outfit/dress. It will be seen as trying to upstage the bride and is classed as very poor taste.

[spudqueen]

Just got back from a holiday in Florida where I purchased an outfit for a wedding I'm going to in a couple of months. It is a burgundy sleevless dress, just below knee length, with a matching jacket. Bought it in J C Penneys. I think it will look smart and formal enough for the wedding, but when it's party time later on in the evening I will be able to take the jacket off and dance the night away! I don't intend to wear a hat, though I did wear one for a wedding I went to in June. Hope this helps.

[funkychicken]

I would avoid an evening gown unless you want to be mistaken for a bridesmaid =)

[Shipstabber]

Dress like this:

http://www.dougieb.demon.co.uk/shrogys/flying01.jpg

 

Everyone will really appreciate the effort you've made to fit in.

 

[flaming]

The dress is also set" by the type of place where the party will be held.  The posher the venue the more it is safe to dress up a bit. Your outfit sounds good, sthorn, especially as it's warmer now, even if it is going to be at a good hotel.  Hats are for church, really, and somewhat old-fashioned in that setting.  So many weddings are at other venues now, hats don't matter at all.  The trouble with wearing a hat is that it usually ruins a hair-style, and then one would looks flat-headed when the headgear comes off!