How to be the best dressed guest at every wedding

Whether you're squelching through the Cotswolds, at a smart Mayfair ceremony or a chic foreign affair, here's how to nail the look

- BY JOE BROMLEY

Brides-to-be countrywide are altering their gowns, selecting the miniature white slip to change into for the disco, and hunting for a reliable Ozempic dealer to obliterate any cravings in the build-up: oh yes, wedding season 2025 is coming, darlings, and no one is messing about.

So, how to nail it as a guest? Mastering this so you don’t wake up on the day reciting Hugh Grant's opening monologue from Four Weddings and a Funeral is about preparation and consideration. Recalling obvious ground rules is essential: no whites, nor pale enough yellows, lilacs or greens that could ever been deemed to veer into bridal. People will whisper about you in the corner of the marquee all day if you do. At the opposite end of the spectrum, any block-shade frocks so violently highlighter-neon that they are destined to burn through all the wedding day shots are passé.

Looking smart, chic and appropriate is the foundation (more on the top looks and where to get them this summer shortly), then there is a trick that will ensure you are the best dressed guest at every wedding, and is something I learnt on the front lines catering for posh weddings most warm weekends throughout sixth form: always wear a conversation starter.

Not for you, but for the person who is desperate to give Uncle Pete the cold shoulder, the management consultant dying to move on from a career conversation or the recent divorcee who has spent all day fielding enquiries about his ex’s whereabouts. “What a fun bag!” they can squawk, and be silently thanking you for it.