Semi-formal or formal??

slgirl21

Hi ladies!
Ok so the lady who is designing our invites sent us three to review. On the invites she put on there semi-formal attire. What does semi-formal mean nowadays? In my eyes it means suit and tie and cocktail dresses and formal means tuxedos and long dresses, is this still the case? Because I thought "and guest " meant you bring a date not your cousin Betty whose been twice removed and I don't want guest to come in jeans and flip flops or dressing like Julia Roberts in pretty woman.
Thanks.

ftpantherz1983

I think suit and tie and cocktail is appropriate for semi formal, but some may take that the wrong way or don't know the definition. Have parents or someone close to the family explain to guests that have questions about it add to what our means.

A far as the +1.... they should be able to invite who ever they want as their plus one. You can't dictate that. You would want them to feel comfortable nit pressured to bring a date.

Hope it helps

slgirl21

Yes I'm over the whole plus one I get that is the thing now to bring whoever they so chose . As far as my friends and family and his family I think they know how to dress, I'm just worried about this young "party crowd " may not understand want semi formal means.

ftpantherz1983

I sent my invites recently and after doing research.....I realized all the awkward and uncomfortable things you want comes out more acceptable when in rhymes. In other words, instead of saying semi formal. Make a cute rhyme saying exactly what is an acceptable attire for you.

DJohnson2014

Great idea! I plan to use that idea. I want a formal look for my wedding.

d2va

You shouldnt put anything about what people should wear to your wedding, UNLESS it is full on Black Tie or White Tie.

A Black Tie affair will have all of the following plus more

Formal invitations and venue

Valet parking

Top shelf open bar all night

Live entertainment

Tableside white glove service

Multicourse meal (at least 4, maybe 5 courses?)

Evening Wedding

If you want to have people to be more formal make sure that your venue name, and invitations look fancy and people will get the point.

If you're having your wedding at Vizcaya, the W or the Mandarin ( for example) People will know that they have to dress up.

Lauderdale Pink

@d2va, you are giving people way too much credit!!! My daughter's invitations could not have been more formal, the venue is well known and very formal, and we even put "black tie" on the invitations.  Now, we did not expect every guest to go out and rent a tux, but we did hope for at least suit and tie.  No such luck.  We actually had one young male guest in slouchy khaki pants buckled over at the ankles!  I would say that the majority of guests were very well dressed (not necessarily black tie, but appropriate) but the others would take a book.

dolewhipper

Lauderdale Pink , on the contrary, it's not proper etiquette to place what kind of attire should be worn on the actual invite unless its a true Black tie. OP, guests should be able to figure out the formality of your wedding based on the time of your ceremony and location. For example, my sister's 3pm ceremony in the back of our aunt's house was more casual than my 6pm ceremony in a historic chapel with reception in a Hilton hotel ballroom. If you care that much, have an insert of your wedding website and place something in the FAQ.

d2va

Lauderdale Pink said:

@d2va, you are giving people way too much credit!!! My daughter's invitations could not have been more formal, the venue is well known and very formal, and we even put "black tie" on the invitations.  Now, we did not expect every guest to go out and rent a tux, but we did hope for at least suit and tie.  No such luck.  We actually had one young male guest in slouchy khaki pants buckled over at the ankles!  I would say that the majority of guests were very well dressed (not necessarily black tie, but appropriate) but the others would take a book.

Unfortunately, we can only help guide our guests but like I said, and what @shannonmaya said is true.

Some people dont know what a true black tie, formal wedding / event is. You will always have a few who dress more casually than others.

Some people cannot afford a suit, or maybe they are just assholes, but theres nothing you can do about it, UNLESS theres a strict dress code made by the venue, which you still would not put on the invite, but on the website.