I have had three somewhat recent invitations from 20-somethings getting married, where the invitation said "semi-formal" which used to mean tuxedo. Actually only one of them really meant tuxedo or "dark suit and tie", since most men where I live do not have or would not rent a tux to attend a wedding reception. (That wedding was at a basilica cathedral and reception at the Ritz, and still there were only a few tuxes outside the wedding party)

The other two brides said to me, almost verbatim, "I just put that on there so some of my male relatives don't show up in a clean t-shirt and sweatpants.

I was going to say the wording is meant to forestall guests wearing shorts but Pal beat me to it!

Bestyears, that dress is beautiful and 100% appropriate for the venue pictured. If you wear it you’ll be cool, comfortable and cute— the triple threat 😉 And bonus, you can wear comfy sandals with it instead of high heels!

Actually, semi-formal does not mean,and never has meant, tuxedo. Tuxedos are formal attire. White tie is the highest level of formal attire. Oh and please make sure you know how to tie a proper bow tie! ;-)

ETA: Love the dress and it will be perfect.

I think that dress is beautiful & totally appropriate!!

Semi-Formal Wedding Attire

A wedding invitation will dictate the wedding dress code. Semi-formal wedding attire, sometimes referred to as dressy casual, is popular for wedding guest attire for daytime weddings and evening weddings. Semi-formal is more elevated than casual wedding attire. When in doubt, it’s always better to overdress than underdress. A semi-formal dress code is especially common for summer weddings and beach weddings when warmer temperatures call for more comfortable attire, i.e., knee-length dresses or sundresses. (If you wear a dress, you may want to inquire ahead of time about the color of the bridesmaid dresses so you are not mistaken for a member of the wedding party.)

The above is an excerpt from a masterclass.com article.

You will be gorgeous, and appropriate, in that dress.

I think it is unanimous. Perfect dress. I wouldn’t inquire about the bride maid’s colors. Even if it’s yellow, it won’t be your dress.

Just because a venue is casual, it is still a wedding.

The guests will run the gamut, hopefully most will respect the occasion.

Way back "semi-formal" did mean tuxedo with black tie, the jacket was called a "dinner jacket" and it was "semi" because it did not need to match the pants. It could be black, white, or navy blue.

"Formal" was white tie and tails and a white pique vest.

Now most people would consider "formal" a regular suit, something above business casual. Semi formal means a shirt and nice pants and regular shoes and possibly a jacket.

The definitions and distinctions don't really mean anything anymore.

Thanks SO MUCH all -I feel much more confident now. And bridesmaids are wearing lavendar, so all set!

Perfect dress! We had one last year in a similar venue. There were cabins for the guests, and dinner was outside. Lots of dirt and grass. It's good you have a picture of the venue to give you an idea.

That dress is absolutely perfect! Enjoy the day.

Love the dress, and like everyone else, I think it is perfect.

^^^^^ ditto what Outside said and I'm envious of anyone who can where yellow or gold!

I saw this "semi-formal" on an invite and immediately thought "well that's one way to keep the shorts and sweats to a minimum". I think everyone here got the message that was intended. Your dress is perfect. I also don't think the venue matters. The juxtaposition of people dressed up in a more casual place is not at all unusual. Let that go--it's a non factor!!

I understand semi-formal to mean black tie and tuxedo, and I used to have two or three tuxedos that I wore to semi-formal events. For the last one I went to - an Interior Design awards banquet at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, I wore a patterned red tie with matching red cummerbund. However, I also had black silk ties that I had made for myself, and I also made cummerbunds. I like to make my own bow ties so that they fit me the way I want.

"Formal" for men means white tie and tails, which I do not have, but my brother does - or did, and this is what he wore when he got married. I bought him some spats in San Francisco, but he bought the rest of his outfit in New York.

It is not that uncommon to have black tie (tuxedo) events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York, but I don't know about the rest of the country.

I have to say that I know less about what women are required to wear for semi-formal events, but from my experience, they wear floor-length dresses and have a lot more options than men do. In New York, they tend to wear solid black dresses, even though this is not necessary, and shows a distinct lack of imagination. I do think solid color dresses are best for semi-formal events, if the event is truly semi-formal, but I've never been to one of those in Texas, where dress is much more casual.

The venue you showed does not strike me as semi-formal, and so I think the dress you picked is fine. If you want to be overly cautious, go with a solid color dress. You did not say where in Texas the wedding is taking place. Houston and Dallas can be more formal than other places in Texas.

If you were in Los Angeles, I could make a dress for you.

Pal and Lars are absolutely correct. ”Semi-formal” meant a tuxedo, perhaps a white dinner jacket in the summer. Formal was white tie and tails.

Lovely dress, but….I want the bride to change the location to LA so Lars can make you a dress!

“If you were in Los Angeles, I could make a dress for you.”

Nowadays, I think the brides use "semi-formal" as a way to keep their friends from wearing cut offs and sandals. I think the dress is lovely and fits the bill.

But if you're not sure, talk to the bride or her mother to get a better sense of what's really expected.

I will be the lone dissenter! The dress is really lovely! But I see it as a casual dress. It reads "luncheon" to me, not "wedding guest."

I understand the venue looks casual, but I have seen plenty of people very dressed up in barns. I also agree it is hard to know what people really mean; they often do not know themselves. Asking is fraught as only a boor would give you a thumbs down!

Does this mean I think you will stand out in a bad way? Not at all. Does this mean everyone else will be more formal? Not at all. It simply means that I personally don't think it fits the bill, if that is important to you.

