All White Attire welcome Party!!

Telling your guests what to wear generally ends badly. If your guests are already traveling to Mexico for your ceremony, should they really have to buy a dress (or worse yet, a suit) that they may never wear again?

You can request a certain attire for any event but unless you are buying their outfits, you cannot require it and they can still come in whatever they want to wear. I would just add it to your website or where ever you are supplying your guests with the info and say that you will be hosting an All White Welcome Party x date and x time but also understand that some may come in different colors.

Cute! I think as long as guests know in advance that's totally fine. My weird husband loves any opportunity to wear his white linen pants so he would actually love that hahaha! I think hosting drinks & appetizers would be awesome!

I do think it's a know your crowd kind of a thing. If your crowd is the type that typically goes to all white parties/has that attire, I think it's a cute idea. For me, I don't have anything all white (I'm super pale and don't look good in all white), so I probably would go to your wedding, but not attend your welcome party if I had to wear a specific color. I think you could do a more general theme like fun and festive or beach themed and they can wear any color. I do think it is a lot to ask people to travel for a wedding and buy a new outfit (possibly 2 if they didn't already have something appropriate for the actual wedding). It is a cute idea, not trying to be negative, but destination weddings can be a lot for people and have to follow specific attire requirements for events can make it more challenging for people. Good luck!

I love a good theme but I hate all white bc so few things are. Like I have a cute white dress...with pink flowers on it. But definitely nothing all white. Would have to buy something extra— so definitely do consider convenience for guests, especially as they’re traveling

I disagree, I think it’s okay to have an all white party if you wanted to, but like a PP said, just make sure you’re okay if they show up in another color. I’ve been to Indian weddings with 4 events and they all ask for dress changes, and I’ve heard of other weddings/parties that have a similar theme. They should be able to rewear something they have for the actual ceremony if they are concerned about buying two outfits

My best friend did this! She had a destination wedding in the DR & one of her parties was a white party. 80 of us all in white it was so much fun, if anyone is offended that you are asking them to wear white in IMO only is ridiculous!

View Quoted Comment I agree!! I feel like everyone owns something white! Do you happen to remember how she
Worded their attire request For the party?
Like guests can wear khakis and a white shirt for all I care, just something white!

I'd say its OK to theme it as an all-white party (but I'd put a note in there saying that lights colors are also OK) Just expect that some people will not wear white and be OK with it. I wonder what your terrace looks like. I think white with twinkle lights would be gorgeous. Most hotels will provide some decor. Find that out and then put one or two of your colors in there to tie it into your wedding. For example, if your wedding colors are blue, then add some blue balloons or blue flowers in vases, or blue ribbons on chairs or something around the terrace.

(My "night before the wedding party" is Hawaiian theme. NOT MY CHOICE! I want it beautiful, not tacky)

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I remember she put "white attire requested" - there was not one person there in any color. Such good pics and BTW she went with the Marilyn Monroe style dress that night and she looked stunning!

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I own nothing white. I look terrible in white. I also don't own any khakis.

It's not appropriate to dictate how your guests dress.

I have seen this so many times online with destination brides, I think it is so cute! go for it

View Quoted Comment So you’ve never attended a theme party?
It’s not dictating, it’s just a request.

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It is a theme party, she is not dictating anything, she is requesting.

I think there are good points here, but to me, if you are planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico chances are the people who are coming are not hurting for money to the point where buying a new outfit is going to be financially stressful for them. Those who choose to attend your wedding are going to really want to go and expect it to cost them money. An all white party on the beach sounds beautiful and I bet a lot of your guests would love to be a part of it. So I think having an all white welcome party would be great, as long as the attire is casual enough! I would caution against anything too formal, because there are very few occasions where guests would be able to rewear all white formal attire and generally formal clothes are more expensive, but linen pants, white polos, and maxi dresses are all versatile and inexpensive enough that it shouldn't put any of your guests out. Personally, I'd love the opportunity to wear a white dress outside of just my wedding and wedding related things.

I do think you should put a note about the all white party on your wedding website and make sure people know it is a part of what is expected of them early on. If you wait until after people RSVP and then add a requirement on, it's not really fair and could put some people in a difficult spot if they really are scrounging their last dollar to attend. As long as people have ample time to prepare and can make a decision on whether or not to attend with all of the information. If the all white party outfit is a dealbreaker for them, so be it.

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If you're just requesting then you don't get to be upset if anyone doesn't go along with it.

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If it's a possible dealbreaker for a guest, then it's not actually optional for the guests and is in fact dictated attire.

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Anyone who is going to choose not to go to a wedding because they don't want to fit in with the theme was probably on the fence of not going anyway. Having a semi-casual all-white welcome dinner is not an unrealistic demand and would not likely put out any guests who are willing to splurge on a trip to Cancun. If the bride and groom want to do it they should feel free to. Any choice a couple makes about their wedding, from date to location to venue to attire to theme to what is served to who else is invited has the possibility of eliminating some guests. This is not the same as requiring all of your blue-collar, working class friends to go all out for a white-tie affair. Guests who can already afford a passport, plane tickets, and hotel to go to a destination wedding are probably not going to bat an eye at having to buy a white maxi dress or button down shirt to go with the theme of the welcome dinner.

View Quoted Comment Who said I was going to be upset?