Beyoncé Keeps Breaking One Of The Biggest Wedding Guest Rules

"Never wear white if you're not the bride" — it's the top rule in every guide on what not to wear to a wedding. It's been burned into our brains, and we've all read our fair share of guest shaming posts on Reddit. When you're Beyoncé, though, things work a little differently. Over the years, she's shown up in stunning white outfits at multiple weddings and incurred the wrath of social media critics. But, it turns out that the "Lemonade" singer's unconventional white wedding looks come at the explicit request of the brides themselves — though, perhaps not always.

One of the earliest examples was in 2014, at her sister Solange Knowles' wedding to Alan Ferguson. Beyoncé wore a white bodycon midi dress, paired with white heels and minimal gold jewelry. However, she was dressed no differently from other guests, who also wore white outfits. This dress code might have been a bit different, but even Solange wore one of the most unconventional celebrity wedding looks with an off-white bridal jumpsuit.

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Beyoncé also broke the don't-wear-white rule in 2015, and this wedding appearance was more controversial than any before or after. At a wedding in November (according to online reports — it hasn't actually been confirmed that she was at a wedding) the singer wore a wrap-style mid-length white dress with gold trimmings around the waistline and hem. But unlike photos from other events that showed the other guests also wearing white, Beyoncé seemed to be one of the only two people wearing white; everyone else pictured had black outfits. Despite this, any criticism was quickly drowned out by the tons of compliments on the outfit from the Bey Hive on her Instagram.

Judging by the Carter-Knowles wedding history, it's safe to say that unconventional dress codes run in the family. In 2024, Rel Carter, Jay-Z's nephew, married his longtime girlfriend Beda in a gorgeous ceremony that challenged wedding norms. The bride and groom switched it up by wearing black, while the bridesmaids and groomsmen were dressed in dark-eggplant outfits. The guests, on the other hand, wore white.

Beyoncé showed up in a white minidress with a dipping neckline and the most extravagant white headpiece. Bold as it was, she was perfectly on theme and might even have blended in, except for her headpiece that stole the show.

Beyond these appearances, Beyoncé broke another wedding dress code that isn't about wearing white at a different ceremony. She didn't seem to consider if her outfit would photograph well. This time, the fashion crime scene was at Jay Z's mother, Gloria Carter's, wedding in July 2023. Beyoncé wore a baby-pink outfit with a corset bodice and a faux-fur shawl that was absolutely gorgeous. However, the ultra-light pink photographed so pale that, in the third photo she posted to Instagram, the lighting made the dress look a lot like off-white. This faux pas was likely unintentional, but it's a reminder that even a pop icon can fall victim to the flash. That said, no matter what color that outfit had been, Beyoncé would most likely have stood out. Blame it on the star power.