Yesterday some of Team Mamamia had the honour of seeing our Editor-In-Chief Jamila Rizvi marry the love of her life, Jeremy Smith. It was a completely and utterly beautiful day, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Jam and Jez (or #Jezam) exchanged their funny, sweet, heartfelt vows – the fact that Clare Bowditch was serenading us with her song ‘You Make Me Happy’ at the time, was extremely unproductive when trying to stifle tears.
Jamila and Jeremy say, ‘I do’. Styling and flowers by The Style Co.
But the day wasn’t without controversy…and I hope you’re sitting down for this one. Two guests, two completely inconsiderate, sartorially-clueless, morose guests (myself included), wore BLACK dresses to Jam’s wedding. Dom, dom, dooooom.
The Mamamia Team at Jamila’s wedding.Yes, Mia Freedman and I committed what some are calling an unforgivable wedding crime: wearing a noir dress, which apparently would be more at home at a funeral. The sentiment from some commenters on the Mamamia Facebook page and Instagram account was, black = sad, people who wear it to weddings = jerks. (Amy Stockwell, second to the left, was also wearing a dark colour, but not black, so she was off the hook.)
Here are some of the more scathing comments:
And this:
Hey, at least that second one ended on a happier note. #silverlining
I was surprised by this reaction because I get that wearing a white, lace gown might be, er, inconsiderate, but I didn’t know black was such a big deal.
I know it isn’t considered a go-to hue for a wedding, but aren’t traditional wedding-related style rules pretty outdated these days? I associate ‘Don’t wear black’ with, ‘You must wear a hat to wedding ceremonies’ (alas, royals we are not), or ‘The bride is required to wear the a traditional, floor-length poufy white dress’ (see: Olivia Palermo and her sweet bridal cardie or total goddess Amal Clooney and her fabulous wedding pants).
In a book called Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, the author agrees that Mia and I broke An Important Wedding Rule by wearing black, but she also says that brides shouldn’t show their shoulders… so, taking that with a grain of salt.
Google is spilt down the middle. Search: ‘Can I wear black to a wedding’ and you’ll see an even split of articles called, ‘Why you should never wear black to a wedding, you arsehole’ and ‘Of course you can wear black to a wedding, it’s 2014’. Thanks, Google.
After seeing the comments above I worried that I’d really effed up, the last thing I wanted was to sully Jam’s beautiful wedding pics with my funeral grab. Luckily I have four close friends who are getting married in 2015: “Tell me the truth friends, would you be annoyed if someone wore black to your wedding?” I texted.
Top Comments
At my wedding a guest arrived late and walked down the aisle in a long white frilly dress with a white fur jacket. I had to wait for her before I could walk down the aisle. Her husband wore white and put photos on Facebook during the wedding. Can it get any worse?
Getting married soon and I wouldnt dream of telling people what they can or can't wear. Having said that, as a guest I definitely avoid all black and all white. There are just so many other colours and why not make it festive