How do you define formal/semi-formal?

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sawdust123

sawdust123

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I was recently invited to a wedding at a fancy hotel. The ceremony and reception are during the day and the invite requested formal attire. There is also a late evening dinner for which semi-formal attire was requested. In my world, formal has always meant tux and semi-formal meant suit & tie. However, I was talking with the groom the other day and learned that he thought formal meant suit & tie and semi-formal meant no tie needed. I'm definitely glad I talked to him otherwise I would be way over-dressed. How are formal and semi-formal defined in your neck of the woods?
 
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tunes4046 said:
Well here in rural Wisconsin formal would be khakis and a polo, semi formal would be jeans and a clean t shirt
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You said a mouth full. I see it as certain areas/regions are used to dressing a certain way when going to an event. Then also it depends on the type of event it is. I have been to an event where most of the people attending the event are dressed to impress. With a few people dressed down.

For some the way they dress for an event is not a big deal. If the event is not about them what's the big deal how they're dressed at the event.

What about if it's a formal event and the DJ is dressed any kind of way? There was a thread with a picture of a DJ doing a wedding wearing jeans, a T-shirt and baseball cap. I say that DJ should have dressed much better than he was dressed. You don't know how the couple felt about the way the DJ was dressed. If I was getting married and the DJ showed up dressed like that, I would have been highly upset. I wonder since then how many events has he done since then?
 
As far as catered events are concerned:

Formal is always Tuxedo,

Black Tie is Tuxedo or a nice black suit.

Semi-formal is a suit.

Jacket and Tie is the least formal of the "formal dress attires" This is what you might wear to a nice restaurant, for example.

Business attire, Dress Casual, and Casual all preclude jeans or t-shirts. (Jeans are never appropriate for anything for which an invitation was mailed or delivered.)

Jeans & T-shirt needs to be specified if you are invited to anything other than a sporting event or barn raising.

You won't be allowed to enter most country clubs (even to setup) if you are wearing jeans. You wont be allowed in the dining room without a jacket. Of course, you need to consider where in the world or country you are and what has become customary. But, it's usually easier to downgrade our wardrobe if we are overdressed than it is to enhance something that is below expectation.
 
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Proformance said:
As far as catered events are concerned:

Formal is always Tuxedo,

Black Tie is Tuxedo or a nice black suit.

Semi-formal is a suit.

Jacket and Tie is the least formal of the "formal dress attires" This is what you might wear to a nice restaurant, for example.

Business attire, Dress Casual, and Casual all preclude jeans or t-shirts. (Jeans are never appropriate for anything for which an invitation was mailed or delivered.)

Jeans & T-shirt needs to be specified if you are invited to anything other than a sporting event or barn raising.

You won't be allowed to enter most country clubs (even to setup) if you are wearing jeans. You wont be allowed in the dining room without a jacket. Of course, you need to consider where in the world or country you are and what has become customary. But, it's usually easier to downgrade our wardrobe if we are overdressed than it is to enhance something that is below expectation.
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I don't know about not being able to wear jeans at a country club to setup. What if a guest comes to the event wearing jeans, will they be asked to leave? Do you have certain clothes you wear while setting up and when finished chang clothes into formal attire?
 
Black tie or formal: tux
Semi- formal: suit and tie
Jacket and tie: blazer, tie
Business casual: polo shirt, jacket optional
Casual: anything within reason
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I don't know about not being able to wear jeans at a country club to setup. What if a guest comes to the event wearing jeans, will they be asked to leave? Do you have certain clothes you wear while setting up and when finished change clothes into formal attire?
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At certain country clubs, people will be asked to leave if not properly attired, particularly if they are just 3rd party contractors like DJs. I typically wore black pants and a polo shirt while setting up and then changed before the gig started. Many clubs would have some extra jackets and ties on hand for guests that arrived inappropriately dressed. They preferred you to be seen in ill-fitting borrowed clothes than seen breaking the dress code.

