Attire Wording on the Invitation Insert

You can't really tell people to dress down especially if the timing and location dictates a more formal affair. The only wording you should be putting on your invite is "Black Tie" if applicable, which is not the case here. What do your invites look like? If you are dead-set on doing something, I would put "semi-formal attire" on your website only. Also, it's not fair for guys to be wearing khakis/shorts and a polo and expect women to wear nice dresses. Those two don't match up, and the men's attire certainly isn't dressed up enough to be cocktail attire.

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Completely agree! You can't tell guests how to dress unless it is by stating "Black Tie" which pertains to a certain level of hosting (which you do not meet). Also, agree with An that you are requesting two very different levels of attire for the men and women. Based on what you are asking of the men it should be appropriate for women to arrive in capris and a nice blouse or dressy slacks and a top, etc.

Your invites should give an impression on how formal (or informal) your event will be. Your location will also be a good indicator.

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I've been getting a lot of questions because of the time. I don't want people to feel the need to be dressy. We don't have a website and I'm not dictating what people should wear. I'm just asking for the wording to put on the insert that I am putting in the invitation with information. My invitations are very informal and "beachy". We called it Boater's dressy out on the water but most people don't know what that is.

View Quoted Comment The look and feel of your invites will help with this but people would still be asking you about attire even if you say "beachy" or "boater's dressy" because that will literally mean something different to everyone, just like "semi-formal" or "cocktail" does. I would just tell them what FH is wearing and say sundress or dressy slacks/skirt for women when asked. No one is going to show up in a ballgown unless it says black tie so I wouldn't worry about someone looking out of place. Regardless, it is not proper to put attire in an insert. (Black Tie is usually printed directly on the invite, I believe.) Don't overthink it.

"Cocktail" or "Dressy Casual" are perfectly acceptable attire descriptions. I would say it is particularly necessary to call it out on the invites, due to the time of the reception.

I found this to follow. I know most day you can't state for how people should dress but I think it depends on how you do it.

https://www.invitationsbydawn.com/content/wedding-dress-code-101/

Hopefully this helps. It's not against wedding etiquette as some might think. 🙂

I didn’t put anything for attire on ours. We’re going pretty low key, but our invitations kind of put off that casual vibe so I’m sure that will suffice.

I like it when attire is mentioned somewhere. I hate wondering "Is this too formal" and "Will I look ridiculous in this if others dress down". Its actually stressful!

I would go "Attire: SemiFormal"

View Quoted Comment Agree 100%! It's stress relieving when attire is mentioned that way I don't have to guess. I can't imagine a guest seeing "Attire:semi-formal" and being upset like "OMG but I wanted to wear a ballgown!!" Lol. I personally love it when attire is mentioned on either the invite or wedding website.

Sounds like business casual. You can write down "semi-formal attire requested." Ultimately you can't tell people how to dress but you can give that bit of guidance and it's up to them what they do with it. Most people will read that and know how to dress appropriately. Even over dressing is acceptable.