What to Wear to a Winter Wedding

Start with the invitation

A summer wedding forgives a great deal. A winter one does not. The church is cold, the photographs are taken outside in a wind, and the day runs from early afternoon to well past midnight with no chance to change. So before you think about colour, read the invitation properly and plan for all of it.

The time tells you more than the dress code. A ceremony at noon followed by a long lunch suits a midi dress and a good coat. A ceremony at four with dinner and dancing after it is an evening wedding, whatever the card says, and a floor-length dress will look right from the first drink. If the invitation says black tie, go long. If it says nothing, a dress that falls below the knee is the safe and elegant choice.

The old rules still stand. Leave white, ivory and cream to the bride, and anything that photographs as white under a flash. Black is no longer a faux pas, particularly in winter, but it reads better softened by texture or a print than as a plain black column.

Velvet is the winter fabric

If one fabric belongs to a winter wedding, it is velvet. Its pile absorbs light rather than reflecting it, so the colour looks deeper by candlelight than it does in the shop, and it has a weight that falls well and keeps you warm in a draughty nave. It also forgives a long day: velvet does not show the creases of a three-hour dinner the way satin does.

The Diane (£99.00) is the most complete answer we have. A high neck and long, close sleeves keep the bodice quiet; then painterly roses gather across the skirt, darkest at the waist and fullest at the hem, which is edged in fine black lace. It is black, but no one will call it a black dress. Because the neckline is high, it needs nothing at the throat. Put the effort into earrings and the hair instead.

For a daytime ceremony, the Honorine (£89.00) does the same job at midi length, with a V neckline that leaves room for a fine chain. Wear it with sheer black tights and a heel you can stand in.

When the card says black tie

Black tie asks for a long dress, and a winter black tie wedding is the one occasion where you can wear real drama without looking overdressed. The trick is to choose one source of shine and let everything else stay matte.

The Gisèle (£99.00) manages that balance within a single gown. The bodice is velvet in a deep wine, the long sleeves are sequinned so they catch the light only when you move your arms, and the skirt is a full sweep of satin that pours to the floor. It is formal without being stiff, and the colour flatters almost every skin tone in low light.

With a gown like this, keep the jewellery small and the bag simple. The sleeves are already doing the work a statement necklace would do.

The coat is part of the outfit

At a summer wedding nobody sees your coat. In winter it is in every photograph taken outside the church, and you will wear it for the walk to the car, the drinks on the terrace and the moment you leave. Choose it as carefully as the dress.

Proportion matters most. Over a maxi dress, a coat should either reach close to the hem or stop clearly above the waist. A coat that ends a few centimetres above the hem of the dress cuts you in half. Over a midi, a coat that covers the dress completely looks considered; one that shows a hand's width of hem looks deliberate too.

The Mathilde wrap coat (£149.00) is the one we would wear. A deep faux fur collar frames the face in every photograph, matching cuffs keep the wrists warm, and a tie belt cinches it over a dress without crushing it. Over a midi and heels it looks like the coat of the day rather than the coat over the outfit, and it comes off easily at the door. Choose the black; the oat is lovely, but too close to cream for someone else's wedding.

Shoes you can stand in for ten hours

A winter wedding is a long day on cold stone floors, wet gravel and, eventually, a dance floor. Height is less important than stability. A low, sculpted heel will see you through the whole day; a stiletto rarely makes it past the speeches.

The Éloïse (£79.00) is the shoe we would choose. The heel is low and stable, but it is a curved, sculptural piece of metal that looks deliberate rather than sensible, and a square toe with a deep V cut at the front lengthens the leg under a midi hem. Polished black works with every colour of dress and every coat.

Finish with one statement

The best-dressed guests at a winter wedding rarely wear much jewellery. They choose one piece with presence and leave it at that.

With a high neckline, that piece is a pair of earrings. The Larme drop earrings (£39.00) fall 40mm from a polished bead to a long, liquid teardrop, swing as you turn your head and catch every candle in the room. They come in gold tone and silver tone; match them to the metal of your bag.

As for the bag, velvet answers velvet. The Mireille (£79.00) is a soft velvet bucket with a sculpted gold tone handle you carry by hand, and a long strap for the dancing, when you need both hands free. It holds a phone, a lipstick and the order of service you will want to keep.