Once you’re over the age of, ooh, 22, you suddenly start to find you get invited to weddings, a lot.

Last year I put together 3 dream wedding guest outfits for some inspiration. Here are a few more tips and tricks for making sure you really are the dream wedding guest.

When putting together your perfect wedding guest outfit…

DO

• Make it a speedy outfit. No matter how well planned you are weddings often involve travel, sometimes a lot of it, followed by an early afternoon start. Make sure your outfit is something you can get into at speed, in a hotel room with just a half hour to get ready, or even in the back of the car if you really get stuck!
• Make it a comfortable outfit. You might love those 4″ shoes, but even as a guest weddings can be very long days with a lot of standing around, dancing, eating vast amounts of food and sitting in stuffy rooms. If it’s too short, too tight, or is going to really hurt you after 2 hours stood on grass while photos are taken then it’s not worth wearing
• Make it a flexible outfit. Day to evening formal wear can be tricky. there’s no point buying an amazing hat if when you take it off your hair looks like a helmet.  Make sure you can take off your hat/jacket/wrap without completely destroying your carefully constructed look, because you WILL want to.

DON’T

• Make it a flashy outfit. These days unless a wedding is REALLY super formal you can get away with most things, but the key rule is NEVER OUTSHINE THE BRIDE. Leave the flashy diamonds, sparkly minis, and super extravagant high fashion looks at home. This is her day, not yours, and she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life looking at photographs of the YSL cage sandals and Philip Treacy hat that everyone spent all day talking about. Unless of course you know you are going to the kind of wedding where everyone will be dressed like that, if in doubt, don’t.
• Make it a matchy outfit. If you don’t know what colour scheme the Bride & Groom have chosen then you might be able to glean some clues from the invite, or even ask, then steer clear of these colours in your outfit. There’s nothing worse than turning up dressed in the same colour as the bridesmaids. You’ll look like you never got to be one as a kid and are trying to pretend.
• Make it an inappropriate outfit. Yes, you are going to an evening party with dancing and drinking. However before that you are going to spend the afternoon in Church, mixing with elderly relatives and having your photo taken in broad day light. Make sure it’s not an outfit you’re going to feel stupid doing these things in. For me that means not too short, not too low cut, no denim and nothing hugely sparkly, it might mean something different to you, just make sure you’ve thought it through….

Photos courtesy of Jayray24, Sherry’s Rose Cottage, icaromoreno