After reading all of these posts, this thread has reminded me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTU2He2BIc0

:D

LOL, I remember that!

Aren't these really just nautical-themed weddings? I think most weddings are pretty preppy, but I don't think of them that way.

See that's where I'm getting hung up, leaving out the stereotype of the "redneck wedding," destination weddings, and quiet courthouse affairs, most weddings are pretty similar. Dress, veil, suits or tuxes, bridesmaid dresses, flowers that match the theme.

But I think this thread has established that I have no eye for this sort of thing.

I don't think of nautical and preppy as the same thing at all. Preppy, especially New England preppy may incorporate nautical elements, but there is a difference.

No, I think part of the problem is that, as has been noted, preppy can mean what I'll call "true preppy" -- as in prep school and those for whom prep school is the norm -- and it can also mean what designers label a "preppy style", like what you see in lots of the pictures posted in this thread. That preppy style has taken on a life of its own, and like I've said, often that style doesn't reflect what I've called true preppy.

True preppy is marked by a conservatism, a we've-always-done-it-this-way-because-this-is-how-it's-done attitude. I'll give you an example:

Google turned up these on preppy wedding invitations:

http://rlv.zcache.com/apple_green_na...925cfg_400.jpg

http://wpd-images-cdn.tp-global.net/...t/400/3743.jpg

The use of the colors and the style of script reflect a preppy style, but no true, old-school preppy would ever dream of sending either of those invitations. There's no reason for the invitation to look any different from mama's or grandmama's, and there's certainly no reason for color.

Okay, I exaggerate a little -- a concession to modernity might appear in the form of a grosgrain ribbon tying everything together, but the ribbon would not be apple green or pink. ;)

No, I do get that marketed "preppy" and prep-school/old money are different. But as "traditional" weddings are particularly, well, traditional, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a true preppy wedding and a regular wedding. I'm sure there are all sorts of rules I don't know anything about and that they're all unwritten and mostly unspoken and if you have to ask you'll never know :p

Going to a Catholic school, we got called preppy just because we were the closest thing to a prep school around and we cost money, even though not everyone there was well off.

Like I said, I suspect I just don't 'get' it.

True preppy started in New England. Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, and Nantucket would be the traditional preppy coastal getaways that people think of, but Greenwich and Darian, CT, parts of Long Island, Maine...etc. are all where preppy started. The concept began with college preparatory schools, hence the name "prep." From those prep schools, kids would go on to the Ivy Leagues and then after graduating they would have preppy weddings.

Later on, preppy moved down south and now there's southern preppy as it's own thing. There's also Palm Beach preppy which is separate as well. Some people mistakenly think that all that makes something preppy is pink and green plaid--Which ends up just looking like it's trying to be preppy when it isn't.

You mean like this....
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VDjAC9kURJ...00/preppy1.jpg

I don't know about you folks, but this is what I call preppy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0A_YXj5trc

I know this is an old thread, but...

Blue blazers and khaki pants for a formal wedding?

What was the bride thinking?

Two years ago I went to a wedding (for my ring bearer...where did the years go?) and the guys wore the same thing. I don't think they really cared...they just wanted to be comfortable and drink afterwards. My Dad thought it was GREAT. That's been their MO over all the years I've known them. Trust funds, hand-me-down furniture, vintage silver for 24 in the drawer next to the kitchen junk drawer...nothing flashy...ever. When his Dad (Beta from SMU) gave the toast, he thanked his son for not making them wear "tuxados" and everyone laughed.

If the guys are wearing jackets and khakis, then by definition, it isn't a formal wedding. Formality is defined by the menswear. Women's dresses are much more fluid; the same slip gown might work on the beach with guys in shorts or at the Plaza with guys in white tie.