Wedding Day Attire
The principle governing the attire guidelines can be summed up by a single virtue: Modesty.
Please Note: The wedding party is expected to be modest, reverent, and respectful at both the rehearsal and Nuptial Mass.
Men
Any of the following is acceptable at the Nuptial Mass: Suit & Tie, Long-Sleeve Button-up & Dress Pants/Slacks.
Shorts, sleeveless tops, and open-toed footwear are not to be worn.
You will be asked to step out if you do not adhere to these guidelines.
Please refrain from bright, “loud,” & eye-catching attire.
Women
Modest dresses and skirts, just past the knee at a minimum, with a preference for ankle- or floor-length pieces.
Clothing cannot be skin-tight, overly sheer (see-through) at the chest or back, or have thigh-high slits at the legs.
No cleavage is permitted, and shoulders must be covered.
Plunging necklines and backs, as well as cut-out fronts and backs, are absolutely unacceptable.
You will be asked to step out if you do not adhere to these guidelines.
Please refrain from bright, “loud,” & eye-catching attire.
Why Modesty?
In general, people "dress to the occasion” - we choose clothing that matches the formality, mood, purpose, and cultural expectations of an event or setting we're in. It’s a way of showing respect, awareness, and belonging—communicating silently that you understand the context you're in.
- At the opera or ballet, formal or semi-formal attire honors the tradition and elevates the experience.
- When meeting royalty or dignitaries, conservative and refined clothing reflects reverence for protocol and authority.
- For job interviews or professional environments, polished attire communicates competence and seriousness.
- At funerals, dark, modest clothing expresses mourning and solidarity.
- Casual gatherings or sports events call for relaxed, practical attire that matches the setting.
Each choice of clothing becomes part of how we engage with meaning, mood, and community.
When we attend Mass, we are at the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God and Creator of the universe. It is the greatest form of Christian worship.
We are supernaturally present at the same Sacrifice at Calvary over two thousand years ago.
The church houses our Lord, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament within the tabernacle.
Dressing modestly communicates our respect for God and understanding of who He is and what happens at each Mass.
If one would respect the dress code to be followed in the presence of an earthly sovereign or another royal, how much more dignified should we dress in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Christus Rex — Christ the King?
Church Teaching on Modesty
The virtue of modesty is much deeper than a list of rules to follow, but it’s about seeing ourselves the way God does.
What is modesty?
In short, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says the following:
2531 Purity of heart will enable us to see God: it enables us even now to see things according to God.
2519 [Purity of heart]... lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
2533 Purity of heart requires the modesty which is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person.
Some popes have given specific guidelines on how to dress modestly, but their guidelines are discipline and not Church doctrine.
What does the Bible say?
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 12:1-2
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
What else does the Cathecism say?
Listen to Father Mike Schmitz's commentary - Day 324
Listen to Father Mike Schmitz's commentary - Day 325
Ninth Commandent: You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
2529 The ninth commandment warns against lust or carnal concupiscence.
2515 ...Christian theology has given [concupiscence] a particular meaning: the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason. The apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the "flesh" against the "spirit."
2516 Because man is a composite being, spirit and body, there already exists a certain tension in him; a certain struggle of tendencies between "spirit" and "flesh" develops.
But in fact this struggle belongs to the heritage of sin. It is a consequence of sin and at the same time a confirmation of it. It is part of the daily experience of the spiritual battle:
For the Apostle it is not a matter of despising and condemning the body which with the spiritual soul constitutes man's nature and personal subjectivity.
Rather, he is concerned with the morally good or bad works, or better, the permanent dispositions - virtues and vices - which are the fruit of submission (in the first case) or of resistance (in the second case) to the saving action of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason the Apostle writes: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."
2517 The heart is the seat of moral personality... "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication. . . . "
The struggle against carnal covetousness entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance.
1809 Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods.
It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable.
The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart."
2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
"Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.
There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith.
2519 The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him.
Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God.
Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance.
Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden.
It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness.
It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.
2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of the spiritual dignity proper to man.
It is born with the awakening consciousness of being a subject.
Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.