Dress Etiquette: What to Wear

People like to dress appropriately for an event, be it a dinner out with friends or an important wedding. But host and hostesses should be clear when issuing invitations what the desired dress is. I've received many ambiguous related invitations over the years and wanted to help others dicipher the vague dress-requests they might receive.

-If you're not sure how to dress, over dress for an event. Many people interrupt dressing for an event. You'll feel less obvious if you over -dress.

-Formal. Black tie (tuxedo) for men, floor length gowns for women.

-Black tie preferred, optional or invited. Tuxedo is the preferred choice for men, if the man does wear a tux then the women should be in a formal floor length gown. However if the man does not wear a tux, he will wear a dark suit, white shirt and conservative tie. A women in this case will wear a short dinner gown or an evening suit, a skirt with matching jacket.

-Dressy casual. Dress pants with matching jackets but no tie for men and dresses or dark pantsuits for women.

-Business casual. Pressed dress pants or khaki twills with a collared shirt, but no tie. Never wear jeans to a business casual event. Socks and belts required for men. Women can wear pants or skirts with hose and a collared shirt. No flip-flops.

-Casual. Typically anything goes, but if you have never been with the host or hostess and it says casual, it's better to over-dress until you have a better understanding of how they define casual.

Mark Nash is the author of "Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional", "Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate", "Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing", and "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home". Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. He contributes residential real estate analysis to Business Week, CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today.

View his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com

Observing Best Man Speech Etiquette

Best man speeches can usually get boring and dull during wedding receptions as they most of the time carry the same old messages best men want to convey to a newlywed couple. However for some couples, boring speeches are actually things to be thankful for as there are many more things that can go wrong during best man speeches. People who usually get to stand on the podium to deliver a message to the bride and groom sometimes go overboard and in the end only hurts the message to want to say. This is due to the lack of knowledge of the proper things to do when put in such a position. This is typically true with best men, who because of their familiarity with the groom or the bride tend to be overly humorous and ultimately becomes annoying at times during the occasion especially during the best man speech.

The best man is usually called upon and counted on to deliver an astonishing speech for the bride and groom about their new life together and is intended to be an inspiring force the couple's future. Sometimes though, we become overly zealous and end up giving our listeners the wrong message to our listeners. The best man speech etiquette needs to be observed when going up to podium to speak your mind about the bride and groom. Obviously, you need to be positive when speaking about the occasion while constantly checking to make sure you do not sound monotonous and boring to the crowd. Another thing a best man needs to watch out for is avoiding being overly humorous bordering on hysterical with unnecessary jokes which are mostly interpreted as a lack of concern and disrespect for the bride and groom and their families. This one of the most important things to keep in mind and avoid, when trying to observe best man speech etiquette. The last thing one needs to avoid as the best man is to always be in control of what you say and do come speech time. Excessive intake of alcohol may have negative effects on your personality and may cause you to do unnecessary things that otherwise you would not do if you were sober. This will not only ruin your chance at presenting a good speech but will also damage any relationship you had with the bride and groom in the first place. Always remember that as an important part of the wedding ceremony and an important person in the bride and groom's life they expect you to show just why they chose you as the best man by practicing best man speech etiquette when you're called upon to deliver your speech.

The best man speech, as one of the most anticipated parts of the wedding reception must always be treated with respect as also being a form of respect for the newlywed couple. Hence it is important to always practice best man speech etiquette to help enrich the relationship between you as a best man and the couple which will ultimately lead to a better atmosphere and a more enjoyable time at the reception.

There's no good reason you should be embarrassed about writing a best man speech etiquette. Visit our site to get the information you need to effectively write a best man speech using best man speech etiquette. If you're ready to read more about how we can help you with writing and presenting a winning speech, visit our site and check out our free resources. Join the thousands we have already helped and visit us now.