What does 'Formal Dresscode' mean on a wedding invite?

[arcadia96]

Does anyone know what this means? Have just noticed it on a wedding invite.

No leggings?

That someone will be at door of church, judging you and telling you that you haven't made it through to wedding bootcamp a la Simon Cowell

That someone will be at door of church, judging you and telling you that you haven't made it through to wedding bootcamp a la Simon Cowell

Bollocks

No bare shoulders, hat, pref a dress rather than trousers.

dunno - dicky tie and suit for men? We got one recently that requested dinner suits and party frocks and then detailed where they had negotiated a suit hire deal at.

It could well mean morning suits and top hats for men - you might want to check...

what? ALL the guests in morning suits and top hats?? surely that doesnt happen
It just means suits for men and smart dress type outfit for ladies imo

Previously I would have said that it meant morning suits etc. But I have recently heard more and more tales of people turing up to weddings in jeans/trainers etc, so I wonder if it's just a 'polite nudge' towards making a bit of an effort.

I think it could mean anything or nothing and if their idea is to avoid people turning up looking very casual in a pair of jeans, they run the risk of the whole thing looking ridiculous with a vague wording like that. Formal could indeed mean black tie/tails/just dressy/none of the above. I would call them up and ask them what the bloody hell they mean (just maybe more politely!)

No bride should specify what her guests should wear. It is just v bad manners. She just has to hope that the style of her invitation/event encourages her guests to dress in an appropriate manner. Formal Dresscode is a ridiculous instruction as it can mean a wealth of different things. I would go for a jacket/no jeans look for men and smart for women, whatever you like and feel good in (but not too revealing if in a church). I would never feel it necessary to wear a hat unless I actually wanted to.

Guys in suits, girls in dresses / trousers & pashmina combo blah blah and prob hats or facinator (yuk) etc.

Perfectly acceptable for bride to specify formal attire. Its her wedding, she can do what ever she wants.

If it was morning suits, it would have stated 'Morning Dress', which it didn't.

I suspect as annh, she just wants people to make an effort and dress up.