We love an excuse to dress up, and if there are wedding hats involved? We’re there. After all, there’s no greater reason to go all out, fashion-wise, than when two people you love are tying the knot.
It seems that there are more weddings in our diary than hours in the day this year, so if you’re planning your wedding guest outfits, we’ve done some of the hard work for you and have found the best wedding hats to buy, whatever your budget.
Wedding hats are the ultimate accessory to complement your wedding guest dress (alongside a pair of comfortable wedding shoes and a clutch bag, of course). A fabulous wedding hat will give your get-up a polished finish, hence why the royals are obsessed.
There is certain protocol involved with wearing a hat (don’t worry, we’ve covered hat-wearing etiquette below) but the way a hat will complete your outfit and turn heads (pun intended) makes our hearts sing.
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Who wears a hat at a wedding?
Anyone can wear wedding hats, but it’s customary for the mother of the bride to don one. The Princess of Wales, The Duchess of Sussex and Princess Eugenie are all known for wearing occasion hats and making them look effortless, so take a leaf out of their book when choosing yours. Although you don’t have to be royal to look great in our edit of the best wedding guest hats!
How to style a hat for a wedding
Stick to a simple theme of two shades for a chic, monochrome look or opt for a pop of contrast colour against a neutral tone. Taking a colour from your dress or shoes and echoing it in your hat is a fool-proof way to build your outfit. If you want to clash colours, follow the colour wheel and choose shades directly opposite each other for a bold look. Alternatively, go tonal and pick colours that are next to each other on the colour spectrum. Orange and red, say, or blue and turquoise are great matches.
Where can you find the best wedding hats?
Hats can range from thousands of pounds for a bespoke designer style to under £50 if you choose a high street fascinator. John Lewis have a huge array and if you can pop into Fenwicks, you’ll find a large array of occasion wedding hats to try on. The bigger stores have classic shades like the best black wedding hats and the best navy wedding hats, we’ve found.
Although Accessorize and LK Bennett carry some expensive-looking options, and we’re super fans of the Karen Millen x Emily-London milinery collection. If you want to rock a bold colour, Coast should also be on your must-visit destinations for wedding hat shopping this summer for their Lisa Tan collaboration.
If you’re looking to splurge, designers like Vivien Sheriff and Rachel Trevor Morgan are the millinery names to know, who focus on statement pieces that would work at the smartest weddings and events like Royal Ascot too.
Do you keep your hat on at a wedding reception?
Traditionally, you should remove your wedding hat after the meal – but for less formal occasions it’s totally up to you. No one’s going to tell you otherwise, unless you’re attending a regal ceremony, and if you’ve made up your mind to wear a hat, you might as well make the most of your head-turning accessory!
As well as sculptural designs and architectural shapes that suit formal weddings, if you’re attending a casual country ceremony or a relaxed beach wedding, a designer straw sunhat from Gucci or Eugenia Kim might be more apt. Likewise, smaller weddings don’t have to have a no-hat dress code. A neat, chic fascinator can cause just as much drama as a classic headpiece, if you choose s striking material or colour. The old saying still rings true – if you want to get ahead, get a hat.