Olivia Wilde has sparked a debate about wedding guest etiquette after she revealed she wore a “wedding dress” to Colton Underwood’s nuptials.
This week, the Booksmart director, 39, attended the former Bachelor star’s wedding to Jordan C Brown in Napa Valley, California.
For the occasion, Wilde wore a backless white silk gown, which she described as a “wedding dress” on Instagram.
“Wore a wedding dress to a wedding just so I could make a joke about it in my toast,” Wilde captioned a since-expired photo of herself wearing the dress and holding a white parasol at the ceremony on her Instagram Stories.
The outfit choice was met with criticism on social media, with some accusing Wilde of trying to make the day about her by wearing the white gown.
“Always trying to make it about her,” one person tweeted, while another said: “Why does everything need to be about her all the time?”
Someone else said: “Olivia Wilde thinking it’s okay to wear a wedding dress to a wedding is very on brand for who I thought she was lol.”
According to another person, it was “so weird” of Wilde to wear the white dress because it was “wildly inappropriate” for the occasion.
Others revealed how they would feel if it was their wedding, with one critic claiming they’d “cut ties” with a friend if they wore a wedding gown to their nuptials. “If someone did this in my wedding I would probably cut ties with them and kick them out of the wedding,” they wrote.
“That’s just so rude and messed up. If someone did this at my or my friend’s wedding I’d personally kick them out of the ceremony,” another person alleged.
According to Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas, who previously spoke to The Independent, the no-white rule still applies for most weddings, as she noted that “white is still reserved for the bride” and that guests “should select another colour” when choosing an outfit. She also said the rule should be followed by guests of all genders.
Wedding guests typically avoid wearing white to weddings because they do not want to upstage the bride, according to wedding dress designer Madeline Gardner, who spoke to The Knot.
“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, adding: “It’s safe to stay away from any outfits that are predominantly white, cream or ivory.”
However, some of Wilde’s fans have defended her dress choice on the basis that there was not a bride at the wedding, and because the grooms themselves chose not to wear white.
Colton wore a green custom Tom Ford suit, according to People, while his husband wore a blue custom suit from the designer.
“It’s just a white slip-looking dress at a wedding where neither of the two getting married were wearing a wedding gown… everyone can calm down,” one person tweeted.
Another said: “I don’t see a problem if there’s no bride.”
Wilde also revealed that the grooms “approved” her dress selection in a follow-up post, in which she could be seen embracing the newlyweds. “The grooms approved,” she wrote.
“If the grooms weren’t mad why should you be? Genuine question,” one person asked on Twitter, while someone else wrote: “She’s clearly joking and the happy couple clearly had no issues with her dress. Stop setting her up for unnecessary hate.”
Although the grooms did not address Wilde’s dress specifically, Underwood told People before the wedding that he and Brown “wanted to break some of the traditional norms of what a ceremony and a wedding look like”.
The backlash over Wilde’s outfit choice comes after a woman recently reignited a debate about wedding guest etiquette after accusing two women of being “disrespectful” by wearing white, bridal-like gowns to her friend’s nuptials.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Wilde for comment.
