Destination weddings can be a lot of fun, and a great excuse to take a nice vacation for friends and family. Of course, when attending a destination wedding, you need to do a lot of planning to ensure the trip goes smoothly. Normally, it is worth the effort.

When the couple in this story planned to attend the wedding of a friend, they had everything packed up and ready to go, hoping to see the local countryside as well as attend the wedding.

Unfortunately, once they arrived at the hotel, they learned that the couple getting married had changed the dress code and added some extra events. So, rather than going on a hike and seeing teh local sites, the couple had to go shopping and attend an event wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit.

While a bit annoying, they still had a great time celebrating the wedding of their friends, so it was all worth it in the end. It is nice to have loved ones at your wedding. Making these types of last-minute changes, however, isn’t good.

Complex dress codes + international destination wedding

This past November, my husband’s good friend from college got married to his now wife and had a destination wedding abroad.

Any excuse to go on an amazing trip.

We attended, because why not! My husband would get to see his friends from college (who he rarely sees since he moved after graduation) and we’d get to explore a new country.

We had the means, although we budgeted for a while to make sure we could comfortably make the trip.

I’m sure everyone looked amazing.

Part of that budget was due to it being a black tie wedding, which was strictly spelled out on both the invite and wedding website. The rehearsal dinner was also a formal event.

My husband and I do not go to many black tie events in general, so we had to rent a tux and purchase a gown and shoes for me. He also got some new dress shoes for the rehearsal and I got a dress for that as well.

This should be a lot of fun.

We arrived in the country about three days before the wedding. We were looking forward to exploring the area, connecting with husband’s old friends, and meeting others attending the wedding (almost all guests were staying in our hotel).

When we arrived to our hotel room, a wedding information card was waiting for us. It turns out that the events before the wedding were different than what was described on the wedding website.

That’s weird. Everything should have been clearly laid out so people could pack and plan.

The formal rehearsal dinner had a strict color scheme (not mentioned on the site). And there was an additional event on the very next day that was not mentioned on the site at all, with a formal dress code and its own specific color scheme.

I could rustle together outfits for both events that would *sort of* work from what I had brought, but my husband could not. The outfit he’d selected for the rehearsal dinner was pretty much exactly the opposite of what the couple had requested.

What are they going to do?

He’d also packed pretty light in general so we’d have room in the luggage for souvenirs (and the required tux took up a decent amount of room).

Once we got settled in our room, we went down to the hotel bar where the couple had invited guests to stop by, have a drink, and mingle.

Ok, at least there are options. But this is going to cost even more money.

After saying our hellos to the couple, the groom mentioned to us to make sure to follow the dress codes.

My husband responded that he didn’t have anything appropriate for the pre-wedding events, and the groom said not to worry, because there was a mall a few blocks away.

This should work out.

He mentioned that a few of the other guests were planning on going there the next day and we could join them.

We nixed the hike we’d planned the next day to join the group of guests travelling to the mall. I was a little disappointed, but exploring a mall in a new country was still an exciting idea!

They are really making the best of it.

Plus, the first event was that night, and I wanted my husband to feel comfortable and not worry about being dressed inappropriately.

There were about 8 of us going – a few we didn’t know, and a few college acquaintances of my husband’s. I was looking forward to getting to know them all, and everyone was cool.

Getting the right sizes can be a real challenge.

For some background, most of the guys in our group, including my husband, were big, athletic dudes (the groom had met most of his friends through playing sports). Not obese, just large framed and tall.

The country we were in generally has a much shorter average height and weight than the US. (During our time there, I saw very few men over six feet tall other than tourists.) This made shopping for “big and tall” formal shirts and pants a huge challenge for almost all the guys in our group.

The whole day was taken up, which I’m sure was disappointing.

We ended up spending a very, very long time at that mall. I managed to get a dress that fit the rehearsal color scheme better, so that was nice. But the excursion took up most of our day.

Some of the guys, including my husband, had to settle for clothes that were too small, but fit well enough to be wearable once.

Feeling like you are in a rush is never fun.

We didn’t get back to the hotel until about an hour before the event, so we had to rush to shower and get ready in order to make it to the shuttle.

We had to use the shuttle, as ubers are hard to get in this particular country, and cabs can be dangerous. Public transport could also be dangerous at night, and did not go to the location of this event.

At least everyone is having a good time.

All in all, the wedding and other events were a TON of fun, and I thought the couple provided their guests with an awesome time.

They are good people, and I was happy to be able to celebrate with them. I was just left scratching my head at their dress code choices.

Many countries don’t use air conditioning nearly as much as the US.

Oh, and every event was majority outdoors. Indoor spaces were open, and used ceiling fans but not AC. Since it was a tropical country, it was quite hot in November.

I was glad I picked flowy dresses to wear, but those guys in their too-tight shirts were SWEATING.

Well, it all worked out in the end, but I’m sure this was frustrating at the time. At least the event was fun, and the couple getting married got exactly what they wanted.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a teen girl who went above and beyond for a friend, only to be berated about not spending enough money on a gift.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.

They didn’t know it would be this bad until they got there.

This is a pretty good idea.

I don’t disagree with this commenter.

The happy couple is making too many demands.

This person would not have bought the new outfits.

Sure, it is the happy couple’s big day, but that doesn’t mean they can make crazy demands at the last minute. Everyone spent a lot of time and money to get to the destination wedding; it is really rude to change the plans after they arrive.

Honestly, while I would love to go to a wedding like this, I’m not sure I would be willing to spend extra time and money to get a new outfit.