At the question, “Can you wear white to a wedding?” the simple answer is “no.” Weddings are all about celebrating the couple that is getting married, and white is traditionally attributed to the bride. If your guest outfit has a similar color, you might get side-eyed and even accused of trying to steal her spotlight.

Let’s learn the story of a woman who went through a similar situation at the wedding of one of her closest friends. She asked the Reddit community if it was a mistake to show up in a yellow dress.

The woman attended a close friend’s wedding with her husband. For the event, she wore a yellow evening dress, a choice that neither she, her family, nor her friends questioned as inappropriate.

A few months prior, the woman traveled overseas for the wedding of a close friend. For the special evening, she planned to wear a long yellow dress, which she had carefully ensured would not overshadow the bride. In her post, the woman even emphasized multiple times that the color was bumblebee yellow.

She received compliments on the dress, with even the bride commenting on how beautiful it was. Everything went smoothly until the end of the reception, when the venue dimmed the lights and turned on some blacklights.

At the wedding, she received many compliments on her outfit, and the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner proceeded smoothly. At the end of the reception, however, the lights were dimmed, and some blacklights were turned on.

The blacklights made her dress appear white, even though it wasn’t. Another attendee approached her immediately and demanded that she leave the wedding because her dress appeared “white” and “inappropriate.”

The blacklights caused her dress to look white, even though it wasn’t. Soon after, another wedding attendee pulled her aside and demanded that she leave the venue because of her dress. Despite the woman standing her ground, the attendee insisted she would make her leave.

The conversation became tense, but the woman refused to leave the wedding. The next morning, another friend approached her during breakfast and stated that she should have left because her outfit made people “uncomfortable” and didn’t adhere to wedding etiquette.

The awkward situation finally came to an end when the attendee stormed off and approached the groom, angrily pointing in the woman’s direction. However, the groom didn’t seem bothered and continued dancing.

The next morning, during breakfast, the color of her wedding outfit was brought up again by a friend. They mentioned hearing about the incident and told her that she should have left the wedding since her attire allegedly didn’t adhere to wedding etiquette.

In general, guests should avoid wearing white to a wedding unless the bridal couple mentions a themed dress code, according to bridal stylist Anny Choi. The no-white rule also applies to cream, ivory, beige, and other similar shades.

Not only should white be avoided, but guests should also steer clear of overly loud colors, such as neons and red.

The community supported the woman, suggesting that the overly critical attendee was acting as a “wedding fashion cop” and that she shouldn’t worry about the unusual situation, especially since her outfit didn’t bother the newlyweds.

How would you react if a stranger asked you to leave your close friend’s wedding because of your dress? Let us know what you think!

Image credits: Ann Bugaichuk