Wedding guest sparks debate with ‘terrible choice’ of dress

A wedding guest has sparked a debate over her outfit choice, with people claiming that her dress is too close to white.

In a recent video shared to TikTok, Lauren, @laurencandy3, posed in the outfit that she bought from ASOS. She wore a seemingly light green dress with flower embroidery, ruffles on the bottom and short sleeves.

The TikTok user completed her look with a pair of white shoes and a white purse. She also had her blonde hair up, as she posed in her gold necklaces and bracelets.

In the text over the video, Lauren wrote: “Quite possibly the most beautiful wedding guest dress ever.”

As of 21 March, the video has more than 2.8 million views, with some TikTok users claiming that her dress was not fit for someone’s wedding and that in certain lighting, it looks more white than green.

“Terrible choice for a wedding. Lovely dress tho,” one wrote, while another added: “I *know* it’s sage green, but it’s basically white.”

A third wrote: “This is super pretty…[but] it feels like it could be too close to white, especially in photos.”

However, other people disagreed with the criticism and said that her dress actually did look green.

“What are y’all talking about…It’s green and patterned,” one wrote.

“That dress is 1000000 per cent green.. It’s like the white and pink or blue and gold thing again,” another added.

A third said: “Why do people get so angry when someone wears a light coloured wedding guest dress.”

In the comments of her video, Lauren also defended her look, explaining that while the dress “sage green,” it could “look lighter than it is” because of the lights in her room.

She later shared a follow-up video to address the criticism, where she placed a white tank top over her dress, to show that the clothing items are different colours. “Y’all making me doubt my eyesight now so let’s prove it’s green,” she wrote in the text over the video.

Lauren proceeded to explain her stance on the look and wedding attire, in general, in the text over the video, writing: “Personally I would want my guest to feel beautiful too and wear what they like…Just don’t wear white, which this dress is not.”

The Independent has contacted Lauren for comment.

As noted by experts over the years, it has become common knowledge that guests should not wear white to a wedding. Speaking to The Knot, wedding dress designer Madeline Gardner explained the reasoning behind this rule and pointed out some other colours that guests should avoid.

“When you’re a guest at a wedding, the most important thing to keep in mind is not to upstage or upset the bride,” she said. “It’s safe to stay away from any outfits that are predominantly white, cream or ivory.”

Along with white dresses, Julie Sabatino, a wedding fashion stylist at The Stylish Bride, previously told Martha Stewart that guests should “never wear something with a lot of exposed skin,” as it will attract attention away from the bride.

The decision to wear a dress that looks white to a wedding has been an ongoing debate over the years. In July 2022, Dua Lipa sparked mixed responses over her lace wedding guest look, with many claiming it is too close to white, so it shouldn’t have been worn to the nuptials.