What should I wear to a wedding in Italy?

Question

Advice please! I've never been to Italy but have been invited to a friends wedding in Treviso. What style of dress should I wear? Colour? Fabric? Length? Shoes? Bag?

Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Hi coco! I'm Italian....

Well... I went to a wedding last month... I was wearing a dark satin dress, knee-lenght, with black polished sandals, and a a black little bag with paillettes. You got to be chic and elegant, but without exagerating with laces and sequins!!! Not a ankle-lenght dress, and not of course a white dress!! For your hair I recommend you a chignon, that's really chic!!

Kisses!

Answer 2

You already have had a great deal of advice but I will sum up as there is some confusion and conflicting advice in previous answers.

Italian occasions such as weddings are very chic and everyone wears extremely smart clothes.

Colours: White or pale cream is reserved for the bride. Black is a colour of mourning after a bereavement in Italy, unless it is evening wear for a  particular occasion such as a grand dinner, so is unsuitable. Avoid a colour too much in your face such as plain scarlet or gold that will detract attention from the bride. If you choose a mixture of colours, avoid very strong prints that will make you look like wallpaper.

Style: Anything that shows bare shoulders or a lot of cleavage such as the tiny straps prom dresses that are in fashion in UK at the moment is unsuitable unless you have a jacket or bolero to wear over it in church and during lunch.

Length: below the knee or mid-calf. Those dresses with points at the bottom of the skirt are fashionable at the moment.

Fabric: If the wedding is in the summer, it will be hot, even though the religious ceremony is in the morning. Usually the favoured time is at 11am and whilst it may be cool in a large church, it also may be crammed with people as often half of the town turns up for the service.  Italians love weddings and  they show up in church even if they only have a distant acquaintance with the bride or the groom. It will be sweltering when you come out, so a light material like printed chiffon over an under dress is good. Man made fibre materials are often uncomfortable in hot conditions and cling to you undesirably.

Celebrations generally stretch for hours; usually there is a long meal and dancing late into the evening, so make sure you are at ease in what you wear.

Shoes: smart, heeled,  but must be comfortable as you will be on your feet for a long time. Stilettos may look elegant but are uncomfortable for long stretches and if there is dancing later in the day.

Bag: clutch bag with only necessities inside that will not cramp your style or small bag that you hang from a shoulder. Nothing big or heavy.

If the dress you have chosen has a mixture of colours, choose your accesories and jewelry to match the dominant one.

Enjoy: Italian weddings are wonderful occasions, and as a foreign lady you will be fêted by all the men.

Answer 3

a nice little wedding outfit

Answer 4

Spaghetti strap dress!

Answer 5

try to wear a pink or yellow dress with a fat strap and long enough to cover your knees with a tiny yellow or pink bag and some nice white heels. hope i could help.

try to answer my question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 6

chic, elegant, because the people in Italy dress very well, at least all the ones i came across did. Suggest a lovely dress, not gaudy, plain and simple but classy, match the shoes and bag where you can, but maybe have a dash of colour in both. Fabric try silk, if can't afford that try something similar.  

Answer 7

Search Italian summer wedding fashions @ http://www.YouTube.com

Google/yahoo too, as 'a picture is worth 1000 words'

Funny enough, I'm very much enjoying reading a kinda quasi-historical novel by an articulate Italian, set in the Sicilian port of Napoli (Naples)

& its frequent graphic word pictures of Italian temperament & attitudes would strongly suggest the typical Mediterranean merriment

Bright, cheery, colourful expressions of celebration are the creative order of the day

& joyful flamboyance stands out as the overall flavour to capture, yes?

So search 'cinema Mediterranean summer weddings'

Did ya see Walter Matthau wed Sophia Loren in Grumpier Old Men on Film4 TV a few days ago?

Latina weddings - like J-Lo in Shall We Dance?

Beyonce in The Fighting Temptations

My Big Fat Greek Wedding & West Side Story gotta be da classics

Enjoy matching what suits ya skin, hair & eyes

Enhance with fake tan, wig & coloured contact lenses if ya like

Have fun, girl: don't sweat it, OK?

OH: I'd just hit 'answer' without seeing ya have several Italian women with real flair for detail here - I must be half asleep, as I thought I was first reply - LOL

Ciao bella: buonissimo!

