The Most Inappropriate Celebrity Wedding Guest Dresses

When it comes to wedding etiquette, we're all guilty of breaking a rule or two. Maybe you peeked at your phone a couple times during the reception. And perhaps you had a few too many hors d'oeuvres or too many cocktails, only to pull an Elaine Benes and dad-dance the night away. But when it comes to the sartorial side of weddings, there are strict unspoken rules that guests really should abide by. For instance, wearing white on your BFF's big day? Big no-no. "It's the number one rule," wedding planner Alexa Kritis previously told The List. "It's the bride's day, not yours. She spent a lot of money on that white gown, so be respectful."

But there are some people who always want to be the center of attention and no amount of wedding planning is going to stop them from giving off main character energy (even when they're decidedly not the main character). Especially when it comes to celebrity weddings, a clash of egos can lead to a monumental nuptial no-no.

Regardless of the implications of supposedly upstaging the bride, every guest is free to dress how they want — just as your fellow attendees are free to sit, stare at, and silently judge you. So get ready to do that as we run through the most inappropriate celebrity wedding guest dresses.

Sophie Turner took "Red Wedding" a little too literally when she attended the nuptials of her "Game of Thrones" co-stars Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie. In 2018, the couple tied the knot in a fairytale ceremony set against the backdrop of a 12th-century Scottish castle. While the union was a thoroughly classy affair, not all the guests wore attire befitting the occasion.

Turner, Harrington's onscreen sister, showed up in a bright red blazer mini-dress, complete with thigh-high black boots. Although there's nothing wrong with showcasing a splash of color at a wedding, the garishness of the dress, coupled with its micro-mini length, felt more than a tad inappropriate. On Twitter (via Refinery29), fans were quick to accuse the star of making her co-stars' special day about her. "Ehhh no. This is not what you wear to a wedding," argued one user. "Some may say 'break the rules, stand out' ... No. Weddings are about the couple and their life together, not guests making thigh-high statements!"

But Turner is the first to admit that this wasn't her finest hour. "Ohhhh no. I'll forever regret this look," she admitted to Elle in 2020. "One of my worst looks." The actor explained that she'd suffered a fashion emergency and had to quickly choose between heels that showed her entire leg or thigh-highs that provided more modesty. "Urgh, it was a disaster. Worst fashion choice," she concluded.

The year was 2018. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were still working royals and were set to tie the knot at Windsor Castle. It was the most hotly anticipated royal wedding since, well, Prince William and Princess Catherine's nuptials seven years earlier. For such a momentous — not to mention regal — occasion, one would expect the guests to go all out with the aristocratic aesthetic. We expected fascinators, pastel hues, and the fanciest finery. We did not expect Victoria Beckham to show up in her mourning gear.

Attending the lavish ceremony with hubby David, Victoria wore a dark navy dress paired with a matching netted veil. The ensemble appeared black in photos, leading to critics accusing her of dressing inappropriately for the joyous occasion. "Does Victoria Beckham realize she is going to a wedding rather than a funeral?" asked one viewer (via the Mirror). Meanwhile, another suggested that Vicky's signature austere countenance only added to the funereal aesthetic: "Someone have a word with Victoria Beckham. Anyone would think she's at a funeral by the look on her mush." Indeed, the ensemble appeared less Vicky Adams, and more Morticia Addams.

In an interview with the Evening Standard following the union, Victoria, evidently unperturbed by the backlash, had nothing but praise for her wedding fit, which was from her own fashion line. "I love a bit of navy," she enthused. "The dress is one of my favorites."

Dua Lipa is a lauded singer and fashion icon to boot, so suffice it to say she will invariably look fabulous as a wedding guest. Still, one wouldn't expect the "Barbie" star to attempt to draw attention away from newlyweds on their special day. Then again, she's always been one for making new rules.

In 2022, she attended the wedding of French fashion designer Simon Jacquemus and his fiancé, Marco Maestri. The grooms looked dashing in their contrasting suits — Jacquemus in black and his soon-to-be hubby in white. There was just one problem: Lipa decided to also wear white for the occasion, donning a sheer gown that showed off her matching bandeau bra and panties. According to wedding etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, the dress may be perceived as attention-seeking. "Unless you are the bride, wearing white or ivory to a wedding is considered inappropriate ... it sends a message that you want to be noticed," Gottsman told Us Weekly.

