The ‘correct’ guest dress is an interesting debate among Korean netizens. There is a dominant perception that white clothes should be avoided, which is the color of the bride’s wedding dress, and that wearing them more prominently than the bride would be a ‘nuisance’. The word ‘nuisance guest’ is even listed in the Korean dictionary, an open Korean dictionary. The United States is no exception to this debate. In particular, recently, the news that the groom’s husband, not a guest, appeared in a white dress became known, sparking a debate among American netizens.
According to The Independent on the 21st (local time), Jasmine Hooper posted a video on her TikTok account on the 7th complaining that her mother-in-law came to her wedding in a white dress. In the photo shared by Hooper, a woman in a white dress stands on either side of the groom. At first glance, it looks like there are two brides, but the main character of the day was Hooper, standing to the right of the groom in the picture. “I can’t put into words how embarrassed I am,” said Hooper. “(My mother-in-law) has ruined my whole marriage.”
This video became a hot enough topic to be watched 11 million times, and beyond criticism of the mother-in-law, it even caused a debate about the guest’s outfit. The majority of netizens reacted critically towards Hooper’s mother-in-law, such as “She’s not very considerate” and “She still seems like she can’t let go of her son.” There was also a view that “you can move on to a pleasant event”, but most of the view was that the mother-in-law was not understood. Some sympathized with Hooper, sharing their stories of being shamed by guests wearing flashier clothes. There was also a netizen who said, “I wrote the dress code for the guests at my wedding in case this happens.”
Recently, on the ‘Blind’ office worker community, a story about a woman who came as a guest standing next to the groom wearing matching white tops, bottoms and shoes became a hot topic. At the time, the parties continued to criticize harshly and refute, triggering related debates. The original post was deleted, but as the captured images spread to other online communities, a lively discussion arose about the guest dress.
Arguments about wedding dresses are also used as a source of humour. Kim Ok-bin’s ‘SNL Korea’ Coupang Play 3 season recently featured a wedding-themed competition, where Kim Ok-bin, who played the role of a bride, told Ahn Young-mi, who came in a white blouse, “Young – miya, your clothes are very white today. I’m sorry, but I’m so bright, can you go away for a second?” In the end, Ahn Young-mi was pushed out of the commemorative photo angle and managed to stand next to Kim Ok-bin only after removing her white top.
In fact, white dresses were ranked as the number one nuisance in a survey conducted by wedding information companies. According to a survey on ‘wedding etiquette’ carried out by wedding information company Duo on 380 unmarried men and women (187 males and 193 females) in May 2019, 25.5 respondents indicated “people wearing white dresses” as annoying guests and the highest percentage These include ‘people who gossip about the bride and groom’ (24.5%), ‘people who bring a lot of companions and pay a small amount of money’ (20.3%), ‘people who speak at the main ceremony’ (10.3). %), and ‘going out to eat immediately without seeing the wedding ceremony’ (10.3%) This is a result that is ahead of people’ (6.6%).
In the question of what they pay the most attention to when attending a wedding, 42.9% answered ‘dresses’. It was followed by money for congratulations (20.3%), companions to attend (12.4%), hair and make-up (9.7%), and time to arrive at the wedding (8.2%).
