Furry, funky, and fun options that’ll keep you warm on your winter wedding day

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This ivory wedding shawl wins the internet today... lookit that sweet wide ribbon bow! Bonus: It's only $30.
This ivory wedding shawl wins the internet today… lookit that sweet wide ribbon bow! Bonus: It's only $30.

My fiance and I are planning a beautiful, private ceremony in a park. I picked out a beautiful, strapless silk-chiffon dress that is flowy and delicate and I love it. However, we're getting married in December, and the ceremony is going to take place outside.

Any ideas on how I can stay warm during the ceremony and still show off my pretty dress?

-Raina

Since the weather has turned cold (yay Fall!) I think it's the perfect time to look into options that'll keep you warm on your winter wedding day. I've got things that'll keep you warm from head to toe, and please almost every style and wedding theme. So grab a cup of coffee, get comfy under a blanket, and let's go virtual shopping!

Shawls

White Faux Cloche Fur Caplet Shoulder Wrap Shawl alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)White faux-fur shawls are a super stylish option.

Pelted Faux Mink Stole alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Here's a warm and fuzzy faux mink shawl and it comes in white, ivory, black or brown. Love me some options.

Capes

white fur capulet alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Here's a more open-style white faux-fur capelet. This should show off more of your dress, but keep your shoulders and back all cozy. Get it here.

Wedding Short Cloak with Hood alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)OMG, I want this satin-lined half cape with a hood, just because! This review in particular made me think it'd be great for a wedding: “This was perfect for my March wedding. Wore it for outdoor pictures and it was just lovely — complimented my ivory and light pink dress perfectly.”

hooded bridal cape alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)This cape will keep you very warm and feeling wonderfully romantic. Perfect for a Medieval Renaissance wedding!

Gloves and sleeves

41WxXJ6984LIf you're gonna go with gloves, there's nothing more convenient than fingerless, if your'e doing a ring exchange. Plus dig the fur on these babies!

wedding arm warmers alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Photo by Love by Serena.

Lindsay wore these amazing arm warmers from Vaisto Clothing on Etsy. I love love LOVE these babies. If you want more colors and/or sparkles, these arm/leg warmers from KD Dance offer a lot of options.

Boleros and shrugs

sequin shrugThese Disco-inspired all-over sequin shrug jackets are freaking gorgeous and wedding-ready.

Jackets

Loving this knee-length white winter jacket from Etsy seller xiaolizi.
Loving this knee-length white winter jacket from Etsy seller xiaolizi.

wedding jacketThis white structured coat with the bow detail is blowing my mind.

Hats & Headdresses

Give a vintage flavor to your winter wedding with a white cloche. This one from Etsy is awesome.
Give a vintage flavor to your winter wedding with a white cloche. This one from Etsy is awesome.

Plummed serpent winter headdress alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Headdresses from Plumed Serpent are PERFECT for winter weddings.

794a3e2153cc03f3d1a35a8badc7fc30 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

How adorable could super warm knit hats be on a winter bride? I'd die of the overwhelming cute.

multi colored ear muffs alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Fuzzy ear muffs in a variety of colors! This way you won't have to hide your fancy hair, but your ears will still stay warm.

Muffs

wedding muff on offbeat bride

Finally, muffs! Because, as Ariel once said, who doesn't love muff jokes at a wedding?

So, lay 'em on me guys — any particular favorites or more suggestions for keeping warm at your wedding? Put 'em in the comments.

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Comments on Furry, funky, and fun options that’ll keep you warm on your winter wedding day

    • A friend had a November wedding. It was indoors, but her mother-in-law made a gorgeous royal blue velvet cape (with light blue satin lining) to wear outdoors and for pictures. It was lovely!

      Don’t forget about any attendants-in-dresses that you may have! Her bridesmaids had to keep tossing on coats between shots for the outdoor picture session. Even though it was brief, it was a bit chilly!

  1. If you want to really stay warm, invest in some quality cozy underthings. I cannot tell you how much silk thermal leggings or even just good knee socks will help.

    • My wedding’s in December and even though it’s indoors my dress is strapless so I’m planning on wearing leggings, knee socks and fancy snow boots under my dress the whole time. Then I have a long cape to wear to and from the church and possibly for outdoor pictures.

    • This reminded me of Sarah in the start of The Labyrinth: when she is in the park in the long white dress, realizes how late she is, hikes up her dress to reveal her jeans underneath and runs home.
      That image of the white dress with jeans was a childhood ideal of mine. (That and the crown on the Childlike Empress of Never Ending story.)

  2. I bought the top faux-fur cape for my Halloween wedding. I really like it (very good quality and a reasonable price. I think it was $50 or so), but my grandma vetoed it claiming that it was meant for a December/January wedding. I ended up with a Very Wang shawl from Kohls instead (which they don’t seem to have anymore), but I’ll take the faux-fur with me just in case it’s super cold. I actually feel a little funny about the faux-fur. It’s the first I’ve ever owned, and since I’m a vegan, I feel like it sends sort of the wrong message. But it’s so pretty…

    • Hey, I don’t think you should feel weird about having fake fur as a vegan.

      I mean, I KNOW what you mean – you don’t want anyone thinking it’s real! And you certainly don’t want people to be encouraged to buy real fur. But part of the point (as I see it) about vegetarianism/veganism is that we are CLEVER humans and can come up with great substitutes for animal products.

