Bride Insists All Female Wedding Guests Must Wear The Same Dress As The Bridesmaids
It's her special day, but she might've gone a little too far.
Wedding and lifestyle | Shutterstock Weddings are a time to celebrate love, devotion, and happiness. It's an especially important day for the bride, where she can coordinate every little aspect of the wedding to her particular liking.
In a bold move, a bride has taken the idea of wedding coordination to another level. Rather than limiting her guest attire requests to certain color schemes and formality, she insisted that every female at the event wear the same outfit, specifically the bridesmaid dress.
A bride insisted that all female guests wear the same dress as the bridesmaids at her wedding.
One of the guests took to Reddit to share the details of this absurd affair. It was her cousin's wedding, and the bride had the "brilliant idea" of making every female guest, including bridesmaids, wear the exact same salmon-pink satin dress.
Oleksandr Berezko | Shutterstock
The guest said the decision was quite unflattering, and that "Bridesmaids got the 'blessed' privilege of looking like a stage curtain. Guests? We were stuck in itchy polyester that felt like it was glued to your skin, 90°F outside, humidity level Florida Dew Point."
Commenters criticized the decision, with many claiming they wouldn't have attended the wedding.
Several commenters wondered about the aesthetics of having everyone in the same dress, saying it would look strange and "cultish." They mentioned this level of micro-detail being a "weird trend," and that they're fine with following a dress code but not being required to wear a "uniform."
There's certainly nothing wrong with having a vision for your day, but part of that vision should be your guests enjoying themselves. Making a guest jump through hoops simply to attend does not, in fact, make guests want to attend. That seems to be a part of wedding planning that has been lost to social media trends in recent years. Think for a moment about the family in attendance. Would women of all ages be happy with this trend?
Some brought up the double standards of the female guests being designated a certain outfit, but the male guests seemingly having no dress code. Commenters joked speculating that the men were also required to wear the dress, saying, "I would have paid a decent fee to see this. Uncles, brothers, sons and fathers in slinky pink poly dresses, lovely!"
Others discussed the financial logistics of the idea and said they thought the bride should be the one paying for all the dresses. A commenter wrote, "I already had to buy you a present, and travel to the venue. I'm not buying a new outfit. You're lucky this shirt is ironed."
Attending a wedding is costly for most guests.
According to an internal survey of 1,000 participants conducted by The Knot, the average cost per wedding guest was found to be $610. Of course, this depends on a variety of factors like location, attire, and the guest's relation to the couple.
Pixel-Shot | Shutterstock
Attire was revealed to be a "top challenge" for wedding guests, especially due to the current state of the economy. The Knot reported, "46% of respondents said their attire choices took a hit because the economy made them change what they're willing to spend, a 4% increase from 2023."
One of the ways that guests can reduce costs and save money when attending a wedding is by making smart financial choices for attire. If you have something appropriate for the event, it's perfectly acceptable to wear something you already own, or rent a dress or suit at a much lower cost. You can even borrow from or swap clothes with friends to mix up your wardrobe!
More importantly, however, if you're planning a wedding, be sure to keep your guests in mind. They should never be an afterthought, and they should never have to feel put out to attend your big day. It's a celebration everyone should be excited about. If you really want to make your vision a reality, ask guests to wear a particular color, or to feature one accessory in that color. That's much more manageable and a whole lot more fun.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
