For Some, Getting Married Needs to Be an Experience Unlike any Other
2023-07-23
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1More couples are asking guests to wear nontraditional clothing to their marriage ceremonies.
2The result appears to be that many guests are not sure what to think about it and are confused by the unusual requests.
3Maggie Long is 34 years old and lives in New York.
4Not too long ago, she attended the wedding of a close friend at a restaurant in Denver, Colorado.
5The couple described the suggested clothing for the event as, "dive bar semiformal."
6A dive bar is a low cost drinking place where people are not known for good behavior.
7"I love a theme," said Long. "It's fun that people aren't taking weddings so seriously, but I had no idea what that meant."
8At the dive bar wedding, Long said many older guests got into the idea.
9One guest wore a rainbow tie-dye shirt, a colorful informal shirt made popular in the 1960s.
10Other wedding guests have been invited to weddings that were described as, "tropical formal," "snappy casual" and "garden party whimsical."
11Emily Coyne is the founder of Emily Coyne Events, a wedding design company based in San Francisco, California.
12She said many couples are trying to make their weddings different from everyone else's wedding.
13"The key is making sure there's communication behind the dress code. Don't just confuse guests," she said.
14When her company designs wedding websites for couples, it includes descriptions for the dress code.
15The dress code is a description of the kinds of clothes considered right for the event.
16"Tropical formal," for example, might include long dresses in bright colors and suits with unusual ties.
17"Most guests have a lot of fun with it," Coyne said.
18Rikki Gotthelf attended her friend's "space disco cowboy" wedding.
19The hosts sent their guests to an abandoned town near Austin, Texas.
20For guidance, Gotthelf looked to Sophie Strauss, who calls herself a "stylist for regular people."
21Strauss suggests asking the couple directly if they had not made themselves clear.
22She tells guests dealing with strange dress codes to remember: "It's not a costume. Unless, of course, it's literally a costume party."
23Often, there is some form of personal meaning behind the unusual wedding themes.
24Thirty-two-year-old Madison Smith is getting married in May 2024. Her dress code calls for "black tie sunset glam."
25"It's in honor of my late grandfather," she said.
26"His favorite thing was the sunsets where I'm getting married."
27The wedding will be taking place on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
28She hopes for sunset-colored dresses that are orange, yellow, purple, blue or pink.
29She also wants suits with elements that are of similar, sunset colors.
30Jove Meyer is the owner of an event planning company in Brooklyn.
31He has dealt with dress codes that included "colorful cocktail," and "red carpet ready."
32"I always suggest couples clarify exactly what they mean," he said.
33Brittny Drye is the lead editor of the wedding magazine Love Inc.
34She said guests should not be unwilling to ask the couple about an unusual dress code.
35When couples are asking their guests to wear nontraditional clothes, "they're signing themselves up to be asked questions," Drye said.
36I'm Dan Novak.
1More couples are asking guests to wear nontraditional clothing to their marriage ceremonies. 2The result appears to be that many guests are not sure what to think about it and are confused by the unusual requests. 3Maggie Long is 34 years old and lives in New York. Not too long ago, she attended the wedding of a close friend at a restaurant in Denver, Colorado. The couple described the suggested clothing for the event as, "dive bar semiformal." A dive bar is a low cost drinking place where people are not known for good behavior. 4"I love a theme," said Long. "It's fun that people aren't taking weddings so seriously, but I had no idea what that meant." 5At the dive bar wedding, Long said many older guests got into the idea. One guest wore a rainbow tie-dye shirt, a colorful informal shirt made popular in the 1960s. 6Other wedding guests have been invited to weddings that were described as, "tropical formal," "snappy casual" and "garden party whimsical." 7Emily Coyne is the founder of Emily Coyne Events, a wedding design company based in San Francisco, California. She said many couples are trying to make their weddings different from everyone else's wedding. 8"The key is making sure there's communication behind the dress code. Don't just confuse guests," she said. 9When her company designs wedding websites for couples, it includes descriptions for the dress code. The dress code is a description of the kinds of clothes considered right for the event. "Tropical formal," for example, might include long dresses in bright colors and suits with unusual ties. 10"Most guests have a lot of fun with it," Coyne said. 11Rikki Gotthelf attended her friend's "space disco cowboy" wedding. The hosts sent their guests to an abandoned town near Austin, Texas. 12For guidance, Gotthelf looked to Sophie Strauss, who calls herself a "stylist for regular people." Strauss suggests asking the couple directly if they had not made themselves clear. 13She tells guests dealing with strange dress codes to remember: "It's not a costume. Unless, of course, it's literally a costume party." 14Often, there is some form of personal meaning behind the unusual wedding themes. Thirty-two-year-old Madison Smith is getting married in May 2024. Her dress code calls for "black tie sunset glam." 15"It's in honor of my late grandfather," she said. "His favorite thing was the sunsets where I'm getting married." The wedding will be taking place on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. 16She hopes for sunset-colored dresses that are orange, yellow, purple, blue or pink. She also wants suits with elements that are of similar, sunset colors. 17Jove Meyer is the owner of an event planning company in Brooklyn. He has dealt with dress codes that included "colorful cocktail," and "red carpet ready." 18"I always suggest couples clarify exactly what they mean," he said. 19Brittny Drye is the lead editor of the wedding magazine Love Inc. She said guests should not be unwilling to ask the couple about an unusual dress code. 20When couples are asking their guests to wear nontraditional clothes, "they're signing themselves up to be asked questions," Drye said. 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from Associated Press. 23_____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25couple -n. two people in a relationship; two of anything 26theme - n. the main subject of something 27snappy - adj. fashionable, popular or stylish 28whimsical - adj. unusual in a playful or funny way; not serious 29dress code - n. the kinds of clothing expected to be worn to an event, such as formal or casual 30disco - n. a dance place 31abandoned -adj. left by the people who used to live there 32stylist - n. a person whose job it is to make other people look nice 33costume - n. clothing worn by people, such as actors, who are trying to look like people living in different places or times 34clarify - v. to explain; to make clear