Proper Wedding Attire
 

Will be attending a church wedding in Larnaca in July and would appreciate advice on what would be considered acceptable attire for both male and female adults. Don't want to under dress but don't want to take along more clothing than necessary either. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

We have specialists to answer these questions. They will be along shortly.

very important to know : is this an orthodox wedding?
are locals getting married?

I wear jeans to every wedding these days, the really cheap ones with pleats and elastic waistbands for COMFORT. I'm 50 and fat so COMFORT is the only thing that matters to me anymore. You don't like it, too bad. I don't care what anyone else thinks of me. I'm too arrogant for that nonsense. I won't know most of the people there and I'll never see them again.

Weddings are so commonplace. Been going on for centuries. And almost always on a weekend. Same old Saturday, same old crap.

Nobody views a wedding as a special occasion anymore and most people simply don't want to get dressed up. With the divorce rate so high, why bother?

(Disclaimer: Sorry freetoroam. I had a little fun and couldn't resist. Simply know I didn't mean a word of it. I love weddings. Had a few of my own. Good luck shopping!)

clausar:
groom is local
bride is from Ireland
wedding will be orthodox

I would ask the bride and groom....

Do what alihutch suggested.

It will be hot (duh). I would go with loose, light but modest for the church part. Maybe a light top or shawl, which can be removed for the reception, over a pre

...pretty summer dress. Because of the heat, the men might not be wearing jackets.

ortodox weddings are not different from other christian weddings....
People are wearing their best clothes, so if you wear something elegant, you are not going to be overdressed.
In Greece and Cyprus women don't wear long dresses... and men don't appear in black tie, unless it was asked.
Especially greek and greek cypriot women tend to wear black, so that sometimes festive occasions etc look like funerals.... (while northern europeans love light colours...)
Same apply to men, we like to wear darker colours, in the summer i would wear at a wedding a nice shirt and a jacket, not necessarilly a tie.
Usually you go to the church with a gift for the couple, that is being collected before the ceremony, we put a business card inside the box with wishes, so they will identify our gift, when they will open the box..
If there is something more you would like to know, just ask...

Nikolas

In general Greeks dress up for weddings. Only older women tend to dress in dark colours or black. Gift giving can vary from giving it at the church, to giving at the reception or even (although rare nowadays I heard of 2 recent weddings in Cyprus that had this) the money dance. Men do wear jackets in the heat although they'll remove once outside the church or reception esp in blistering July heat.

NYCFoodSnob
Don't forget that you have contributed your wedding dollars for the gift and they should be grateful that you turned up at all.

For a British wedding, it's posh frock and daft hat.

no hat in Greece and Cyprus ... unless you are on the beach...
daft hat reminds me of the Royal Ascot horse Race....
This would be unfair, as greek guests would be staring at the hat... ignoring the bride.....

For her - to be on the safe side, cover your shoulders for the church service - i.e. don't wear a strapless or strappy dress or if you do, also wear a bolero, pashmina or similar .

For him - linen or linen mix suit or jacket & trousers would be ideal. DH has just said goodbye to a linen mix suit he'd bought for our honeymoon 11 years ago and it's been fantastic for holidays - easy to wear to travel in (easier than packing it !) and worn to go out for dinner every night, with a black t shirt for a more casual look. Really simplifies his packing. It was a great investment so hoping the new one will perform similarly !

Thanks to all for your input.
Time to go shopping.