If the new rule is that wedding guests need to research what color the bridesmaids dresses are and avoid that color, I'm just going to stop going to weddings. Even if a guest wears the same color, the chances are that the dress will be a completely different style from the bridesmaids, and the shade of the color will also be different. Wear whatever dress you like that you feels makes you look pretty/sexy/drop dead gorgeous--whichever look fits your style. As for brides, the most they can do is set the level of formality of their guests' attire. Requiring certain colors or costumes is telling their guests that the appearance of the wedding guests is more important to them who actually attends their wedding. Not the nicest message to be sending. No guest should have to go out and buy something just to wear to a particular wedding--they should, if they want, be able to use any existing suitable outfit in their closet. What with wedding and shower gifts, and frequently having travel and hotel costs for weddings these days, it's a lot of chutzpah to ask guests to buy special outfits just for your wedding.

Congratulations to you! For two reasons, I would not call this party a "reception": (1) the party is much too far after the wedding -- closer to the first anniversary -- and (2) although it was a very small wedding, it wasn't an elopement or a City Hall ceremony with no celebration or guests at all. I would just call it a party in their honor. I would omit any reference to the wedding at all, so as to avoid any appearance of the party being an attempt to get gifts, as if the couple wanted an exotic private wedding at the time, but now feel they missed out on gifts. Of course, people who didn't already send a wedding gift probably will bring them one anyway, but you don't want it to look like you are prompting them. Everyone you are inviting will understand that the party is in honor of their marriage, because you will only (I assume) be inviting people who are close enough that they know that the couple were recently married, and that's why you are doing it. You wrote "food will be served," but I don't know if that means a casual barbecue in your yard, a picnic lunch at the park, a tea dance at a country club, a brunch, snacks, or what. The games make it sound casual, but you also mentioned music and dancing. Once you decide on your plans, that of course will affect the text of your invitation. If it will be a casual evening barbecue in your yard, for example, you might word the invitation like this: Please join us for a cookout, dancing, and swimming in honor of [couple's names, including last name(s)] Sunday, June 34th 5:00 p.m. at our home 123 Sesame Street R.s.v.p. 555-5555 [or email@email.com, or omit if you are including a response card or trust your friends to respond without prompting!] Or, you could leave out "and swimming" and add "Bring your bathing suits for a swim" at the end, depending on what you want to emphasize as the tone of your party. It's not necessary to mention that games will be available. I don't think you need to specify attire, unless you want it black tie, which doesn't sound likely. If you feel you must, IMHO it is better to stick to "casual" or "dressy" or something rather than anything confusing like "festive attire." But I don't think you need to say anything: the style, color, and font of the invitation will get the message to your guests. (We went to 3 weddings this month. One invitation said "black tie optional," one said "cocktail attire," and one said nothing, but it was a rather formal looking invitation to a Saturday night wedding with dinner and dancing. The guests' attire was the same at all three of them! Well, no tuxedos at the last two, but the women at all of them wore dressy evening outfits, some long, some short, some pants.) Have fun.

January in FL can be quite similar to late autumn up north, so I'd have a jacket or wrap handy. Outside, I would want something that helps keep my feet clean. IOW flat sandals may leave you w/ dirt & sand in your toes. & stiletto heels can be problematic if you have to navigate grass/sod. Try this: I just Google Imaged 'outdoor wedding guest attire' & got a ton of results.

Thank you Maire Cate! It is awful how this is affecting some of our elderly. I have had several conversations regarding this with medical personnel, facility personnel, etc. It is really hard on this group. I am so thankful the restrictions are easing up a bit! Dad has had two psychological evaluations (due to some very confusing conversations, etc. we were worried) once in the hospital and now in the facility he is in. He does not have dementia, but the CONFUSION caused by this pandemic can play havoc with their mental state. Thankfully, in this new facility, the psychologist is the director of a local geriatric program so we are happy for his input. Dad has about 80 more days for rehab and then we will decide what happens. I really do not see him going back to assisted living, but maybe he will prove me wrong! That's another bad thing, with the restrictions, we were not able to visit facilities before we moved him! It all fell into place though, this facility was the only one where we knew someone who had recently had a family member there and the only facility that had a private room open. I think it was meant to be.