The dress code for a wedding might vary with each celebration; however, if there’s one rule that’s pretty standard, it’s not wearing white. Unless you’re the bride herself.

Redditor u/Rissie06 recently told the r/TwoHotTakes community about her mother-in-law wanting to wear white to her wedding. Not only that, one of the MIL’s options was an actual wedding dress. The bride-to-be at the time tried everything from hinting to straight-up asking her not to wear white, but when that didn’t help, she came up with a creative way to stop her.

Bored Panda has reached out to the OP and she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You will find her thoughts in the text below.

In weddings nowadays, white is typically only worn by the bride

Image credits: westend61 (not the actual photo)

This bride asked her guests not to wear white and everyone seemed to have gotten the message, except for her MIL

Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Rosemary Lausier (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Rissie06

The bride wearing a white dress is a long-lasting—and an outdated, according to some—tradition

Nowadays, it’s common practice for brides to wear white even though that wasn’t always the case. According to the Washington Post, the trend is likely to have been started by Queen Victoria, who married Prince Albert in a white lace and silk-satin dress (which she arguably designed herself) back in 1840. At that time, Victoria’s decision came as a shock, as white was considered the color of mourning. In addition to that, she chose not to wear a crown, jewels, or velvet robes, all of which were customary to royal standards.

Less than a decade later, one of the most popular women’s magazines at the time, Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book (also known as Godey’s Lady’s Book), announced white to be the perfect choice for a bride. On the topic of bridal wear, the magazine read in part: “Custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the innocence and purity of girlhood, and the unsullied heart which she now yields to the keeping of the chosen one.”

According to Godey’s Lady’s Book, white should also be the color of the bouquet and the wreath, which should be placed atop the bride’s head to confine the veil. The latter should be “very long and full”, the women’s magazine emphasized in 1849. Moreover, it stated that “white silk stockings and satin slippers should always be the accompaniment of a bridal dress” and “colored ornaments should, of course, be laid aside.”

Image credits: Thomas Christian (not the actual photo)

It’s not only white that should be avoided at a wedding

Even though most of the recommendations from the 19th century have understandably been long forgotten or altered at least, white is still a prominent color when it comes to bridal clothing. However, more and more people seemingly see it as an outdated custom.

Brides Magazine pointed out that back in 2018, the vast majority of brides—83% of them—opted for a white dress; however, the number decreased compared to a year before, when 92% of them did the same. (Moreover, Brides revealed that jumpsuits or separate-piece outfits seemingly gained popularity over the typical dress.) According to SWNS Digital 2022 data, one-in-five people consider the bride wearing a white dress an outdated tradition.

Be that as it may, the brides who choose a white outfit for their big day typically expect their guests not to. Even though this wasn’t the case during Queen Victoria’s wedding—all 12 of her bridesmaids wore white, according to the Washington Post—nowadays, wearing white to a wedding is considered a faux pas.

And it’s not only white itself that might be frowned upon, but anything that resembles it; you might also want to stay away from anything ivory or eggshell, for instance. WeddingWire emphasized that these colors are something that should never be worn to a wedding—unless you’re the blushing bride yourself—but there are also those which you should think long and hard about. For example, very light pastels, champagne or gold-colored clothing, as well as anything neon.

Image credits: Martymcflys (not the actual photo)

The OP revealed that the jacket was in the venue during the wedding in case they needed it

At the OP’s wedding, the bride herself was the person bringing neon into the mix. However, no one ended up using the bright yellow construction worker-like “jacket of shame”, which means her plan to stop the mother-in-law from wearing white seems to have worked.

“She is a very pushy person and loves to get things her way,” the redditor told Bored Panda referring to her mother-in-law. “I decided to stand my ground so that she can see I won’t be a pushover and allow that sort of behavior from her moving into our marriage.”

The OP also shared that while the jacket wasn’t on display during the wedding, it was in the venue and ready for use if need be, and added that other guests found the jacket idea to be quite funny.

What was less funny, though, was choosing the wedding dress. “Oh boy, there was also drama with the dress,” the OP recalled. “Both moms had other ideas for what I should wear and, once again, I put my foot down and got the dress I wanted.”

The online community shared their thoughts in the comments

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