Answer 8

First time to Italy, and you're going for a wedding?! You are going to have such a good time over there. It's beautiful there to start, and then to have a wedding there..I'm jealous. Dress style, doesn't really matter I think. Just go for something classy, elegant, but not overwhelming. Length, I would try for mid-calf. Or even go for a skirt. That could work too. Fabric doesn't really matter I don't think. Color, anything really. Just not a bright color, and stay away from the busy patterns. Shoes, cute little high heels. Something simple, like black (That way you can wear them again), or white to go with your dress, maybe. And finally, the bag. Try to match it to the rest of your outfit. I think a little clutch purse would work perfectly in this kind of situation. That way you have something to hold all that you need, but yet it's the perfect size, and it won't get in your way. And you will know where it is at all times.

I know this probably wasn't much help, but it's all I got. I hope you have an amazing time though. I think you will love it over there. Most people do.

Answer 9

Follow the italian style of dressing.  

Answer 10

In Italian churches you are not allowed to go inside with bare arms.. You should wear a cocktail dress a nice one but wear something around your shoulders a shoulder scarf or a short jacket to cover up inside the church.. about as long as this one here.. a nice colour and fabric which doesn't crease easily, a nice hairdo updo or open... or half up half down.. and nice earrings and a necklace and matching shoes for the dress. You need a little vest like this one with the gold dress to cover your shoulders if you wear sphagetti sleeves in church..

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10...

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/100635209/S...

http://www.bridalwave.tv/Guest%20US.JPG

http://www.bridalwave.tv/Guest%20fash2.J...

http://www.reet-petite.co.uk/photos/pjbv...

http://www.realwomenlondon.com/issue_ima...

http://www.therosedress.com/dresses/dres...

I have visited Venice in Italy and Verona and Padua.. very nice places.. A very nice country. I know that it is not allowed even for tourists to enter a church with bare arms.. you can wear half sleeves.. that is acceptable but if you happen to wear a dress with a low cut back or spaghetti sleeves you either need to find a little jacket like in one of the photos above with the golden dress or a shoulder scarf that matches your dress to cover your bare shoulders if you have short sleeves that is accepted.. but not spaghetti sleeves .. it says so on every sign on the churches .. so i know...x*x

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k148/k...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2004/ma...

Answer 11

ciao!

it does depend if the wedding is during the morning or the afternoon and if it is in the church or in the town hall.

We usually are always dressy,any colour is ok but NEVER WHITE!!!!

The different between morning and afternoon is that if the wedding is in the afternoon you should dress more elegant.

Length of the skirt is the same, of course you cannot go with a mini skirt!!!

If the wedding is in a church you should cover your shoulder during the function so you can wear a top but you must have a scarf on your shoulders or something you like.

For fabric and colour just wear what you like...the concept is the bride is the most beautiful that day and you cannot wear something can make her  in a dark  corner :))

no jeans or casual in both occasions. No flip flop.

Answer 12

NUDE!!!!!!!!!!!

People will definitely notice you.

You will probably get laid, also.

Answer 13

You had almost all the advice you need by fellow Italians. I just resume some "absolutely don't"

Colour; as said white is for the bride only such as ivory (too close to white). Black is mainly for funerals (and, in fashion conscious Italy, never for morning); Purple/ violet can be considered unlucky if the family of the bride has people coming from the South or there is any theater actor around.

Colour and fabric: pay attention that wedding party implies a huge huge lunch, with a lot of toasts and many different kinds of foods including many, multicoloured sauces: if you fear you might spot that special silk/ bright coloured dress, don't wear it.

Length: not too short and, if your shoulders are out and you are going in a village (where old people in the church can be more conservative) just take a scarf. If it is a "civil wedding" (in the Town hall) , there is no problem, even if etiquette wants you don't steal the stage to the bride (and the best maid).

Type: it depends from your friends. If the wedding is formal, avoid jeans and T-shirt. All the other decent matches are allowed

Shoes: a nice pair of shoes is ok. Meanwhile  consider that the "after wedding" and wedding party can be long, require long walks, dancing and so on. At the end of the day you may be very tired.

Answer 14

I like Italian dressing, but I'm not qualified to give you any good advice.