Wedding Season Woes: Is it Acceptable to Wear Black or White? Guest Post: Steph Lanzarotti

Guest Post

Steph Lanzarotti | April 13th 2013

It’s that time of year again where you’re sick of seeing engagement rings all over Facebook, and you’re done making phony comments over social media about being excited for your sort of friend who you talked to once or twice in high school. That’s right, it’s wedding season. This is the time of year where couples gather up family and friends whom they may not have talked to in years, but they want to have a big wedding. So, you made the cut. What do you wear? Men have it easy, a suit. You can’t go wrong with a suit. But ladies, we have it a lot more difficult.

I have been invited to a few weddings this upcoming year, and the first thing I think about is, “What do I wear?” I looked in my closet, and see the gorgeous Jessica McClintock dress I spent way too much money on for an event last spring. “Yes, another excuse to wear this dress!” Shoot. It’s black. You can’t wear black to a wedding. Or can you?

   There are many fashion choices that were once considered a faux pas to wear to a wedding, but are now totally acceptable. It is definitely okay to wear a long dress to a wedding. Unless it’s white. You don’t want to pull a Pippa Middleton and steal the attention from the bride. With that being said, it’s acceptable to wear a short white dress to the reception. For the rehearsal dinner I’d recommend wearing a different colored dress because generally the bride will still be wearing a white dress, just shorter.

Black is another color that people get the wrong idea about at weddings. It’s okay to wear black to a wedding, just dress it up with colorful shoes or jewelry! People assume that black is something you only wear to funerals or for going out. This is a stigma that’s thankfully going away. Everyone has that perfect LBD that you feel confident in no matter how much food you’ve eaten (big thanks to the creator of the peplum, am I right?).

I am here to tell all of you ladies, don’t freak out when you open that wedding invitation. You don’t have to always wear something new; you can reinvent the outfit and make it new! Weddings are about creating a new life together. Going along with that theme, you can take a dress you’ve had for years, and make something new out of it. Black does not equal grieving, white does not mean you’re stealing the show, and wearing a long dress is fine as long as it’s not a prom dress, or a beachy maxi dress. Wearing a dress that’s too short is also bad; you don’t want to look like the floozy friend. My advice, just keep it simple and classy.

In short, don’t be afraid to rock that little black dress that’s been hiding in your closet. Weddings really have no dress code anymore except to be formal and appropriate. Unless the couple states to only wear a certain color to the event, a la the Kardashian-Humphries wedding. Get your outfit and your phony “I’m so excited” face ready and you’ll be ready to rock.  Happy wedding season, everyone!