Just for example, see these:

I think your dress is casual. I would be surprised if the majority of men were dressed like the image on the left, ie no jacket at all. If they were, the dress would be a good fit for the occasion. Just my 2 cents.

Actually, MTN, you are not the lone dissenter. I spoke to my daughter this morning. She is invited to the same wedding, and she is actually the same age as the bride and groom. And she insists that semi formal means exactly what I think semiformal means, and that my dress will be too casual. Says she’s gone to lots of weddings in this venue, and everybody was dressed in semi formal. And funnily enough. I did do a Google image search on this venue and saw plenty of pictures of guys wearing suits and women wearing true cocktail attire. so I don’t know still thinking on it.

My prediction when Best wears this dress: she will be smack in the middle of more dressy and less dressy.

I do get what Mtn is saying.

Okay, I would go by what your daughter is saying and wear something else, although it's a lovely dress!.

As others have said, there will be a broad range of styles for a semi-formal wedding -- and while I think you have a lot of leeway, what strikes me about your dress is that it is a "day" dress ... and while I am sure it looks lovely on you, I think you could find a dress a little more suited to an evening event (semi-formal or not).

Pal, way back when? Dinner jacket and tuxedo are interchangeable terms and refer to formal attire. I think perhaps you and others have fallen prey to definitions that are far more recent than traditional ones. For my family and friends, semi-formal was a suit for men and for women, a dress, usually short,but some wore long. My dad never wore a white jacket, although some did. He said it looked like the gentleman was a waiter. He and my mother could be a tad judgmental ablout what was formal.

ETA: I grew up with grandparents who dressed for dinner all their lives. They had live-in help, and were part of Philadelphia society in the early to mid-20th century. The men in my family all owned both tuxedos and tails worn with a white tie. I am admittedly a dinosaur and did not grow up as they did.

ETA 2: I agree that the terms have lost their meaning these days with most people, but disagree on the way back when idea.

I think younger women like your DD are more readily wearing true semi-formal wear these days. I love your dress, but it is too casual for this event, imo.

"Semi-formal wedding attire, sometimes referred to as dressy casual, is popular for wedding guest attire for daytime weddings and evening weddings. "

I always thought of semi-formal to be suits and cocktail dresses, and formal being tux's and gowns. Dressy casual to me is like office casual but with party clothes. AKA Smart casual.

^^ That is my thought…..just a time of day thing. Being in the evening makes it a little bit ”more.” Your dress would be pretty for the bridesmaid’s luncheon or something like that…it’s super cute.

Dh and his groomsmen wore white tie! Sooo handsome! Our wedding was in my parent’s church (which is a ”fancy” 🤣 old church,) with a cc receprion in the evening so it was definitely a dressy affair. We didn’t put anything about dress on the invitation…I don’t think that was done in the 90’s when we got married.

Semi-formal and dressy casual are two completely different styles regardless of what the learning annex says about it.

casual / dressy casual / dressy / semi-formal / formal

Within each of those are subsets like athleisure (as a casual subset) and cocktail attire (which can be a semi-formal or dressy subset) but those five categories are the main ones. According to my mother 😎

adding…. dress up the outfit with fancy hair and some nice jewelry, pretty shoes with just a bit of heel and maybe a shawl or shrug for evening and you’ve crossed the line solidly into dressy casual, which will definitely put you at the top of the middle 50th percentile, style wise.

Oh gosh KSWL don’t confuse me more! But if you are saying I can wear my athleisure, yay!!!!!!😀

And this is more or less what my early 1960s editions of Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt say as well.

As I said these distinctions are currently meaningless. But within our lifetimes, the distinctions were as above, and that's not the same as "never". even it it was 50 years ago.

Pal, sent you a link.

Yes Pal, that describes formal and semi-formal very nicely.

Back in the early 1980’s there was never stated dress code on a wedding invitation. No one needed it!

Well the last wedding I went to, the invite said formal attire and it was an evening reception. But I was glad I asked if DH should wear his tux. Turns out not even the groom or his ushers were wearing tuxes! The bride really just meant that people should dress nicely. So be on the safe side and ask the bride/her mother/sister...

I do agree that the dress is not "cocktail" attire, and if that's what's expected, that wouldn't fit the bill.

The weddings I have attended the last few years, in So Cal, semi-formal indicates cocktail attire for the ladies. No matter the setting, cocktail dresses seem to be the correct attire. Men are all over the place, no tuxes though.

Formal is where it gets dicey. Sometimes this still is a cocktail dress, other times they are wanting formal gowns. I ask, but even when the MOB or bride answer gown, most ladies still wear cocktail dresses. The gentlemen typically wear suits, occasionally I have seen a tux or two. Love a guy in a tux.

With a big of googling, it seems like "semi-formal" is intended to be between cocktail and casual. The dress you pictured is pretty and does seem appropriate to the venue, but perhaps a little too casual for "semi-formal". I think you could wear the dress, but if it were me I might look for something a little less casual. I do tend to agree something closer to a cocktail dress might be safer.

Traditionally I think a dress code was included to let people know if they needed a tux or gown or not and otherwise the venue and the styling of the invitation was intended to be sufficient information. However, now there is a very real concern that someone will show up in torn jeans (I've seen it) and so I think people feel like they must include a dress code on the invitation. Additionally we're seeing more of these casual venues (farms, barns, etc) styled up to expect guests to dress less casually. It's confusing!