Hello my beautiful people getting ready for their wedding! I hope all is going well for you! I wanted to hop on here to chat about your guest’s attire and how you can tell them what you’d like them to wear! YES, you have that power! 

I was just photographing a wedding, and a guest told me that the bride made a little collection of photos on their wedding website to give options to the guests on what to wear. Sort of like a Pinterest board! I thought that was SUCH a good idea, especially if you want a specific vibe from your guests on your wedding day. 

Also, think about what your venue is like! Is it cold, warm, breezy? Is the ceremony outside with soft grass or is it on concrete? Just so you know to tell your guests whether stilettos are a good option or not! Or if they need a jacket or something to keep warm. Heads up: Bridger Bowl weddings are known for having grated ski decking outside, so if you wear stilettos your heel will go right through the deck! AH! No good, we don’t want that! So, it’s always good to think about those things as you tell your guests what to wear or what attire you’d want people in. 

No matter what time of year in Montana, bring a light jacket! Seriously! Especially if family is coming in from out of town, let them know to add that to the suitcase! You never know what the weather will be like when the sun goes down. Plus, sometimes inside a venue can get a tad chilly. 

I think dressing up for a wedding is so nice as a family because it’s a great time to grab a group photo for holiday cards! It’s so much fun to be able to get all dressed up and ready because it’s not every day you get to wear a gown or a tux! HOW FUN! Or even a cocktail dress and a nice shirt and tie. Whatever it may be, this is also fun for the guests, so don’t think you’re being needy or controlling as you tell them what attire you’d like. They’re having fun with it too, trust me!

Options of dress code:

White Tie: The most formal attire (FANCYYYY) with men wearing a long tuxedo with tails and women wearing floor length gowns!

Black Tie: A little less formal than white tie but still formal attire with women wearing a floor length dress and men in tuxedos. 

Formal or Black Tie Optional: For men, tuxedos aren’t required but optional. Otherwise a suit is acceptable! For women, you have the option of a floor length dress, fancy cocktail dress, or a pantsuit! (Not a ton of difference between this one and Black Tie.)

Cocktail: This is the most popular in my opinion! For women you can now opt to a tea length, knee length or midi dress if you’d like. For men, a suit and tie! Or a nice shirt and tie 🙂

Casual: This one is more for comfort! Women, anything you’d like! Dresses, skirt and top, or pantsuit/jumpsuit! For men you can go with a dress shirt and slacks! 

Color scheme: Black and White, Silver and Gold, New Year’s Eve sparkles…etc! I’ve seen a lot of this too, and it turns out BEAUTIFUL! 

Include saying what attire you’d like them to wear on:

Invitation: You can put it right under the location or at the bottom of the card! “Cocktail attire, check website for details” or “Black and White attire, check website for details”

Separate detail card: You can add a separate smaller card with the invitation giving details about attire, and with a barcode leading them to a Pinterest Board or to your website for pictures and inspiration! 

Website: Definitely include all the details of what you’d like them to wear on your website, because then you don’t have to include too much on your invitation, or if they lose the invitation, they can always come back to the website to refresh their memory! 

I hope this all helps you as you get ready to send out those invites! Don’t stress too much about it! Choose what you want, and don’t worry about the rest. This is YOUR day and your guests will be happy to shop for whatever vibe you want! (Again, it’s fun for them too.) Happy wedding planning!!