Wedding guest dresses that you can also wear on holiday this summer
Plus: an exhaustive list of wedding guest dos and don'ts
It’s been three years since I’ve been to a wedding and I miss them. There was a time when I had multiple weddings over the summer but now I’m 42 those invites have dried up. But, I’m happy to say, I have two parties weddings lined up for this year, the first being next month. In the past I have bought dresses that, well, weren’t much good for other occasions: too formal for holidays, too demure for evening events. Now, if I’m buying a new dress, I want it to work for me in numerous circumstances.
Which is why I’ve put together this edit of dresses which can be worn to weddings but also on holiday. I should add that I love to dress up in the evening on hols, whether we’re dining by the pool or going out to a restaurant. If you’re the sort of person who prefers to wear shorts to a bar on vacation then this perhaps won’t work for you.
I have trawled - and I mean trawled - the internet for the best, coolest, chicest dresses that you can wear to a wedding and on your holiday this summer. They are all sleeveless because no one wants covered armpits in hot weather and they are all long because, personally, I don’t do short dresses at weddings. Here are my favourites…
I might have selected any number of dresses from Australian brand Sir but I am obsessed with this one, it’s so sexy and currently 50% off at My Theresa.
This feels like what Audrey Hepburn would wear in 2025. Perfect for a wedding and then dinner in Positano.
Rixo has become rather synonymous with wedding guest dressing but for good reason. I love the pattern clash on this one. I’d also happily wear it to the market in Mallorca too. That’s a hard working frock.
OK this is expensive but I’m really quite obsessed with this Bode dress, which is almost like an apron up top and then has the beautiful fringed trim which sways when you move. Inspired by embroidered piano shawls from the 1930s-40s. Dreamy.
It was a close call between two Dôen dresses. This one is probably my favourite for a wedding but because it is less suited to a holiday, the one below won out. You can’t go wrong with either.
This & Other Stories dress comes in two patterns but I’m partial to the polka dots. Also it’s technically beige and there’s enough going on to avoid people accusing you of wearing white.
I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a yellow dress, they suit literally everyone.
Rejina Pyo makes proper cool girl dresses and this is a brilliant example.
Self-Portrait has been responsible for some wedding guest dresses I’ve bought in the past which didn’t work well elsewhere but there’s nothing too formal about this beautiful gown. Ideal for dinner on a Greek island too.
Zimmermann do gorgeous dresses for holidays and weddings (someone wore one to my own wedding and, frankly, I almost wanted to swap outfits). This one is perfect for both.
Rat & Boa dresses usually have a lovely fit and I love the colour combo on this one.
This Mango dress is getting close to having sleeves but it just passes the criteria for this exercise. Really quite elegant.
The only strapless dress on the list! Love this orange ditzy floral print and the ties at the back.
There’s no doubt this works for holidays but the cutaway sides give it enough added oomph to work as a wedding guest dress too.
There was always going to be one Reformation dress in here and while I liked this one too, I worried it could be deemed a bit too bridal so went for the opposite: black. This has a seriously gorgeous cut, elevating it from other LBDs IMO. The back is stuns and it has some cute embroidered detail on the bodice. Just needs some heels to elevate it.
This Staud dress is elegant and timeless but I particularly love the pale jade colour and the pleats.
OK! I hope something might have caught your eye, or at least given you some wedding season inspo. Now for an exhaustive list of wedding guest Dos and Don’ts…
DO be the first on the dancefloor (well, after the first dance obv). And stay there! Nothing more depressing than an empty dancefloor at a wedding. It is your duty as a guest to get stuck in. If the dancefloor seems to be emptying, go and round up some people.
DON’T ask to bring your children if they haven’t been explicitly invited. Some couples don’t want them there and you must respect their decision. Also these people baffle me: why would you want to bring your kid to a wedding anyway? Weddings are literally the funnest events on the calendar; I don’t want to be doing crayons with my toddler at the table while everyone else is doing the limbo with two ties knotted together. (If you do want lots of kids at your own wedding then congrats, you’re a better person than me).
