This past weekend the entire family hopped into the car and over the border to Vancouver, Canada to attend a weekend of wedding festivities. We absolutely love the city of Vancouver and were excited to see our friends tie the knot. So it made for the perfect weekend getaway as we traveled with Yorkies Jasmine and Rosie in tow to prevent my very real separation anxiety.

I LOVE weddings! The exquisite dresses, the bouquets, the adorable flower girls, the expression on the groom’s face when he first sees his bride, and the magic between the loving couple warms my heart and brings me to tears every time. And dressing up for the occasion is another part I quite enjoy.

This wedding was different to others we’ve attended in that it took place over an entire weekend, starting on Saturday morning and ending late on Sunday night. The bride and groom integrated both Western and Chinese wedding traditions, resulting in multiple celebrations throughout the weekend. How’s that for bridal stamina! The festivities started early Saturday morning with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony for close family members and the bridal party. That afternoon, our friends Viena and James officially tied the knot at a Catholic Cathedral at 3pm. Saturday night was all about a magnificent Chinese Banquet while Sunday night was the official reception in a sassy hotel. The arrangements ran like clockwork and the bridal couple was simply stunning. Stunning!

We attended two of the events and I needed an outfit for each of them. One for the daytime ceremony in the Cathedral, and another for the fancy reception the following night. I was in a minimalistic modern-classic mood when I shopped in my closet to pack for our trip and that’s clearly reflected in the ensembles. Also, instead of changing out the accessories to the same outfit to create a different look, I kept the accessories virtually the same for both occasions but swapped out the rest of my ensemble.

I chose semi-formal attire for the ceremony at the cathedral, so out came the Anne Fontaine shirt I bought in Paris two years ago and a much loved black pencil skirt. I finished off the look with chunky pearls, a black patent rose chain belt, fishnet hose, an angular red clutch and my Kate Spade party shoes. I left the specs off but the watch on.

For the evening reception I swapped out the shirt and skirt for a short black military styled mod dress. I left off the rose belt but in true dramatic Chanel style added another layered pearl necklace to the one I wore the previous day. The hose, shoes, clutch and watch were the same.

All the items in my ensembles, from the clothes and footwear right down to the accessories are between two and five years old. They’re not the trendiest of pieces but they won’t date quickly either. I felt classic and a little retro on both occasions.

Above all I was extremely comfortable. Although the sun shone brightly throughout the weekend, it wasn’t very warm. I’m utterly miserable when I’m cold, so I chose to wear outfits with good coverage. We took a cab to each venue but walked back several blocks to the hotel IN MY HIGH HEELS both times. My two-hour sitting shoes were very good to me.

Of course, no one could outshine the breathtakingly beautiful bride, Viena, who chose a classic and timeless look with an updo and veil to match. The gown that you see above is the one Viena wore to the daytime Cathedral ceremony. And that was only one of her dresses! She wore traditional Chinese attire to the morning tea ceremony and an off white Grecian gown to the formal reception the next night. She was picture perfect in every outfit and hands down the belle of the ball. With his perfect tux, white tie and hip hairstyle, James rivaled his namesake 007. Killer.