I banned my wedding guests from wearing colourful clothes – my mother-in-law called me a ‘princess’, but I was prepared to edit people out of the photos if they broke the rules

A bride has been branded a ‘princess’ by her mother-in-law for imposing a strict dress code on her wedding guests.

Shanie Ryan, 39, told all guests to wear nude or neutral colors – such as shades of beige, pink and brown – on her special day so everyone would ‘match’.

The mother-of-one from south London implemented the strict dress code because she had a ‘clear vision’ of how her wedding photos would look after her big day.

She feared that guests arriving in bright, garish arrays would create the ‘wrong mood’ and spoil her one-of-a-kind images.

Shanie and her now-husband Tony Sinclair, 39, therefore wrote on the invitations that there was a nude or neutral color scheme – and even Shanie admitted it was ‘a bit cheeky’.

‘If someone had turned up with real defiance – bright pink glitter, feathers or crazy prom dresses that felt like a middle finger to us, I would have ushered them into the back of the photos or the photographer would have edited them out,’ she said.

‘I was fully prepared for it to come up in a speech and I had to laugh at myself – and it did.

‘Everyone told me they thought my invitation might have a bridezilla moment on the big day.

‘I think there were some people who thought it was so over the top and extra.

‘My mother-in-law said she thought I was a princess – but on the day she was impressed.’

The images came out exactly as the bride had hoped – making the bold request worthwhile.

“We had spent a good amount of money on our photographer and videographer, and I had a clear idea of ​​what photos and videos I wanted,” Shanie said.

‘I wanted cinematic and romantic – I was clear on the vision.

‘The only thing I thought could take away from the plan was people coming in crazy bright colors or glitter and feathers.

“I was worried that it wouldn’t matter how beautiful the pictures were if the wedding guests wore the wrong vibe.”

Shanie and Tony, an entrepreneur, were married at Primrose Hill Farm in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on July 6 last year.

Their invitation said: ‘We (aka Shanie lol) have a vision for the overall visual look of our wedding photos (sic).

‘Therefore, we kindly and respectfully ask that you adhere to our preferred dress code’.

The dress code specified their preferred palette of ‘light neutrals’ – beige, nude, tan, cream, champagne and pale gold.

They asked that the styles be “glamorous, formal, red carpet worthy” and could have “delicate prints, texture, gentle shimmer and embellishment”.

But the invitation also specified that guests were not to wear ‘bright colours, black, white, dark colours, neon, bold prints, dots, stripes, glitter’.

The couple wanted to ensure their friends and family didn’t turn up in strong patterns or bold colours, but wanted guests to ‘dress up and feel amazing’.

Shanie said: ‘We just didn’t want it to look like a crazy warehouse.

‘I had a little moment where I thought, “is this a bit cheeky?” especially because some people just love colors or some love black.

“But it added an element of fun to the run and everyone was excited to show what they were wearing.”

Fortunately, all the guests followed the rules and Shanie managed to get the photos she wanted.

The bride made a prearranged exception for a guest of African descent who wanted to attend her special day in traditional attire that did not match the color scheme.

“I’m glad we did the colours, everyone on the day commented that it looks so good and that it was a great idea,” said Shanie.

‘People understood it when they got there, even if they didn’t before.

‘With the rolling hills in the background, it captured the essence of the day and was also kind of a talking point.’