What To Wear To A Wedding In A Country Church (Vintage Floral Dress)

Vintage 1970s floral & fruity midi dress
Hair bun with flowers
Vintage 1970s floral & fruity midi dress
So Wedding Week at Not Dressed As Lamb continues! My first outfit is what I’ve picked for a particular type of wedding, answering the question: What To Wear To A Country Church Wedding. Whilst there are no “rules” as such, I think key things to remember for a country church wedding are:

  1. Wear something respectful – no acres of flesh on show (occasion-appropriate!)
  2. Small churches are often tight on space, so maybe think twice about wearing that huge hat so everyone can see over your head
  3. Echo the countryside with nature-inspired prints
  4. Wear something that is comfortable and will take you right through to an evening reception, so it’s a good idea to avoid that body-con dress

The dress I chose to style up was my fruit-patterned 1980s vintage dress that I bought on eBay a year or two ago – yet to be seen on the blog! To read some tips on buying vintage on eBay, read this recent post – the great thing about wearing vintage to a wedding is that you are guaranteed there won’t be someone else there in the same dress.

The wrapover style of this dress is cut far too low to wear alone, so I added a bright pink vest top and picked out the colours in the pattern with bright tangerine heels and a purple belt. Instead of a hat I went for a huge up-do (created with a hair donut you can buy here) and added two silk flower corsages – a different take on a fascinator which can cost upwards of £50 or so! My version was a lot cheaper – one is a pin and the other is a flower hair tie, so you can save a lot of money if you forgo the (not-actually-that) obligatory hat. Just as pretty and a lot more modern…!

Wedding Week will continue on Wednesday with another outfit post: What To Wear To A Beach Wedding. You rarely get to go to those in the UK, but Brits do go abroad for them and I’m sure panic at the mere thought of what to wear!

Plus don’t forget my MAHOOSIVE giveaway: £250 to spend at Damsel in a Dress. Perfect for buying a complete wedding guest outfit – click below to go to the giveaway post!

Damsel in a Dress Giveaway

Have you been to a country church wedding recently – what did you wear? Let us know in the comments!

Catherine x
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Shop my look! Items marked* are the actual items, if still available:

Dress: Vintage eBay, Vest top: Marks & Spencer*, Belt: Accessorize, Heels: Zalando, Corsages: Primark / New Look, Clutch: Asos




Linking up to:

Share Your Style Saturdays at Claire Justine oxox
Monday Bloom at DC in Style
Monday Mingle at Bonbon Rose Girls
Creative Mondays at Claire Justine oxox
Yolo Mondays at Still Being Molly
Wardrobe Wednesdays at Kiwi Women’s Style
What I Wore Wednesday at The Pleated Poppy
Thrifters Anonymous at Colorblind

38 Comments

  1. 3 June 2013 / 5:12 pm

    That's such a unique dress, and I love how you styled you hair as well!

  2. 29 May 2013 / 2:21 pm

    Ooh what don't I love about this look?! Absolutely nothing! The colors, the floral, your hair and those shoes!!! Especially love the clutch.

    Come link up with me at Watcha Wearing Wednesday! I'm giving away a $100 gift card. http://www.themummychronicles.com

  3. 29 May 2013 / 3:16 am

    This is just so lovely! The colors in the floral print are so pretty and OH EM GEE your hair with those flowers is prefection! This is a beautiful look for attending a wedding!

  4. 28 May 2013 / 9:26 pm

    An amazing outfit Catherine. What a thoughtful response on the 'wearing a white dress' question. I agree – other than the friends I shopped with for my wedding I wouldn't have a clue what most of them wore πŸ™‚ Thanks for sharing with Wardrobe Wednesday – can't wait to read the rest of this series!

    Kelly @ http://www.kiwiwomensstyle.blogspot.co.uk

    • 28 May 2013 / 10:16 pm

      Thanks Kelly – I've had another thought about the wearing of white as part of your outfit: I think as long as you couldn't be mistaken for the bride (whether that's a bride in a trouser suit, knee-length dress or full length gown) then you're okay. I don't think I look anything like "the bride" in this dress, so I'd be happy dressed like this as a guest!

