How to Attend a Formal Dinner
- 1). RSVP. Hosts and event organizers take great care to put a formal dinner together and often mention "Please RSVP" in the invitation. As soon as you know that you are free to attend, write to the host confirming your attendance. If you are on a familiar basis with the host you may also call or tell them in person, but if the event is a larger, more impersonal one where tickets are sold, such as a formal dinner organized by a church or community center, then simply buying a ticket to the event counts as your RSVP unless you are otherwise directed.
- 2). Dress appropriate to the weather, setting and occasion. For example, a white dress may be elegant for a summer dinner party but it is inappropriate for a guest to wear at a wedding reception. The formal dinner invitation may specify suggested attire, but if you are in doubt as to what the dress code will be, then simply ask the host or the event organizer directly. Otherwise, opting for a classic-cut suit for a man and an elegant long dress for a woman, both with complementary accessories, are rarely wrong.
- 3). Bring a gift. If the formal dinner will take place in a home, then bring a bottle of wine, a houseplant or another thoughtful but noncontroversial gift to present to the host or hostess when you arrive. If the formal dinner is a wedding reception, then bring a gift you selected from the couple's gift registry and place it on the table that is often set aside for this purpose. You do not need to bring a gift, unless otherwise informed, if you bought a ticket to the dinner.
- 4). Display proper table manners and awareness of etiquette. Say please and thank you. Smile and be gracious. Keep your napkin in your lap. Use the bread plate set to the upper left of your dinner plate for your bread and butter. Use the fork set to the immediate left of your dinner plate for salad and the fork set to the left of the salad fork as your dinner fork. Glasses are set to the right of the dinner plate. Your water glass is the one closest to your dinner plate and your wine glass is the one to the right of the water glass.
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