Wedding Dres’s Code 101

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Planning a wedding and wondering about what wedding dres code to ask your guest list to wear? Or, have you received an invitation with a stated wedding dres’ code such as Black Tie – Optional, Festive Attire, and such? Dres’s codes can be confusing, tricky, and difficult, to say the least, particularly for people who are not used to dressing up. So, to help you traverse this slightly complicated business of wedding dres’ codes, here are some of the common ones that you might find yourself getting an invite to.

The most common type of wedding dres’ code is formal. But simply saying formal attire can be quite confusing to many. Being more specific may be needed. Formal attire can be classified as White Tie, Black Tie, and Black Tie Optional, with the first to be considered as the most formal of all dres’ codes. Less formal concepts are Cocktail, Semi-Formal, and Festive attires. The informal attires are termed Casual, Themed, Destination, and Come-As-You-Are concepts.

To further elaborate, White Tie dres’s codes comprises formal long gowns for women and formal tuxedo with coattails for men. For Black Tie, likewise, a long gown for women but an elegant cocktail dress may do as well and tuxedo with a black bow tie for men. In Black Tie Optional, as the term implies, you can be dressed up like in a Black Tie affair but you can opt to dress it down a bit like wearing a dress that shows ankles for women and a formal black suit with a conservative tie for men instead.

Cocktail attire is a non-casual but above semi-formal concept. Acceptable choices are midi-, tea-, and knee-length dresses for women and a suit and tie for men. The semi-Formal event would comprise wearing below-the-knee dresses or dressy skirts and blouses for women and dres’s shirts and slacks for men. Festive attire would mean being creative and bolder in your choices. Men and women wear attires that feature fun and cold colors paired with playful accessories, for instance. For a Casual setting, opt for summer dresses for women and dressy collared shirts and pants for men.

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