      Thanks for your lovely comments, and also for the link up (as always you're a great host) xoxo

    • 28 May 2013 / 10:13 pm

      That's a lovely (& flattering) way to describe it, Courtney – thank you hun xx

  5. 28 May 2013 / 3:24 pm

    Spectacular, beautiful … A wonderful look.

  6. 28 May 2013 / 10:22 am

    Living in traditional, catholic Bavaria, elderly ladies would still take offence if a woman was wearing a (in their eyes) too short, to tight, too bare dress to church – so this one is definitely perfect. And the longer sleeves make sense as country churches tend to be old and cold.
    Love your "Catherine styling" with the bright accessories!
    Gorgeous!

    Annette
    Lady of Style

    • 28 May 2013 / 10:11 pm

      Good point about the longer sleeves for chilly churches, Annette…! Thanks for your lovely comments xoxo

  7. 28 May 2013 / 3:39 am

    I really like the last photo of this beautiful set. The flowers in your hair is a charming touch.

    blue hue wonderland

    • 28 May 2013 / 10:10 pm

      They make a nice change from fascinators, don't they, Ann? Thank you! x

  8. 27 May 2013 / 10:03 pm

    Catherine my dear you look wonderful! I adore your dress and this look is simply perfect for a church wedding! Love adore love! πŸ™‚

    Take care and I hope you enjoyed your long weekend,
    Daniella xox

  9. 27 May 2013 / 8:50 pm

    A lovely look and also some great tips.

    • 27 May 2013 / 9:53 pm

      Thank you Louise, glad you like it and them! xo

    • 27 May 2013 / 9:51 pm

      Oh thank you Alice – so nice of you to say!!! x

  10. 27 May 2013 / 2:49 pm

    That's a real show stopper of an outfit. You're so gifted at co-ordinating colour!

    • 27 May 2013 / 6:27 pm

      Showstopper – that's a great compliment! Thank you Gail! x

  11. 27 May 2013 / 2:30 pm

    I love when you wear dresses, and if you add flowers I just melt.
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

  12. 27 May 2013 / 2:25 pm

    DISCLAIMER: I'm asking this not to be offensive, but out of genuine curiosity (since I have never been to an English wedding before)…

    Is it alright for you to wear a white dress to a wedding? Would that not be considered offensive, since that's the bride's dress colour? Or is it deemed ok, because your dress has a colourful print on it?

    • 27 May 2013 / 6:24 pm

      I would never dream of wearing a white dress to a wedding – and I've never considered this dress to be white?! Most summer floral patterns have a white background, and the fact that the colours of the pattern are pink, green, purple, orange, red, etc. – plus I've accessorised with pink and orange – it didn't even vaguely occur to me that I was "wearing white". I've worn a dress to a wedding before that had a white top part, then the skirt was white, beige and black stripes – I wore pink shoes and had a pink bag, and I don't think anyone thought I was wearing a white dress. I've been a bride twice before, and I have to admit: I wouldn't have had a CLUE what any of the guests were wearing, let alone if anyone was wearing white – there's too much other stuff to worry about! I think it's the guests that have this notion that you "can't wear" certain things and worry about it, and a floral dress that has a white background isn't a white dress (to rival the bride's dress) to me. Most of the dresses I've picked out in my giveaway have a white background – quite typical for a summer floral!

      Saying that – I wore sage green the first time I got married. My mum told me recently my auntie wore a white suit to my wedding apparently, and I wouldn't have known, or cared (in the nicest way, of course)!

      So in answer to your question: I think it's just etiquette not to wear all white to a wedding, as 99 brides out of 100 wear white, cream or ivory. But I'd be amazed if a bride is worrying about that sort of thing on her big day πŸ˜‰

      P.S. Of course no offence taken! x

  13. 27 May 2013 / 2:21 pm

    gorgeous from head to toe! love the printed dress & that it's a midi length skirt is fantastic!!!!! and a orange wedge . . . in love x2!

    xo. c & v
    cake & valley

DISCLOSURE: Items marked* are PR products (I never accept anything I wouldn’t choose for myself) and my opinions are 100% honest. I also use affiliate links where I may earn commission if you click through and buy, at no cost to you.