Your wedding is your opportunity to throw the most fabulous party of your life. With that in mind, you’re probably carefully creating a color scheme, deliberately deciding about your decor and, of course, picking a ridiculously gorgeous gown to seriously wow your guests. But one thing that’s harder to control are what others will wear. Unfortunately, you can’t just make a blanket statement—especially on your invitation or wedding website—like “no jeans allowed.” This isn’t a cool nightclub, after all, it’s your wedding. While it might prevent people from wearing jeans, it may also offend them. Here’s what you can do without being rude:
Encourage guests to dress for the occasion.
You can definitely urge guests to take their personal style up a few notches for the night by including some general dress details on your invitations or wedding website. For instance, add “semi-formal reception to follow” or “garden party” and it’s unlikely that anyone will show up in Levi’s.
Be specific if you want.
You can provide suggestions about specifics on your site if you’d like—for instance, sundresses for women and khakis and blazers for men. This is particularly helpful if you’re celebrating at a venue that actually requires jackets—you don’t want any gentlemen to feel awkward for being unprepared.
Ignore any fashion faux pas.
If someone does show up in jeans, just ignore it and graciously thank them for coming. Their fashion sense (or lack thereof) won’t detract from your wedding one bit—unless you let it.
Want more? Right here!
> 10 wedding rules you can break
> How to pick the perfect wedding date
> Wedding etiquette