DO RSVP early! For the love of god RSVP early! These people are organising the biggest event of their lives, don’t leave them hanging. Now is not the time to play socially hard to get. If you’re genuinely unsure whether you can make it because of a potential work event or whatever, then let them know that promptly.
DON’T wear white. Just don’t. Even if the bride doesn’t mind, there will be tons of people judging you and giving you stink eye. Wearing black is fine. Also, if it’s relevant, do your research: in traditional Indian and Chinese weddings the bride typically wears red.
DO take extra cigarettes if you’re a smoker. At weddings, everyone and their aunt decides to have a party cig and the few smokers there will find their stashes raided before the best man’s toast. And you simply can’t say, “Sorry but I’ve only got a couple left” at a wedding. Come prepared.
DON’T complain about the food, especially if it’s dictated by the couple’s dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc). I have a friend whose friend pulled out a Pepperami at a veggie wedding as a statement thinking he was being funny (sounds made up but I swear it’s true). You can go one day without meat/dairy/gluten. Also eat well beforehand. Don’t be the guest complaining that you’re starrrrving. Bad vibes.
DO contribute to the honeymoon fund, if that is what the couple has asked. How much you put in is obviously a personal choice but I always think you can’t go wrong with £50 per person or £100 from a couple.
DON’T be a dick about the music. It’s likely the couple has carefully curated a playlist and so repeatedly drunkenly demanding the DJ plays The Walkmen is just rude (although every DJ should obviously play “The Rat”). Also, if *shudder* the couple is into techno and that is the vibe for the evening, then you’ll just have to suffer.
DO flirt. If you’re single, weddings are obviously excellent places to pick up. If you’re unsure if someone is attached or not, ask around first. You really don’t want the partner coming up and passive aggressively shaking your hand and introducing themself. Also, be prepared that if you do hook up with someone, everyone will be talking about it at the next-day hangover barbecue. That’s just the rules.
DON’T hook up with someone from the wedding party at the rehearsal dinner the night before the main event. You will have an awkward day ahead of you. I have found this is mainly a problem at destination weddings when the intoxicating mix of romance and foreign lands leads to all sorts of shenanigans.
DO bring tissues and sunscreen. I am a crier at weddings, I can’t help it (but only if the bride is my friend; there’s something about them walking down the aisle looking the most beautiful they’ve ever looked that sets me off. For male friends, I am thrilled for them but fail to be moved to tears). And sunscreen because you never know (I’ve been caught out before) and you’re also providing a service to the couple because no one wants a bunch of burnt guests in their photos.
DON’T point out that you’re on the dud table. If you think you’ve been put on the dud table - there’s always one, filled with Billy no-mates and randoms that a couple can’t fit in elsewhere - for god sake don’t tell your tablemates that you’re all at the dud table.
DO take it easy at the pre-dinner drinks. Dinner is always served later than planned and you don’t want to be wasted by the time the whipped goats' cheese comes out. And similarly to everyone talking about who hooked up with who at the next-day hangover barbecue, everyone also discusses who the drunkest at the wedding was. This doesn’t happen at other parties, just weddings. In fact, I can recall exactly who was the drunkest person at each wedding I’ve attended over the past decade.
DON’T steal the couple’s thunder. This includes: proposing to your significant other, announcing a pregnancy, making out with the single father of the groom.
Now feel free to add your own dos and don’ts in the comments! OK, I hope your summer is filled with fun weddings and, if not, then just think of all the money and potential embarrassment you’re saving yourself.
Have a lovely weekend,
Gillian
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Truly Truly Brilliant Advice!!! Also please add some more information for us beloved older women who would like some sleeves. :) please. Also, I love how honest you are in your writing. Thank you.
Lovely frocks! Have you had a look at another Aussie designer - Alemais?