Last January, Gord and I were invited to a formal wedding in snow country. My first reaction was, "I have nothing to wear," which made Gord burst out laughing. He knows my taste in clothes and always remarks how perfectly elegant I look, no matter what the occasion.

But this was different. It was a winter wedding. And I was at a loss for ideas. So I began to research for choices. I was surprised to find lots of information and opinions on what is best, both on line and offline. Winter weddings have been steadily growing in polarity in recent years. The contrast between the snowy outdoors and cozy, elegant venues makes for an atmosphere of added romance.

Dress For Location

Cold winter weddings by their very nature require additional thought about what to wear. Of course if the wedding is formal, your choices are limited to tuxedos for men and evening gowns for women.

In our case, the wedding party was formal but the guests had no restrictions. Also, the wedding was indoors, except for a quick outdoor sleigh ride only for the wedding party photos. I was relieved. I didn't have to worry about extra 'woollies' and such. And, I already had an elegant black faux-fur mid-calf length winter coat that would go well with any dress.

Dress Styles

My research revealed that dresses should be knee-length to tea-length with no plunging necklines or high slits. Sleeves are better, but if the dress is strapless or has spaghetti straps, just add a wrap or bolero jacket.

The prevailing recommendations are to avoid bright colors such as yellow and orange, which are best suited for spring weddings. Instead, they suggested ladies dress in rich wintery colors such as burgundy, gold, deep plum, black if accented with bright accessories, and forest green, while reds should be deeper tones only. The focus was on single colors with lots of texture in the material itself.

Accents

The jewelry should be light and add a sparkling contrast to the dress. Diamond settings or gems like rubies and emeralds are appropriate. A simple necklace, earrings and/or a small jeweled handbag will add just the right sparkle. The overall effect is the glamor of elegant simplicity.

Thanks to some wonderful jewelry from Gord throughout the years, I have all the sparkle I need. I chose a rich black velvet fitted A-line dress falling just below the knees and accented it with my gorgeous ruby pendant on a gold chain with matching earrings given to me by Gord for our 40th wedding anniversary. My pump shoes glittered in the color of rubies to complete the outfit. I could tell it turned out just perfect by the sparkle in Gord's eyes when he whispered to me that I was the most beautiful woman at the wedding.

I wish you all the best in your own search for the perfect dress for the Winter Wedding. Follow the heart of romance and you can't go wrong.