If You’re A Daytime Guest

Daytime guests have the hardest job dressing for a wedding, even more so than the bride. No, really. You’ve got to go formal (though not too formal), but there are no solid restrictions on colours, fabrics or shapes. To make your life easier, a suit in navy, grey or taupe are the best winter-ready option, and you can add some check, pinstripe or a double-breasted silhouette too. On footwear, brown shoes will work perfectly well with all of the above suits and are less formal than black Classic shirt and tie combinations are obviously a safe bet still, but for a more modern look try and grandad collar shirt and a pocket square to liven things up a little – but only if the wedding is on the casual end of the spectrum.

If You’re An Evening Guest

So, you didn’t make it to the main event but take that not as a slight, but rather hours of small talk mercifully swerved. It goes without saying that you need to look like you’ve made an effort, but you don’t need to go in all guns blazing. A grandad collar shirt will do the trick, and you can even try a (subtle) patterned design, while a black or charcoal roll neck jumper will strike that perfect balance between relaxed and refined. PSA: no trainers and no jeans and yes, that includes black jeans.

Key Winter Wedding Pieces

By now, you should be almost completely swotted up on the ins and outs of winter wedding dressing, but don’t just think of the bigger picture, the devil really is in the detail.

Suit

The suit is pretty much the most important item of clothing you’ll need for a wedding, so you really, really need to get this right. “A single-breasted peak lapel suit always has a little bit more of an ‘occasion’ feel to it; as does a 3-piece suit,” says Holger Auffenberg, head of design at British tailoring brand Chester Barrie. “A double-breasted suit can look good especially in winter, but be mindful that this should never be worn unbuttoned, so this will probably hold you back a bit once everyone else starts to relax.”