Too white for a wedding guest dress?

[EndlessCupsofSugaryTea]

I have my eye on this for a spring wedding. I love prints, it’s silk and is in the sale - perfect combination.

However, I showed it to my mother and she said “But it’s white!” in a horrified way. I was bewildered. I don’t believe most people’s first thought on looking at this would be “white”. To me, it’s all about the print - and in any case, the background looks more cream to me.

I love it, but not for the first time, my mother has created a nagging doubt. Would anyone really think I was trying to look remotely bridal in this?

I never get this. Who at la wedding is going to think
"Where's the bride? Oh there she is sitting four rows back with uncle derek"
You'd have to be thick to confuse them

i guess it depends where the wedding is - if it’s in your local registry office then yes it’s bridal. if it’s in a church it absolutely isn’t

Blimey it’s loony tunes on here today. Op, this is a lovely dress. I’d happily wear it to a wedding, with coloured accessories it will look great. The it’s-too-white brigade have already started I see - that’s a matter of opinion - in mine, it’s fine.

It's not that people confuse them (although you could at a town hall wedding if you didn't know the bride as pp have said), it's that it draws your eye towards it when all attention should be on the bride, and stands out in photos.

This is mental
Every shop is full of pink and white blue and white floral and white dresses for wedding guests.

It’s too white. Would be better if they did it with a pale green background or something.

Also town hall wedding :
Are you the bride?
No
Actual bride : me over here, you know the one that just walked down the aisle and I'm now cuddling my spouse

Job done

This thread is bonkers.

People commenting on the photographs - the bride will be smack in the middle. Nobody apart from ‘Aunty Doris’ is going to be looking at’Aunty Doris’ in the corner, unless she’s naked or in a T-Rex suit.

And the dress is clearly a buttery cream, so Lord knows why so many people are saying it’s white.

I really like the dress - are you sure that the bride is going for the full works on the day? In fact I would be more confident wearing this to a first wedding. This dress looks like a fab choice for a second wedding. But that is just me. I'd be tempted to ask the bride.

The dress looks very bridal.

Just saw this - the green is lovely!

This really annoys me. I went to lunch today with my husband. A wedding was going on.

all the grooms men wore tails - I could tell the groom because he was telling everyone.

the guests were a mixture of- one of whom was wearing cream / white - it never crossed my mind that she was the bride - not once!

this whole thing irritates the hell out of me. It’s a made up (probably on mumsnet) rule. It’s not real and is bonkers xx

Well, I think it’s lovely and no one will bat an eyelid at you wearing it to a wedding.

Surely someone's eye is much more likely to be drawn to someone wearing very bold bright colours? Not someone wearing a cream floral dress. Someone posted a link to a bright green dress which I think would stand out much more than a light coloured one

It's because white is the traditional colour and most brides still wear it.

It’s not a new thing though, so not about being too sensitive now. It’s just not the done thing, out of respect for the bride. It’s her day, she should be the one standing out as the only one in white/ivory/cream. I’m not sure it would bother me, but why risk upsetting a bride who, presumably, is a friend or relative?

It wasn't in my circle or in anyone's I know

It's too white. Nice dress though, but don't wear it as a guest at a wedding

To all the people saying 'what a rubbish rule that you can't wear white......'
It's 1 day.
Every other day of the year, you can wear white just not at a wedding - that's really the only rule for guests at a wedding - don't wear white. It's so the bride stands out. It's that simple.

At one of my best friend's wedding, one of the guests wore white. The guest was renowned for being a drama queen and all about 'ME ME ME!'
She was pretty pissed off when she was always put at the back of the photos. Also she was quite put out when one of the older guests, I think the bride's great aunt called her out on it - she kept saying it was fine to wear white but as no one else agreed with her, she looked pretty stupid

It is lovely however yes ,it is a bit too brides.

It's not about being mistaken for tne bride I think it's more to do with taking the shine off of the bride who is usually the only one wearing mainly white.

Glad you have had second thoughts

I've just looked at the Hobbs website and there is a "wedding guest outfits" section here https://www.hobbs.com/occasion/wedding-guest/. Plenty are white/cream background with a print.

It’s a lovely dress… please wear it to another occasion, but not a wedding.

It's not about suddenly developing face blindness and literally mistaking someone else for the bride, although at a distance you might make the mistake. It's about there being a colour reserved for the bride, something that's just hers and makes her outfit unique in the gathering.

I first heard this rule as a child 30 years ago; I actually don't know how so many people claim to have reached adulthood without hearing it. I was also asked not to wear red when I attended Indian weddings. There might be some things that only exist on MN, but not wearing white to someone else's wedding really, really isn't one of them.

Perhaps the bride doesn't mind, but you shouldn't assume that and you shouldn't put pressure on her by asking; the fact that you're asking means you know it isn't on. When there's a rule that you can wear any colour on the spectrum except that one, and you wear that one, you're being rude and bad mannered, even if the bride is gracious where you are not.

You know it’s not the right dress for a wedding and that’s why you’re here so why the fake confusion?