In the last few years, many of the local clubs have struggled with membership. Several relaxed rules to widen their appeal and this has succeeded. However, it is often not well received by the older members. Of course, if membership drops, the cost of operating the club gets divided over a smaller number of people. This is usually enough of a reason to relax the rules. I don't know any local club that permits jeans though.
 
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I never heard of a person being told to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed. I can understand if they are not acting appropriately at an event and the people who either work at the venue or own the venue will get them to leave.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I never heard of a person being told to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed. I can understand if they are not acting appropriately at an event and the people who either work at the venue or own the venue will get them to leave.
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Probably not in the 8 block circle you live and gig in, there are a lot of things that are different in different areas
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I never heard of a person being told to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed. I can understand if they are not acting appropriately at an event and the people who either work at the venue or own the venue will get them to leave.
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There are country clubs and venues that require vendors to be dressed a certain way in NJ. They usually will email you a list of rules in advance of the event. For example we have a few around here that say no jeans or sweats for setting up. We have a few that require a suit for all vendors including photogs/videographers. They definitely exist.
 
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My thing is I never heard or seen a guest being asked to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
My thing is I never heard or seen a guest being asked to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed.
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I can believe that! Most nursing homes don't care how you dress LOL
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I never heard of a person being told to leave a venue because of the way they are dressed. I can understand if they are not acting appropriately at an event and the people who either work at the venue or own the venue will get them to leave.
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lol. My dad kicked my cousin out of my brother’s wedding reception. My cousin showed up in ripped jeans, a t shirt, and sandals.
This was 40 years ago.
 
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I don't have a lot of input except to say that over the last 15+ years, I have seen a stark decline in "Formal" and "Black Tie" Only events. I have only seen one request that was "Black Tie" since Covid come my way.

VAST majority Weddings at least the ones that I do are between "Semi Formal - Suit" as the most dressy down to what I call "Business Casual" Slacks or Khackis with a button down shirt or even a polo shirt for some men in attendance.

I still do like 2 weddings a year where they choose to dress the groom and grooms men up in tuxedos, BUT in this situation, they are the only ones in Tuxedos, and the dress among attendees is the same as the rest of my weddings.

Corporate holiday parties these days are not as conservative on the attire as they were 20+ years ago. Mostly Business casual on up to Semi Formal.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I don't have a lot of input except to say that over the last 15+ years, I have seen a stark decline in "Formal" and "Black Tie" Only events. I have only seen one request that was "Black Tie" since Covid come my way.

VAST majority Weddings at least the ones that I do are between "Semi Formal - Suit" as the most dressy down to what I call "Business Casual" Slacks or Khackis with a button down shirt or even a polo shirt for some men in attendance.

I still do like 2 weddings a year where they choose to dress the groom and grooms men up in tuxedos, BUT in this situation, they are the only ones in Tuxedos, and the dress among attendees is the same as the rest of my weddings.

Corporate holiday parties these days are not as conservative on the attire as they were 20+ years ago. Mostly Business casual on up to Semi Formal.
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The majority of weddings I do are black tie required or black tie optional. Even the engagement party I did last night was a black tie event. At minimum every wedding I’ve done is formal wear a suit and tie is expected
 
djtaso said:
The majority of weddings I do are black tie optional. Even the engagement party I did last night was a black tie event. At minimum every wedding I’ve done is formal wear a suit and tie is expected
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For me, I find it almost region specific. My last wedding was in Pennsylvania, and there were a few men there who just showed up with khakis and polo shirts. Grooms men and Groom were tuxedos!

Most of my weddings I see men wearing suits with tie, but some men opt to not bother wearing a jacket, and then some don't even bother putting a tie on, just the button up shirt open collar. I don't think The couple or their family really cares how the guests are dressed as long as they aren't sloppy I am assuming.

At most of my weddings, I am seeing photographers dressed pretty casually these days. Men are usually wearing polo shirt, or button up shirt, but I don't see them wearing ties any more. Years ago, the photographers use to dress in tuxedos! Not sure what changed except perhaps the culture among photograhers in the last 15 years. Caterers are usually in all black, but sometimes white shirt and tie. Sometimes, just black polo shirts depending on who they have catering.
 
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