How to word a dress code on your wedding website
Copyable wording for every dress code, where the line belongs on the page, and the four attire phrases to cut.
Word a dress code in two parts: the label, then the translation. "Black tie optional: tuxedos and dark suits, floor-length or midi dresses." The label tells guests how formal the night is, the translation tells them what to buy. Skip the second half and you will answer the same question by text forty times.
Dress codes are the most-read line on a wedding website after the start time, and the most often written badly. The failure is almost never rudeness. It is assuming a two-word phrase means the same thing to a thirty-year-old in Brooklyn and an uncle in a town with one menswear shop.
Say the label, then say it in plain English
These are the wordings we recommend, in full, copyable form.
Black tie. Tuxedos and floor-length gowns. If a tuxedo is not in reach, a dark suit with a black tie is entirely welcome.
Black tie optional. Tuxedos are wonderful, dark suits are equally correct. Floor-length or a formal midi.
Cocktail. Suits and ties, dresses at or below the knee. Think dinner in the city rather than a day at the office.
Garden formal. Suits without the tuxedo, dresses in lighter fabric. The ceremony is on grass, so block heels or flats will treat you better than stilettos.
Notice that every one of them names garments. "Elevated" and "dressy casual" name a feeling, and a feeling cannot be bought on a Tuesday evening.
Put it beside the event, not on its own page
A dedicated attire page is a page guests have to think to visit. The dress code belongs on the schedule, one line under each event, because that is where people are already reading. Our guide to what belongs on a wedding website puts the schedule second for the same reason: proximity beats completeness.
For a weekend with more than one event, write the code per event and keep the formality curve obvious.
Friday, welcome drinks: smart casual, we will be outside on the terrace
Saturday, ceremony & reception: black tie optional
Sunday, farewell brunch: whatever you can manage
Write for weather and ground before style
The complaints that reach couples after a wedding are rarely about formality. They are about cold shoulders at an 8pm outdoor ceremony and heels sinking into a lawn. One practical sentence prevents both.
The ceremony is outdoors on grass and the evening drops to about 12 degrees, so bring a layer and consider a flat or block heel.
This sentence also does quiet accessibility work. Guests who need to plan around mobility, temperature, or a long walk from parking get the information without having to ask for it.
Colors, and how to ask once
Asking guests to avoid white is normal and takes one line. Asking them to dress within a five-color palette is a request, and it should read like one.
We're asking guests to skip white and ivory.
If you feel like joining our palette, we love deep green, navy, and anything warm. Entirely optional, and no one is checking.
"No one is checking" is the part that makes a palette request land. Without it, a meaningful number of guests will buy something new they did not want to buy.
What to cut
- Invented dress codes. "Coastal chic" and "festive formal" generate more questions than they answer.
- Photos of models as the only guidance. Inspiration boards read as a standard to meet rather than a range to sit in.
- Two codes for one event. "Cocktail to black tie" means nothing and guests will split the difference badly.
- Anything about what you will be wearing. It shifts the page from guidance to comparison.
On Simplyweds the attire line sits inside each schedule entry, so it travels with the time and the address rather than living on a page of its own. The demo shows how it reads on a phone, which is the only place it will actually be read.
Common questions
- How do you word a dress code on a wedding website?
- Name the dress code, then translate it in one plain sentence. "Black tie optional: tuxedos and dark suits, floor-length or midi dresses." The label sets expectation, the translation prevents the group text.
- Where should the dress code go on a wedding website?
- On the schedule, next to each event, not on a page of its own. Guests decide what to wear while they are reading when and where, so the answer belongs in the same place as the time.
- What does black tie optional actually mean?
- A tuxedo is welcome, a dark suit and tie is equally correct, and dresses are floor-length or a formal midi. Say all three out loud on the site so nobody has to guess which half of the phrase applies to them.
- How do you word a dress code for an outdoor or beach wedding?
- Lead with the ground, not the label. "Ceremony is on grass, so block heels or flats will serve you better than stilettos" prevents more problems than the words garden party ever will.
- Can you ask guests not to wear a specific color?
- Yes, once, briefly, and without explanation. "We're asking guests to skip white and ivory." A single line reads as guidance. A paragraph reads as a rule, and rules get argued with.