Proper Wedding Attire for the Wedding Sponsors

Wedding sponsors can range from businesses or professionals sponsoring all or a part of your wedding, or people that serve an integral part of your wedding. Either way, the attire of the sponsors should match the wedding style and their purpose pertaining to the wedding. As always, their attire should not detract from the bride and bridal party.

Corporate Sponsors

Corporate or professional sponsors are becoming more popular as a means for said business or professional to advertise their services while helping a couple that is getting married. Photographers, caterers, printers and wedding planners are some of the common sponsors taking part in this new way to advertise.

Professionals sponsoring a wedding should dress appropriately, depending on the formality of the wedding. If the wedding is a black tie event, men should come in tuxedos while women should wear dark, embellished evening gowns. For semi-formal weddings, men should wear a darker suit and women should wear a subdued suit or dress. They should fit in with other guests, however in a muted way. Avoid bright colors that draw attention. Nice business attire works well for most weddings, except extremely casual or formal affairs.

Filipino Weddings

Traditional Filipino weddings incorporates sponsors into the wedding ceremony. These are representatives from each family that play integral roles in the ceremony. These duties include placing a veil on the brides head and attaching it to the groom signifying they are clothed as one, wrapping a white cord around the couple's necks in a figure eight to represent them coming together as one and the lighting of a unity candle. Typically the parents of the bride and groom each light one candle (so there are two) and the bride and groom later use their representative candles to light the unity candle. This symbolizes the two families coming together as one in support of the couple.

The female sponsors are expected to wear a dress or skirt and blouse in cream or off-white with gold accents. This is so they are not competing with the bridesmaids. Another reason is cream colors generally appear appealing on anyone, regardless of age and the sponsors are usually elders in the families. Men are supposed to wear black or brown slacks and a cream colored polo shirt or nice long sleeved shirt or barong.

Native American (Algonquin) Weddings

Traditional weddings of Algonquin speaking Native Americans included a ceremony in which the bride and groom committed themselves to each other and to their Creator as husband and wife. There was absolutely no divorce or undoing of the commitment, and if they ever separated it was understood that they were still seen as husband and wife in the eyes of the Creator. A ceremony would be performed between the officiant, or Pipe Carrier and the couple. They would also have four sponsors, which were elders chosen by the couple that committed to the couple as lifelong advisors. During the ceremony, the bride, groom and sponsors wore regalia, handmade garments made for special ceremonies.