      So I say, wear fake fur with pride, and take ANY oppurtunity to point out to people – “Yep, it’s fake, doesn’t it look great? Why would anyone ever kill an animal to achieve this great look? *morons*” 🙂

    • Depending on your beleifs, what about cleaning out a few old attics. Courtesy of my relatives I now own 3 fur coats and 4 stoles, all over 50 years old but in wonderful condition. While I would not buy new fur, neither rabbits nor sheep nor minks naturally live long enough that they would still be alive today.

    • I know exactly what you mean, Lucinda. It can feel a bit “icky” wearing something that reminds you of flayed skin, and you certainly don’t want to promote fur. But it’s no different to wearing shoes made from fake leather, which you probably do without thinking. If you like it and think it’s pretty, enjoy it! Fortunately these days most people would assume it’s fake fur even if they didn’t know you were vegan, so it should be sending the right message. I hope you had a fantastic wedding whatever you went with, and I hope you were warm enough!

  3. Thanks! We decided to get married in September and it could be very cold. Perfect for me!

  4. If you or a friend or family member is good with yarn crafts, you could knit or crochet a shawl or wrap! My roommate knitted a beautiful lace shawl for a friend’s wedding recently, and it was a great way for her to be involved with the wedding in a really personal way without breaking the bank.

    • I’m going to suggest that even if you DON’T know how to knit, give it a shot. I knitted a super easy shawl for my wedding last September using giant needles and really thick yarn. No pattern, no complicated stuff, just really pretty ivory yarn with a sheen in it and added some fringe on the edges. All you need to know is cast on, knit, and bind off, there are tons of great instructions online. I got a lot of compliments on it and it took significantly less time than any other diy thing I did. And trust me, if I can teach my brother to knit, there’s no reason why you can’t learn to as well. Plus, it’s so cool to wear something you made yourself to your wedding. And a simple knitted shawl is always useful, I’ve worn mine two or three times since then.

      • Melissa, I love this idea! I recently learned to crochet and my wheels had started turning as I read this! Will have to come up with something really cool for myself and my sister (my attendant) for my November wedding! Great idea, thank you! Do you happen to have any photos of your shawl?? 🙂

  5. Exactly what I need. I have a June wedding next year, but until I get my dress, I don’t think I’ll be able to know for sure what will work… but I like the idea of arm warmers!!!

  6. I love the arm warmers. I’m going to have an October wedding but in PA the weather is one way or other in October, though I could rationalize because the nights are cold.

  7. My mom made me a gorgeous faux fur wrap for my wedding in 2 weeks. It’s so pretty and you’d never know it didn’t come from a store. I love it so much and cannot wait to wear it!

  8. YAY! These are great ideas (half cape may need to be mine). I went shopping for a very simple tea length dress with sleeves and ended up with a lace, beaded, strapless dress with a train :/ I am getting married in December in Florida. I keep going back and forth between “Fuck it! It’s Florida, we don’t even winter” and “Danielle, you’re a big time whiner about the cold and even in 60 degree “frinter” you are a stompy three year old”
    Jury’s still out…

  9. Had a silver faux fur half cloak and bridesmaids had purple. We needed them UK October wedding. But funky and warm.

  10. These are all really pretty! I especially liked the “Temperley London Selena shrug,” but it’s over $1,000! I hope the others are quite a bit less! 🙂

    Oh, and the LL Bean sweater that Katie mentioned (above) is so cute! And what a gorgeous color!

    • Yup, I definitely have linked to things that range from $10.95 and up!

  11. We really need a climate zone on this one. Like, in Toronto no one is having a december outdoor wedding at all, even with any of these fine capes. So we kind of need to need to know vaguely what climate zone these things are happening in.

    • Well this explains alot, I was puzzled with the suggestions None work where I live past october, november if you are lucky. And on the warmth level fake fur does not come remotly close to real fur. I just thaught it was me being overly cosy.

  12. i’m getting married in march which can be chilly. i’m going to rent a vintage fur stole or cape from a local vintage shop!

  13. AWESOMENESS! We’re getting married in October next year, in a medieval cellar. We were just told that it probably won’t be more than 18 degrees (that’s 64 Fahrenheit) in there. So I’ll need to look for something amahzing to wear in addition to my corset + skirt. Really like the sleeves, combined with a short cape I think they could kick some major ass! 😀

  14. where can I find bridal jackets for purchase? maybe not floor length but maybe knee length bridal jackets?
    Thank you.

  15. I’m looking at getting either a cape or a cropped knit cardigan and fingerless gloves (so amazingly warm and comfy while being able to exchange rings, genius!). I am thinking of gifting my bridesmaids fingerless gloves to match their dresses and the bouquet wraps, and perhaps knit sweaters for then as well. We will be in Southern California, which could be anywhere between 50 and 70 degrees during the day, though it will most likely be around 60. Since we are having an outdoor ceremony and pictures and I get cold easily, these should keep me plenty warm 🙂

  16. We are eloping in late November and I am seriously debating buying a vintage fur. Would it be a waste of money and detract from my dress or would it look lovely, be a great splurge, and keep me warm from the November chills? Thoughts?

  17. If I may be so bold… When it comes to underthings, how about something a little more cutesy? I will probably get married in fall/winter, and I plan on wearing a hoop. This might get chilly, but Victorians got cold, too. They solved this with drawers and lots of petticoats, some even made of flannel. So I will be wearing full-length drawers (covered in lots and lots of eyelet lace frills) under several layers of petticoats. Depending on the weather, I might even break out the flannel.

    P.S. Capes are awesome. I will most likely be wearing a cape, too.

  18. I keep coming back to comment on this. I had a muff as a child – a teddy bear one. Liking the idea of having an adult muff – ; ) but maybe not white.

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