wedding guest attire

[Jock Scot]

If it is a church wedding, then a jacket and tie are pretty much mandatory. Outside on the beach, in a park, or on a ride at Disneyland then you can probably forgo the jacket and tie. I would give the ghillie/jacobite shirt a wide miss-- far too costumey to be worn as a guest at a wedding.

Thinking this through, if the wedding and reception are indoors you will be sitting in air conditioned rooms, so the jacket and tie shouldn't be that uncomfortable, especially if you forgo the waistcoat.

This would be for me. But how casual is casual? It is a wee tad tricky to advise as "my" casual may not be "your" idea of casual.

[Deil the Yin]

Given our subtropical clime here in South Georgia, I can highly recommend a waistcoat with oxford shirt, sans tie, with everything below the waist as traditional as you please excepting ghillies versus normal dress shoes. Or if it's on the beach- sandals? Something to think about anyway...

Here's an example (my wee brother, who looks better in a kilt than I do):

[The Barry]

Try to blend a bit.. If nobody is going to wear a tie, don't wear a tie, etc..

But, it is a wedding, so leave the Iron Maiden shirt at home

[mbhandy]

Come on your from a Collage town. The best is to ask the Bride how casual is casual? I have been to casual weddings where Hawaiian Shirts were over dressed, a wedding at Lake Powell. They said "I do" and went water skiing.
To each their own.
So ask how casual.

MrBill

PS One guy put on a tux T Shirt.

[macwilkin]

One possible variation for tropic climes is "Red Sea Rig", which was worn by Scottish regiments, the Royal Marines & Navy and others "East of Suez". RSR usually is a formal shirt with bow tie (no jacket) and normally in the case of gents in trousers, a cummerbund.

Regards,

Todd

[davedove]

While I think the suggestions for what to wear are great, the most appropriate guideline that has been given is to ask what to wear. As has been said, "casual" can cover a wide variety of clothing. If everyone else is in tank tops and sandals, even a nice dress shirt would be over-dressed. On the other hand, if everyone else is in dress slacks and shirts, then those sandals would be out of place.

We can all argue over what "should" be worn based on the established conventions, but the real authority in any case is the host or hostess.

[shawhighlander]

Ask the couple for clarification...

A 'dressy casual' look I like: Kilt, white dress shirt unbuttoned (sleevs rolled up two rolls with width of the cuff / no tie), black vest, hose, flashes, semi dress sporran.

Me thinks Rocky is a'right...I have actually "been there-done that", even asked the bride & groom and somehow outdid'em both. OOOPS! I was new to kilting and had actually made most of my outfit from altered thrift store finds. The moral of the story is: the kilt is such 'eye candy' to the viewer, that it would be easy to out-do the others. Dress it down, Aye.

[Dave K]

What would be the minimum one would wear to a wedding while still wearing a kilt? At what point is a kilt out of place?

[GG]

I've been invited to a wedding in May and the bride has ask me to wear my kit - but it's going to be a California casual affair and a full formal Prince Charlie isn't called for -I'm a guest rather than a member of the wedding party. Also, the wedding is in California which I expect will be pretty warm. Ergo, an Argyle w/waistcoat is also probably going to be a bit much. Perhaps even a necktie is too much.

Any suggestions on an assemblage of parts to look nice without the kiss of Formality?

Lucky guy.
First thing I would do should be defining the meaning of ‘casual’. You might simply call the bride or groom and ask them their expectections.
Dress tails and tux must be out of question. But could it be a dark business suit or something equivalent?
That would in your case mean a nice woolen kilt, a black kilt jacket (Argyle w/o waistcoat), an appropriate shirt, kilt hose and a semi dress sporran. A neck tie is hardly to expect, but here you can make last minutes adjustments.
More likely ‘casual’ could be pants and a light jacket – in my world. A tweed jacket might be too warm and I should accordingly stick to the Argyle (Argyles are often available in other colors than black).
If over dressed in the jacket just take it off. A plain day wear sporran might be better than the semi-dress. Kilt hose should be mandatory.
If really casual, ie. blue jeans, wear a casual tartan kilt with a day sporran or perhaps even a Utilikilt Mocker or equivalent. Kilt hose rolled up or down. Probably I should still bring the jacket, just in case.

Well, I'm a Dane - different culture. I might be wrong.

Greg

[Geoff Withnell]

What would be the minimum one would wear to a wedding while still wearing a kilt? At what point is a kilt out of place?

The kilt is out of place (especially at a wedding) if is becomes more the focus of attention than the bride and groom. If asked by the bride to wear the kilt, as in the OP's case, this should only happen if you go completely over the top.

Geoff Withnell