An influencer faced backlash on social media after she wore a gold dress to a wedding in New York and was accused of upstaging the bride.
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Erika Wheaton posted a TikTok of her wedding guest attire with her boyfriend and it sparked a debate on whether she picked the outfit to gain more attention than the bride. She wore a gold, satin strapless dress with white strappy heels. The video was viewed on TikTok 250,000 times and hundreds of users had various opinions about her dress from the color to how the dress was too “sexy” for a wedding. A wedding photographer under the TikTok name @teecova said, “I work for brides. Your dress photographs off white. Be delusional sweeties. Your lucky your bride was more laid back than most.
In response, Wheaton said it was never her intention to take away attention or thought it was inappropriate. “Never did I ever think this dress was inappropriate for a wedding. I could not imagine wearing a white dress on someone else’s day and this dress, simply, is not white,” she explained to News.com.au.
@erikawheaton Reply to @teecova 🤍 happy to tag you in some more images as well! #tiktoktrolls #badenergystayfaraway ♬ original sound – rinkomaniaa
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She originally wanted to wear a “Mid Blue” dress but thought it was too bold for the wedding and didn’t want to steal any attention from the bride.
“I chose the dress because of how simple, elegant and timeless it is.I actually wanted to originally go with the ‘Mid Blue’ color and was told by friends not to wear a color so bold and bright so that I wouldn’t steal any attention. That’s why I opted for the more muted and simple ‘Golden’ color.”
Wheaten further explained to the photographer in a follow-up TikTok video that the dress is gold and posted several videos with her boyfriend in different lighting.
“I knew that I did nothing wrong and knew that the rest of my audience would agree with me, that’s why I responded to her. People love to bring others down and talk poorly of strangers; it’s the weirdest thing. I also ran a poll on Instagram asking my followers for their thoughts before I responded on TikTok just to make sure I wasn’t actually delusional.”
The video also went viral on Twitter where some users agreed that the dress was appropriate for the wedding.
??? champagne is like THE perfect wedding neutral I’m confused 😭
— the candle lady (@jackieaina) July 8, 2022
if you’re getting upstaged at your own wedding who’s really at fault🤥
— aiba🧘🏽♀️ (@aibanyama) July 7, 2022
I never understood ppl (incl. Brides) that made a big deal about what colour outfit ppl are wearing? If you are invited to the wedding, you know who the bride is..she’ll literally be walking down the aisle and be at the alter for a while! It’s not like we can miss her?
— (valerie) Marielou Makeup (@marieloumakeup) July 7, 2022