What Not to Wear
July 10, 2009 · Posted in etiquette, what to wear by emily
We’re getting married in late August in a garden on a farm on the banks of a river in central Pennsylvania. Our ceremony is under a canopy of trees, and our reception is under a white tent with cocktails and mingling between the two on a poolside patio. Dinner is buffet style BBQ. And to get from one site to another, guests will have to walk along a sloping dirt path. If you were a invited to our wedding, what would you wear?
This question has been asked by more than a few guests. Yes, it’s a less formal affair than a traditional wedding in a Catholic church with a sit-down dinner among chandeliers and a string quartet. Tuxedos and ball gowns would not be appropriate. But it’s a wedding; it’s more than a picnic on the river (not that there’s anything wrong with combining the two). Shorts and polo shirts would not be appropriate for this soirée.
Our website includes the following message: “Dress is less formal than black tie, but more formal than jeans. It would be appropriate for men to wear shirts and ties (and jackets, if you wish) and ladies to wear sun dresses. Please also choose dress shoes that you’ll be comfortable wearing in a garden on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Emily suggests flats or wedge heels for the ladies.”
How are you planning to share wardrobe suggestions with your guests?
I think you worded it perfectly. Were having a beach wedding so I feel ya’. I would hate for someone to show up wearing a tacky hawwain shirt or jeans! Yuck.
*hawaiian
But you spelled it “heels” on your website, didn’t you.
LPC’s most recent blog post: High WASP Entertaining, What Do We Think About Alcohol?
yeah, i feel this. our wedding is on a beach… so my mom said ‘oh really casual?’ no, we still want people to dress up (the snazzy reception will be indoors), so we described our wedding on our website as ‘barefoot formal - barefoot for the beach, formal for the reception’ to give folks some guidelines. i suggested people bring two pairs of shoes: flip-flops or no shoes for the beach, dancing shoes for later. we’ll see how it works out…
One Barefoot Bride’s most recent blog post: Today’s obsession…
Oops! Thanks for the catch, LPC. And I call myself an editor!
emily’s most recent blog post: Our Labor of Love
I think your guests will appreciate the hints. It really is hard to know what to wear for anything other than a church+ballroom, so good for you making that easier on them.
I’m also having a wedding in Central PA! (9-19)
We suggested “festive attire.”
Alison’s most recent blog post: Rock ‘n Roll Bride · griffin-dablow-wedding-1
The Campus…
Hey, you’re getting married. That has been known to cause all kinds of things we used to know how to do to fly out the window.
LPC’s most recent blog post: High WASP Entertaining, What Do We Think About Alcohol?
I am so going to steal some of what you said about attire for your guests! I like what you came up with sooo much better than what I have on our site! lol
Kristal’s most recent blog post: The Date
