35 best wedding guest dresses, approved by a recent bride

Luckily, there is very little in the way of a wedding guest dress rule book – other than no white, obvs. My top tips are: don't outshine the bride or bridesmaids, and try not to opt for something you'd wear on a night out (i.e. anything too revealing) – grandparents will likely be present, remember.

If you're worried about budget, there are plenty of affordable wedding guest dresses on the high street that look endlessly more expensive than they actually are, so you needn't spend a fortune, and you should always shop your own wardrobe first. Don't stress about buying a wedding guest outfit on top of a wedding gift and hen party look when you probably already own exactly what you're looking for. That said, there's plenty of inspo below if you really can't find a thing.

This year, I've got three weddings and each member of the Glamour team also has at least two – anyone else at that age where every friend seems to be tying the knot/buying a house/having babies? So while my expertise in finding the best wedding guest dresses is self-proclaimed, you could argue it's totally justified. I know exactly what's trending because I've been searching for it and testing them myself, and I also know that budget is just as important as quality and style.

As a consumers, I think it's ideal when you get to see what a dress looks like on a few different bodies before making a decision on purchasing. So that's exactly what I've done below. I roped in a few colleagues and together we've tried on our favourite new-in styles to show you how they sit/fit/move on us as well as the gorgeous models on the websites. You're welcome.

As mentioned, the Glamour team has got a handful of nuptials to RSVP to this year. So with that in mind, I've been getting everyone to test styles from our favourite high-street brands, to some of the top designer labels.

I've ordered them through the best online clothing stores as well as the best rental sites, taking things like colour variety, size range, material and price into consideration. We then all took to the streets of London, styling each frock up to exactly how we'd wear it for someone's wedding, to demonstrate how the fabric moves and looks in genuine, unedited video clips and photos.

As this shoot took place last year, a few of the dresses seen on the above editors are now out of stock. But fret not. Another I'm planning another shoot as we speak, so fresher photos with new-in styles will be tried on ASAP.

You can read more about how we test here, and get our full verdict on which frocks to shop ahead.

For more from Glamour UK's Senior Commerce Writer Georgia Trodd, follow her on Instagram @georgiatrodd.