When you receive an invitation to a wedding and it reads “beach formal” or “black tie,” you may initially not be sure what to wear to such an occasion. At the same time, as a bride-to-be, you may have a good idea what you want the collective of guests to look like at your wedding, but you may not know what dress code would help you achieve that. Never fear! Here’s a breakdown, in order of formality level, of the common wedding dress codes.
White Tie
If you are invited to or are hosting a white tie wedding, expect everyone to be in a tuxedo with long tails (the fanciest of them all), or a full length, formal fabric ball gown with closed toe high heels. Not everyone sticks with exactly this recipe, but white tie is basically a red carpet party for the nicest outfits you can find. Black Tie
Slightly less glitzy than white tie, black tie is some form of tuxedo and ball gown. You might be able to get away with a very nice tea length gown, but generally you are better off going a little too formal with black tie than a little too informal. Black tie is the most typical of the “formal” wedding dress codes. If you really aren’t sure what to wear to a black tie wedding, talk to some other people who are also attending about your options, but plan for it to be some sort of a ball gown for a woman and a tuxedo for a man.
Semi-Formal

This is where a lot of American weddings tend to fall these days. Under semi-formal attire, men can wear...