Excited to have received the wedding pictures of a family friend whose wedding I had missed, I scrolled rapidly through the picture gallery to get to my favorite part of the wedding photo album – the bride’s outfit. As I went through the pictures, I saw the bride sitting on one of the guest tables wearing a satin halter dress and had an up-do hairstyle (looking good so far); I loved the dress from the back and was eager to see what the front looked like. In the next picture I got to see the front of the bride’s halter dress, and lo and behold! The bride wasn’t the bride! By the time i had gone through the remainder of the 138 pictures, I saw about three more brides in white and ivory outfits/dresses.

Now, everyone knows the bride is supposed to stand out on her wedding day since that’s one of the most special days of her life, which is why everything is planned around the bride on this day – the bridal train, the bridal song, the bridal party, the bridal…. You get the point. Her dress, hairstyle and even shoes should be unique and different from what her wedding guests are wearing, her wedding guests should be complementary, not overshadowing. First simple rule I will ask guests to follow: stay out of flowing white dresses, especially if you look in the mirror and it brings back memories of your special day, or how you’ll like to look on your special day. Since only the bride is expected to be seen in white or ivory, a guest in a white flowing gown can be easily mistaken for the bride. As a guest at a wedding, allow the bride to shine on her special occasion. Leave the white or ivory dress at home!