Weddings happen year-round, but the best winter wedding guest dresses offer the most to work with. This season, perhaps more than any other, allows you to get creative with material and color, meaning you have options. Thanks to smart layering, all the lighter, summery stuff is still fair game, but you also have carte blanche to try the moodier, splashier side of winter dresses: rich velvets, moody jewel tones, stately brocades, eye-catching embellishments.
Plus, all the hallmarks of black-tie dressing—including floor-length hems, deep hues, and luxe-looking materials—are so much easier to ace in the colder months. In other words, it’s all about drama, and our edit of the prettiest winter wedding guest dresses of the season will help you get everything just right. From off-the-shoulder numbers from Amazon to long-sleeve stunners that don’t require any jacket, these are the dresses worth investing in now.
Glamour’s winter wedding guest dress edit
Best long winter wedding guest dresses
The maxidress is the perfect silhouette for a winter wedding. This floor-sweeping style not only helps to fight frigid temperatures, it’s also adaptable to a wide range of dress codes, from cocktail to black tie. Our favorite styles for the season can all be yours for under $400, including a top-rated steal from Amazon and a pleated dress with a trendy scarf detail from Abercrombie.
Best short winter wedding guest dresses
Don’t be fooled by their length—the dresses below are also perfect for cocktail and semi-formal winter ceremonies, especially if you know you’ll be inside all night. The key here is how you accessorize: Throw on an eye-catching clutch, kitten heels, bold jewelry, or a hair bow to fully commit to the festive winter fantasy. Pair your pick with classic sheer tights if you run warm; try a pair of fleece-lined tights if you expect to, say, sneak outside with your date.
Best formal winter wedding guest dresses
Whether you’re prepping for a formal ceremony or getting dressed to the nines for black-tie nuptials, these long, luxe picks are perfect. Formal dresses should reach your ankles or just kiss the floor, but beyond that, the details are up to you; pair Tuckernuck’s bow-strap dress with gold jewelry, style Hutch’s high-low pick with a dramatic faux-fur layer, or try Zara’s blazer dress for fashion-forward dress codes.
Best winter wedding guest dresses with sleeves
For some ceremonies, a dress with sleeves may be part of the dress code. Good news: This is the absolute best time of year to break one out. The picks below offer plenty of coverage, but still let a little skin show. V-neck numbers from Dôen and Tuckernuck provide the ideal real estate for a dainty chain or a statement pendant, while sheer elements from Madewell and Simkhai play into one of the hottest fashion trends of the moment.
Best petite winter wedding guest dresses
Short girls, you’ve come to the right place: These petite dresses make it so much easier to lock down your next wedding look. Minis from Retrofete and Aligne flatter shorter torsos, while longer picks from & Other Stories and Staud will fit like maxis. Better yet, Boden and Abercrombie offer petite-specific cuts, taking the guesswork out of ordering online.
Best plus-size winter wedding guest dresses
Many brands offer sizing up to XL, which makes them, frankly, inaccessible to so many shoppers. But that’s not the case everywhere. Labels like Eloquii specialize in sizes 14 to 32, while Reformation, Anthropologie, Hill House, and more offer some of their most popular silhouettes in truly inclusive size ranges. Some of our favorites for the season include off-the-shoulder details and playful embellishments.