German wedding advice

[FlorenceandtheWashingMachine]

Hello.

DD1 (late teens) is going to a wedding in Germany in August. Do people really dress up for weddings there? A friend thinks not.

I am going shopping with DD1 to get an outfit, so do we aim for 'wedding guest in the English style' or a more casual day dress? DD1 wouldn't want to stand out as she is quite an introvert.

It's not a church wedding.

Thank you for any advice

I’ve only been to one wedding in Germany and it was massively formal. There was also a change of clothes from day clothes for the ceremony to evening gowns for the reception. And my friends weren’t particularly posh people.

I think there is a real risk of offense if you are underdressed. If in doubt, I’d use an outfit that you’d choose for a regular wedding here. If your daughter is very self-conscious, she could bring a more casual jacket/coat to dress it down if she feels overdressed, but in my limited experience, I’d expect this to be very unlikely.

Ah that's funny - I'm coming on to say the exact opposite! I've been to (admittedly) just one wedding in a church in Germany and we thought it was more 'dressed-down' than the UK - more smart day dresses than wedding gear. Some people looked like they had just stepped away from the office - even down to the more sombre colours. The British contingent stood out in their typical wedding garb - no evening dresses here!

(Two responses and two wholly different experiences - helpful! 😬)

Can your DD have a word with the bride or groom? I know the Scandis go full blown formal but I don't know about Germany.

Genuine question, why are you shopping for an August wedding in January? There will be hardly any seasonally appropriate styles or colours in the shops whatever the dress code happens to be. Also depending on which part of Germany, the weather could be similar to UK or sweltering hot in which case trying to appropriate end of the sales winter fabrics just won't work.

To be invited at all, your daughter must know a fellow guest well enough to ask if no-one here can give you advice?

Thank you very much, everyone.

@baileysandmincepie We're not going shopping for many weeks. I just like to have a plan.

It is my ex's wedding and I don't especially want to chat with him about it.