This season, floral dresses are everywhere! Romantic garden party midi styles and flowy maxi dresses with a floral print on a white background are in every shop and every wedding inspiration photo. While these floral dresses are the epitome of Bridgerton-inspired romantic looks, they also bring up the question, can a wedding guest wear a printed or floral dress with a white background to a wedding? We'll answer that question and give you some other examples of great dresses for tasteful wedding guest attire.
Collage details: Blue and White Floral One Shoulder Dress by Mac Duggal / Floral Earrings / Tennis Bracelet/ Neutral Sandals / Acrylic Clutch
This styled outfit is an example of a style dress we love, but we think it might just have too much white as a dominant color for it to be totally in good taste for a wedding guest. It's also an extremely popular style for members of the wedding. We think it's gorgeous for bridesmaids, mothers in the wedding party, or to wear to other events besides a wedding. See better ways to wear floral printed dresses below!
Is it OK to Wear a Floral Print Dress with a White Background as a Wedding Guest?
Most wedding guests know that wearing a white dress to a wedding is a dress code faux pas. But what about wearing a floral dress with a white background on the big day?
This question is particularly pressing this year's summer weddings because it seems nearly every wedding guest dress retailer is offering floral print dresses with a white background and showcasing them as wedding guest dresses.
Meanwhile, on TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram, posts are going viral, and people are publicly shaming guests for wearing white or partially white dresses to a wedding. What a time to be alive!
To answer the question about wearing a printed or floral dress with a white base, as you may have already guessed, the answer is to be very cautious with your dress selection and follow a few guidelines.
The dresses in the collage above are a no-go for guests. Yes, they have little bits of other colors in an all-over pattern, but they read as predominantly white. These might result in a perceived faux pas, be met with side-eye from other guests, and make you the untentional target of a social media critique of your attire. These are styles only for brides-to-be, for vow renewals, or as dresses to wear to other events besides weddings!
Dress details: 1. Lace Strapless 2. Spaghetti Strap Corset Midi 3. White and Gold 4. White Floral Bow Gown
Are White Printed Dresses Still Off Limits for Wedding Guests?
While some wedding traditions are changing, it seems more than ever that etiquette experts and the general public agree that we are all still following the rule that an all-white ensemble and white dresses are off-limits for wedding guest outfits.
This rule of thumb still comes from the idea that the bride will wear white or ivory and the bride and her wedding dress should be center stage. Therefore, white, cream, and ivory dress styles and even white florals might "compete" with the bride's dress.
Why is There Confusion About Wearing White to a Wedding?
While we strongly feel that no one can upstage the bride no matter what they wear, and few people would intentionally try to be rude by wearing a little white dress, thanks to camera phones documenting everything and social media sharing every move, the repercussions of wearing a white gown or dress to a wedding are open to public scrutiny and more far-reaching than ever.
That said, with the advent of so many white separates and white floral prints flooding the wedding guest dress choices with online retailers this season, we can see why many guests feel this is a new gray area for dressing for special occasions.
White Floral Print Dresses to Avoid as a Wedding Guest
Our main rule for picking a good wedding guest dress is that if white is the predominant color, you'll probably want to find a different dress.
A good rule of thumb is if the overall pattern is on a white or cream background and the white background is visible through more than a third of the dress, it will still read as a lot of white. In other words, another color should be dominant and make up about 70 or 80 percent of the dress.
Another good test can be if you'd describe the dress starting with the color white to someone else. For example, you might say, "Should I wear my white dress with blue flowers to that wedding?" which is a sign there's a heavy dose of white in there. If you'd say "my black dress with white flowers" or "my blue floral print dress", then you're probably fine!
Here are a few more examples of dresses we wouldn't wear to a wedding, but we think are lovely for other events, or for brides to wear for their wedding-related events.
These styles are still a little bit of a risk! They have a bit more all-over pattern and much more color than the first batch, but we still see a lot of white peeking through. This is where it starts to get tricky, but we think it's better to err on the safe side and avoid styles like this as a wedding guest too.
