What to Wear to a Wedding

You’ve been invited to a daytime wedding outdoors and don’t know what to wear? Fortunately there is proper wedding guest etiquette that will guide you to the perfect wedding attire. The time of day, invitation, and setting of the wedding are all clues that will point you toward the ideal ensemble.

If you’re a wedding newbie then hopefully the guest attire will be mentioned on the invite. Some invites will specify whether it is a black tie event. Other wording might include: informal, dressy casual, festive attire, cocktail attire, semi-formal, or white tie.

Not all wedding invitations will request specific attire, therefore you’ll have to make note of the time and location when choosing from the proper wedding attire options below.

Casual & Semi-Formal Attire for Her
Casual attire for her includes a short dress if it is a daytime wedding. A casual cocktail dress is appropriate for evening. Use this exact template for semi-formal.

Formal Attire for Her
For a formal daytime wedding, a short formal dress is a safe bet. For a formal evening wedding you can either wear a short formal cocktail dress, or a long dress. If the wedding is ultra-formal then make use of fun and fancy accessories such as diamond or gemstone jewelry and gloves.

Casual & Semi-Formal Attire for Him
Daytime informal attire includes pants (Dockers), and a sports jacket. Typically, even for an informal wedding that takes place in the evening, a suit is required. A semi-formal daytime and evening wedding would require a suit as well.

Formal Attire for Him
Wear a dark suit and tie to a formal daytime wedding. A formal evening wedding requires that you wear a dark suit, if it’s not specified to wear a “black tie” on the invitation, in which case you would wear a tuxedo. An ultra-formal evening wedding requires that you wear a white tie with a vest and shirt.