The one wedding etiquette rule for guests is to never wear white. Of course, there are some exceptions in different cultures, but in most Western traditional weddings, white and its shades are reserved for the bride. Knowing this, a woman chose a yellow dress as a wedding guest.

But, when the party got in full swing at the end of the evening, the lights went down and black lights came on, the dress appeared white. A person then approached the woman and asked her to leave. Thinking this was ridiculous, she refused and stayed. Still, she wanted to check: was she being inappropriate?

Bored Panda reached out to Nora Sheils, the founder of Bridal Bliss event planning for an expert’s opinion. Read her thoughts on whether wearing a dress that appears white under black lights violates the usual wedding dress code.

A woman wore a yellow dress to her friend’s wedding, thinking it would be a safe color

Image credits: parallel (not the actual photo)

However, when it appeared white under a black light, a member of the wedding party asked her to leave

Image credits: Wesley Tingey / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Consistent_Olive_604

Image credits: Alem Sánchez / Pexles (not the actual photo)

To avoid misunderstandings, dress codes should clearly communicate the dos and the don’ts

Nora Sheils, the founder of Bridal Bliss and expert in all things weddings, says that most guests don’t check their attire under a black light before making the decision about what to wear.

“If a guest’s dress appears unintentionally revealing because of a black light, the guest most likely was unaware of this,” she told Bored Panda. ” Let it go! As a host, part of your role is to make your guests feel comfortable, and if you call them out because of an oversight, you are absolutely not doing that!”

Since the bride and groom planned the black light portion of the reception, they probably knew clothes of other colors would be glowing. If they really had a problem with it, they probably would’ve included dress code guidelines in the wedding invitations.

“Dress codes differ from event to event, from host to host,” wedding expert Nora Sheils tells us. “Some expect formal attire, and some expect the opposite. If this isn’t expressed in the invitation or wedding website, then there is quite a bit of flexibility.”

“Venues and times of day are good guides for what to wear, but without a proper dress code being communicated, guests can essentially wear what they like! That said, basic etiquette says no white/ivory dresses, and I suggest avoiding denim,” Sheils adds.

Image credits: Soulful Pizza / Pexles (not the actual photo)

Yellow materials might glow under a black light because their pigment absorbs UV radiation and emits visible light

While black light parties might not be so popular at weddings, it’s certainly a genre of its own. It can be a nice way to make a party more vibrant and exciting. The most fun part of a black light party is the fact that decorations and clothes glow in the dark.

How does black light even work and why do certain colors glow under it? Black light is UV (ultraviolet) light; it’s a type of radiation that we can’t see. A black light bulb emits UV radiation and causes certain materials to fluoresce.

A black light doesn’t change an item’s color; it’s more likely that what the OP meant was that her dress was glowing under the black light similarly to the bride’s white dress, and that’s why the person approached her and asked her to leave.

Do all colors glow under a UV light? No, it’s only lighter colors such as white, yellow, and green. Others, like blue and purple, can appear even darker under a black light. The fluorescent dyes in these colors absorb the UV radiation and, in return, emit a visible light. Whether they will glow also depends on the material of the clothes as well.

In theory, if any of the guests were wearing green, pink, or purple, they should’ve been looking like glowsticks as well. These colors appear almost neon-like under a black light because their pigments contain a lot of fluorescent compounds that absorb UV light and emit light.

The bride and groom didn’t seem to have any problem with the dress, it was just one family member

“Some people have nothing better to do than look for problems that don’t exist,” people said

“Yellow is still kind of risky to to wear to a wedding,” others countered

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