Dress details: 1. White Floral Chiffon Dress 2. White Colorful Print Maxi Dress 3. White and Pink Floral Maxi Dress 4. White and Green Midi
Even though we think the not wearing white rule might be getting a little out of hand -- after all, most white printed dresses don't resemble wedding dresses at all, and wearing a white sweater or white nail polish or shoes shouldn't be off limits -- with all the fantastic colors to wear to a wedding, there's really no need to make white attire or white-based prints your go-to look. The last thing you want to worry about at a wedding is your appearance. Instead, save all of these white-based multi-colored prints for date nights, garden parties, derby parties, and other events!
That said, we'll admit there are so few occasions to dress up besides a wedding, so it does seem unfortunate that there aren't as many spots to wear these pretty white floral print dresses! If you love this look and want to wear this style to a wedding, try some of the dresses in the section below that have an all-over print.
White Floral Prints are Trending for the Wedding Party
The other biggest reason we're being extra-cautious and recommending that guests avoid white printed patterns, particularly this season, is that you may accidentally echo the outfit of a member of the wedding party.
The mismatched bridesmaid style is everywhere and bridesmaids and mothers of the wedding are now often wearing blue and white floral dresses, as well as shades of pink and white, yellow and white, and green and white styles. Of course, these dresses are fine for the wedding party to wear since the happy couple themselves has asked that the bridesmaids or the mother of the bride wear floral or white-based prints for their wedding day. And if you do happen to wear one of these styles as a guest, it's really not a big deal. The bigger offense to us is shaming and making fun of someone who might have just thought they were wearing a lovely dress.
Is White Ever OK to Wear to a Wedding?
Now in addition to the wedding party, there are exceptions to the rule of not wearing head-to-toe white, and these should be clear to guests. The first exception is if there is an all-white theme and the couple has requested that guests wear a white outfit or white dress as a part of the wedding theme. In these cases, the couple has given explicit permission to wear white, and white outfits are expected and encouraged!
Floral Print Dresses That Are Perfect to Wear to a Wedding
Now, let's get back to all of those pretty dresses you can wear! If you feel that a romantic floral dress is a part of your style, just select one that simply stays away from too much white and has another strong shade as the main color. There are so many floral dresses with a pretty pastel or light color as the background to a gorgeous print on top, and we wholeheartedly embrace these! Here are some we love.
Dress details: Orange Floral / Blue Floral / Yellow Floral / Navy Floral / Green Floral
If you love the floral print look and are just aching to wear a floral with a bit of white or cream in the palette as an accent, these are examples of styles we feel are totally safe. The spots of white and cream colors are very subtle and there's a much more dominant color and all-over print in all of these dresses!
So always use your best judgment, but if you are already questioning your dress, then it's always best to choose another style since it is one of the most important things to feel comfortable in your wedding guest outfit. This whole site is full of wedding guest dress options for every type of wedding dress code that will keep you out of any attire trouble. We have a section full of floral dresses for wedding guests that we try to keep free of any dresses that might be in a gray area of prints. From black tie and formal weddings, to semi-formal weddings, as well as dresses organized by color, we can help you find the perfect wedding guest dress to wear to your next wedding.
How to Accessorize a Multicolor Floral Dress
Here's another dress that has a barely-there white base peeking through. We think this one is perfectly appropriate and downright gorgeous for a wedding guest! This one has such a concentrated print and is a kaleidoscope of color, that we challenge anyone who would call this a white dress (although it is found that way on the store website!) Once you've found a multi-color dress like this, here's one way to style it!
Dress / Earrings / Bracelet / Clutch / Heels
We hope this has helped clarify how to choose a floral print dress for a wedding! Please follow us on Instagram and LTK for up-to-date wedding guest dress picks and collages! We've also recently tackled questions like Can you wear a beige dress to a wedding? and other attire questions!
