Need help deciphering dress code!

[Rituals1]

I have a wedding next weekend which has quite a complex dress code; from what I can surmise it is ‘American black tie’ (the bride is American) however the venue is outside in Scotland so this is also stipulated in the invite. The bride has requested only satin, silk, crepe or taffeta.

Can anyone please help me decipher the dress code and suggest a suitable dress? I’m pregnant, 16 weeks but showing as it’s not my first baby. I don’t want to spend much at all if I can help it so will happily trawl vinted but I don’t even know what style of dress I’m looking for! Everything long and in chiffon or satin looks bridesmaid-y to me.

It needs to be some kind of ball-dress, particularly if your husband is wearing a tuxedo.

If you ignore the batshit pretentious code and dress appropriately for the local weather and terrain, you can be one of the few guests the locals aren't rolling their eyes at. The worst kind of destination weddings are the ones where your home is the destination! 'Thrown around the dance floor' could be code for ceilidh, so factor in movement as well as weather.

Should have been champagne toasting

Ugh. The bride can fuck off with a restriction on fabric?!

Wow.

I would not spend more than £20 for such a precious bride. Bridezilla to the power infinity 🙄

www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/dresses/burgundy-satin-skirt-midi-dress/p/918910967

They just want you to dress up. Can't imagine anyone making a fuss so long as you're wearing something "weddingy". What they gonna do - send you home? Damn cheek, telling people what to wear - esp in Scotland, as an outdoor wedding usually means "day dress"in terms of Highland wear (tweed Argyll jackets rather than black, dress ones or whatever)

Mine too.

I got stuck with a similar invite a few years ago (invited to an American colleague’s wedding). I went for the fancier / evening ish end of Scarlett and Jo. It was empire line so would also give you a bit of space for an early bump.

For what it is worth, American guests seemed to have exactly the thing in the wardrobe and looked like bridesmaids. Brits were mostly wearing midi - long cocktail dresses and looked like they were off to a Christmas do. All a bit mad if you ask me.

I have done a big Debenhams order today of their maternity dresses so hopefully one of them will look ok! If I wasn’t pregnant I would order anything from Vinted but the bump does make things more challenging…

Indeed- I wouldn't go with such a stringent dress code. 'Apologies sent' ..

Bridezilla - even worse an American bridezilla 😂
Give this marriage 2 months max.

Sod that.
Black tie = not casual
Toasting champagne outside = need to think about the weather
Thrown around the dance floor = more casual.

Thankfully I've never been to a wedding where I've been told what to wear (apart from when I've been a bridesmaid), but then I'm 54 so any weddings tend to be 2nd ones. I guess soon I might be invited to the weddings of the generation below me, so we shall see.

The only time I have been invited to a wedding where there was a dress "code" was for a family member, and the dress "code" was simply advisory in response to people asking. The reply was smart/smart casual.

I have recently noticed a significant increase in threads on MN from posters being given unreasonable dress codes from demanding bridezillas.

I don't care to be in other people's wedding photos, and while I would make an effort and dress up for a wedding I wouldn't go to the extent of dressing head to to in a specific colour or wear a specific material from a very short list of allowed materials. Demands like this are so narcissistic.

Ask her???

Its american 'Prom' 1980'2000's
Slightly tacky, shiny textures.

I don’t know the bride at all unfortunately (or fortunately!)

That dress would probably do just fine.
Get a second hand chiffon wedding shawl thing and your fine.

Or get something off ebay.

What I'm imagining shiney shiney shiney and spaghetti straps. 'Tuell' chiffon statin, prom.

Fucking hell she sounds like a nightmare.

I would also recommend having a trawl through Vinted. Scarlett and Jo dresses would be a good shout.

The bride has requested only satin, silk, crepe or taffeta.

Yeah I would be giving this one a miss 😂

‘Empire line’ fit is probably your best bet at 16 weeks pregnant - fitted around the bust and then loose. What a flipping nightmare! TK Maxx can be good for slightly OTT/American style occasion dresses.

What an absolute ball ache that is! Seriously, telling guests the fabric they have to wear, are they going to have label inspections?

Sorry OP, I've never heard of American black tie so I don't have anything useful to say 🤷

That’s lovely! And reasonable, buy it!

Jeez, why doesn't the bride just order everyone's outfit for them if they want to be so controlling!!