Wedding Guest's Outfit Slammed as 'Totally Inappropriate'

A wedding guest has drawn a furious response after revealing she is planning to attend a friend's upcoming nuptials wearing a white dress.

It's been the cardinal rule of weddings for centuries: only the bride can wear white.

However, previous research had suggested change has been in the air. In a 2016 survey reported by Brides Magazine, 7 out of 10 women said they would happily go against convention by wearing white to a friend's wedding.

And 40 percent of the 1,000 U.K. and U.S. women polled as part of the research said they would be happy for guests to white to their own wedding.

For wedding planner Gloria Darko, the answer is still a firm no.

Darko told Newsweek: "It is generally not acceptable for anyone to wear white to a loved one's wedding as it is an unspoken rule entwined in tradition. Therefore, there is an expectation that the colors white, ivory or cream are reserved for the Bride."

She added: "It is generally deemed inappropriate for guests to wear white to a wedding so [as] not to upstage the Bride and draw attention to yourself and away from the couple."

The reaction to a recent Mumsnet post shared by a user writing as Belladonnamama suggests most echo Darko's concerns.

In the post, the woman revealed she was planning to wear a white dress to an upcoming wedding as she felt it was something of a casual affair. "Couple are in their 40s, getting married in a hotel, together years with two children," she wrote.

But while the imminent nuptials may have had a more laid-back tone given the circumstances surrounding the couple involved, for those following along on social media that didn't necessarily translate to a relaxation of wedding etiquette.

Livinginanotherworld said she should "definitely not" wear the dress with BeetFeet commenting: "I know traditions move on but wearing white as a guest at any wedding is always no."

"That's the kind of dress I'm looking at as the bride," Fizzorigin wrote while eurochick added: "I'm pretty relaxed about white to weddings but yikes."

Nunayabizniz felt it was "totally inappropriate" with Gazelda explaining: "It wouldn't be worth the worry that someone might (irrationally) take offense or make a drama of it."

But while Darko agrees that wearing white as a wedding guest is probably best avoided, there are circumstances where it is allowed.

"More recent fashion and celebrity trends see bridesmaids dressed in white or off-white dresses which has made it more acceptable as the Bride's choice," she said.

"We all remember the moment Pippa Middleton walked out behind her sister Kate Middleton also dressed in a chic ivory gown as her Maid of Honor which received resounding approval."