Wedding Guest Criticized for Wearing Dress Too Close to White; Claims It Was ‘Sage Green’
Every wedding has its own quirks, but some rules don’t need to be spelled out. Chief among them is that the bride gets the white dress. Showing up in anything bridal-looking is basically asking for trouble. And yet, every few months, a new story surfaces of someone who does just that.
The exact scenario played out at a recent summer ceremony. One woman’s outfit turned heads for all the wrong reasons. We’re no color experts, but come on, sage green? By the time the pictures hit the internet, everyone was weighing in.
What She Wore
As if the scenario needed more elements to look bad, the woman in question was the girlfriend of the groom’s brother, so basically sister in law as well, and it made her choice of attire much more noticeable. Her gown looked bridal in every way. It had floor length, off-the-shoulder sleeves, a corset-style top covered with delicate flowers, and a flowing skirt.
Photos shared on Reddit showed her standing among pastel décor and, at first glance, she could have been mistaken for the bride herself. She insisted the dress wasn’t white, but sage green. The problem though was that the shade was so pale, most people couldn’t see any green in it at all.
At least her heels were clearly sage, but compared to them, the gown looked closer to an actual wedding dress than anything in the pastel palette suggested by the couple. To top it off, she was seen holding a veil, which, as explained later, was her daughter’s flower girl accessory.
Reactions at the Wedding and Beyond
Onlookers didn’t hold back once the photos hit social media. The original Reddit thread was packed with comments calling her “attention-seeking” and accusing her of trying to steal the spotlight.
This wasn’t the only near-miss with wedding fashion at that event. The bride had already turned down a request from her mother-in-law, who asked if she could wear a white jumpsuit. The answer had been a firm “no.” Against that context, the guest’s bridal-style gown felt like a deliberate move to push boundaries.
Why White is Still Off-Limits
Image via iStockphoto/ASphotowed
The backlash reignited the larger conversation about why wearing white to someone else’s wedding remains such a universal faux pas. White has symbolized the bride’s role for centuries, and even as weddings have modernized with themed dress codes, bold colors, and unconventional venues, the “no white” rule still holds for female guests.
People often try to defend borderline shades like ivory, cream, beige, or, in this case, sage green. But the reality is that in photos, these colors can wash out and look bridal. Brides today also choose gowns in those very tones, which makes it even riskier for guests to blur the line.
The Internet’s Final Verdict
By the end of the online discussion, the consensus was that the dress was white, the move was inappropriate, and the sister in law had crossed a line. Some suggested asking the photographer to edit the gown to another color so the couple’s photos wouldn’t be overshadowed.