A wedding day is often the culmination of many months of planning by the bride and groom and eagerly looked forward to by their family and friends. The overriding rule is that wedding guests should remember the day belongs to the bride and groom.

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Whilst, according to the Independent, weddings have become less constrained by tradition in recent years, there are still many traditions that wedding guests should follow, and unwritten rules that they should avoid breaking.

What behaviour should wedding guests avoid?

If you are lucky enough to receive a wedding invitation, remember to reply in plenty of time. The bride and groom will need to give final numbers to their venue and with so much to do to prepare for a wedding they do not want to have to chase the people they have invited to check whether they can attend. The date after ‘RSVP’ is the deadline for you to reply.

Don’t ignore the dress code, either set by the bride and groom, or the unwritten code. Weddings are almost always formal celebrations and so wedding guests need to dress the part. For men, a smart suit will usually be fine. Women will be able to have fun choosing from a huge variety of wedding guest dresses.

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It is still generally frowned upon for wedding guests to wear white or cream to a wedding. These colours are reserved for the bride, whether or not she chooses to wear them on the day! There are so many other colours to choose from this shouldn’t be a problem, so click here for wedding guest dresses.

On the day of the wedding it is wise to resist the temptation to drink too much, especially if the bride and groom have generously provided a free bar.

Are there any other rules wedding guests should follow?

We all have smart phones these days and it can be tempting to use them to take photographs during the day. If you do, make sure that you do not get in the way of the official photographer.

If you have taken children to the wedding talk to them beforehand so that they know what to expect and take something with you to keep them occupied.

Finally, a wedding is a celebration so relax and enjoy yourself!