The dress divided fans, with some marveling at Lipa's beauty in the ensemble and others criticizing her for wearing white. But it seems the singer's dress wasn't that big of a faux pas with Jacquemus, who designed the gown and defended the singer. "People were rather shocked ... There were some comments about Dua Lipa's white dress because it is traditionally viewed as inappropriate to wear white to a wedding," he told Vogue. "We found everything to be airy, vaporous, and light."

As Princess Catherine walked down the aisle in 2011 wearing her custom-made Sarah Burton gown, she likely didn't count on her sister generating headlines the following morning. The bride was somewhat overshadowed by little sis Pippa Middleton in her now-infamous skin-tight white dress, which quickly went viral and prompted many memes.

Middleton's frock arguably broke wedding etiquette, resembling a bridal gown itself. But even more eyebrow-raising was how it contoured to her figure, distracting from the demure bride's silhouette. Subsequently, the dress provoked intense debate, with some accusing Middleton of attempting to outshine her sister. "Pippa's dress caused a global stir, firstly, because it was white," Daena Borrowman, a marketing executive for a bridal jewelry company, told Express. "This was rather untraditional, as the color white is normally reserved for the bride on her big day ... Royal watchers have commented that Pippa's dress nearly upstaged the bride's dress."

Although the dress was deemed too similar to Catherine's, Middleton insisted that she intentionally chose white because she wanted to blend in with her sister's train as she held it while walking down the aisle. Appearing at an event in London (via  US Weekly), Middleton was able to poke fun at the fashion faux pas. "As I have found out, recognition has its upside, its downside and – you may say – its backside," she joked.

The sadly departed 2000s it-girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson was famed for her offbeat fashion choices. Throughout her reign as a British style queen, she sported leather minidresses, color blocked Y2K fits, and, naturally, co-ords inspired by the Union Jack. As she once told The National, "The five words that best describe me are flawed, fabulous, fun, feisty and a fashionista." It stands to reason, then, that she would go all out when attending the 2011 royal wedding, with a suitably flawed and feisty fashion choice.

The former party girl attended Prince William and Princess Catherine's union in a bizarre monochromatic ensemble consisting of an electric blue dress, complete with a cowl neck shawl, boat-shaped fascinator, and matching arm-length gloves. At the time, outlets like The Telegraph argued that the outfit was an epic fail, highlighting the incongruous nature of the old-fashioned gloves with the on-trend dress. What's more, the dress certainly screamed, "Look at me," which is a major no-no when attending someone else's special day. The New York Times also pinpointed Palmer-Tomkinson's comically shaped hat as one of the stand-out faux pas of the occasion.

Critics may have loathed the socialite's outfit, but she couldn't have cared less. "I was delighted with it," she told Vanity Fair. "The inspiration was Venice, and the gloves were still being stitched while I was having my makeup done."

The stars arrived in droves for Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's nuptials in 2018. But among all the fascinators and pastel blazers was Pixie Geldof, decked out in a bright pink Céline smock dress.

The dress proved somewhat contentious as it deviated from what many deemed appropriate wedding guest garb, and Geldof certainly stood out from the traditionalist crowd. It also sparked debate about whether wearing an eye-catching dress is acceptable at a wedding. "I have always felt that red, or any very bright color, wasn't appropriate," Hillary Kerr, co-founder of Who What Wear, told the outlet. "Because it felt very look-at-me on a day that's not about you ... Maybe save your most showstopping look for another occasion."

Appearing on the "What Were You Thinking?" podcast, Geldof admitted that she chose the dress at the very last minute, feeling that she could get away with the hasty decision considering that she and the princess had been pals since their school days. "I've changed and my style has progressed, but still, I'm still me... I borrowed that dress off my mate because the night before I was like ... "I don't have a dress!" she confessed. "I don't know what you wear to a royal wedding!" As Geldof noted, the dress was also controversial due to it being vintage, but she didn't want to buy a new dress due to her commitment to sustainable fashion.