Help with wedding etiquette

I am travelling to France next week for a combined baptism and wedding and wondered is it okay to wear black? (a black dress) I don%26#39;t want to offend anyone but its my only good dress Thanks

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You will need two dresses, one for the wedding and baptism (something other than black). Black should not be worn during the day.

Save your black dress (your second dress) for evening wear only.

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Bron could you ask someone who is going to this wedding what the dress requirements are? What is on the invitation?

I%26#39;ve been to weddings in Australia where a black dress was fine (I even went to one wedding where the Bride wore black!) and I%26#39;ve been to other weddings where a black dress would have raised quite a few eyebrows. Wedding do vary.

However I agree with Sarastro about 2 dresses. Of the 3 weddings I have attended in France over the past 20 years (and 1 wedding in Aust where the bride was French) 2 dresses were required. At the day time ceremony a more casual (but still quite good) day dress was worn and then everybody changed before the more formal reception in the evening.

The first time I was not aware of this custom and felt hugely overdressed in the early afternoon but then in the evening my dress wasn%26#39;t formal enough. A story got round that we had lost our luggage (that was actually some other guests) and everyone kept offering us encouragement that it would show up! LOL! We just smiled and tried not to think too much about it.

I think it really depends on the wedding YOU are going to and the only way to get that answer is to ask someone who knows what is happening at this particular wedding (perhaps a friend or relative if the bride and groom are too busy?)

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unfortunately the only person i know is the groom! i did ask and he said anything is fine but i%26#39;m not so sure

The formal ceremony is at 3.00pm followed by a reception(?) at 6.30pm

Do they actually get changed between the two functions?

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%26lt;%26lt;Do they actually get changed between the two functions?%26gt;%26gt;

Formally yes.

If you are sure of the socioeconomic status of the families and feel comfortable with short cuts, you may of course wear anything you like.

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Unfortunately my suggestion would require buying a new dress, but what about something in a navy blue? You could accessorize it for daytime wear and bring along some more formal accessories for the evening. And then there wouldn%26#39;t be the issue of wearing black to the baptism/wedding.

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Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I have more of an idea now which direction to take, your help has been great

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Is the reception a dinner ,with dancing? Is it in Paris or countryside?

I attended wedding in Paris last year. Some short black dresses were worn to day ceremony. The diner/ dance people had changed (not all) to long dresses or more %26quot;Cocktail %26quot; type dresses-dressier fabrics,flashier jewelry. A few 20ish girls wore same dress to both parts.