What to wear for a wedding?

As I get older, more and more of my friends and family seem to be getting married and though you are happy for the future bride and groom, the dilemma arises about what to wear?  Of course it depends on the location and theme of the wedding but you do want to look good (without upstaging the bride) as you never know who you will bump into (your ex, your high school nemesis or even someone you want to impress).  You also do not want to wear the same dress as another guest (which puts high street choices as dangerous unless they are previous seasons) and yet look appropriate and not stick out.  This last point about not sticking out happened to me recently.  I went to a wedding in France and as it was to be a church wedding, I thought (with inspiration from Catherine and William's wedding) that I could wear a headpiece/fascinator.  It was an outfit that I had worn before to another wedding with great success and as I would not be meeting anyone from that previous wedding at this wedding, I thought why not?  Bad choice, I rocked up to the church and realised that the ladies were a) not wearing any hats or headpieces whatsoever, b) casual shirt dresses or even mini dresses which a TOWIE star would be proud to wear seemed to be popular choices.  So yes, I rocked up in my navy heels and slim fitting navy dress with my headpiece jauntily fixed onto my head.  Did this make me stick out?  I would like to think in the right way but the jury is still out on that one considering the looks I received from the other ladies attending the wedding.

Hobbs headpiece and navy dress, vintage Ferragamo over-sized clutch

I have a few more weddings to attend in the near future - one of them in the winter and another I am hoping will be Spring or Autumn (Summer can get too hot).  For both, I am hoping to wear some of the vintage pieces that I have found and am waiting for the opportunity to wear.

Winter Wedding

Hopefully, the setting will be a crisp November winter's day and with the historic backdrop of an estate in Kent, I am hoping to be inspired by the old Hollywood starlet styles as well as one of my fashion inspirations Nicole Warne.  I hope to wear a maxi, long-sleeved, black, woolen dress with a high neckline and pair it with a blonde faux fur coat.  I am afraid to wear real fur in the UK just in case I have a Carrie (Stephen King's Carrie not Carrie Bradshaw) moment and get doused in pig's blood or red paint.  Not sure how the combination will look but in my mind's eye, it seems like a potential combination.  Accessories yet to be decided but I might bite the bullet and sport some ruby red lips.

I just noticed that the dress looks navy in the picture but it is really black!  Hmm, bride to be please hurry up and send the official invite and fingers crossed that the weather will be cold enough for this outfit!

Spring/Autumn Wedding


Another friend has announced his engagement and I am hoping that it will be a Spring/Autumn wedding ( I love the fact that I want to decide the time of his wedding not the happy couple whose wedding it will be!)  Another of my vintage finds is another maxi dress which has an amazing Pucci inspired print which I am hoping to pair with a brown/tan belt and my brown Miu Miu heels.  No jewellery except for may be a pair of Dior inspired earrings....

The question for both scenarios is what bag to take?  I am assuming a clutch would be the best option but as I like to carry a lot of stuff, the clutch will have to be large enough for everything.  I love the concept of a minaudiere but it is impossible for me to limit myself to a few things.  An option would be the quilted Chanel clutch...