December Wedding -- Question about after wedding attire

Hi,

I'm getting married on Dec. 18th.  My question is did any of you ladies change from your wedding attire when you went to the reception or dinner or whatever celebratory event you had after the wedding?  And what type of outfit did you wear?

It's going to be cold.   So, I was thinking of a somewhat dressy pants suit.  I haven't bought it yet (looking for something online) and the reason for the pants is that I have tattoos on my ankles that I'm not interested in showing off.  PS., thank goodness my wedding gown covers my ankles 

Thanks  ~

Me? No I did not. I loved my dress so much that I wore it as long as I possibly could. Besides, I was only going to get to wear the darn thing once! 

But a pants suit sounds great. You may enjoy the reception more if you're comfortable.

I think a pants suit would be great, as well, but you could also wear dark tights beneath a dress or skirt, which would take care of covering your tattoos and keeping you warm!

But a pants suit sounds great. You may enjoy the reception more if you're comfortable.

Warmth is key.  Wasn't sure if a pants suit would have been a good choice but I know there are some dressy ones out there.  Thanks!

I think a pants suit would be great, as well, but you could also wear dark tights beneath a dress or skirt, which would take care of covering your tattoos and keeping you warm!

A dressy skirt and top with tights is a definite possibility.  Thanks so much!

I also wore my dress as long as possible. Are you just worried about getting to the reception or being cold at the actual reception? Couldn't you just buy a nice wrap to wear over your dress? Surely your reception is indoors, so you shouldn't be cold there, especially if there are a lot of people or you'll be dancing and such. My friend just got married and they went to the pub after their reception. She wore her dress the whole time.

I also wore my dress the entire night. I paid way to much for that thing and loved it to much to only have it on for 2 hours. Another idea as far as covering your tattoo. I wore cowboy boots under my wedding dress. maybe you can find a nice pair of boots to cover it up. Then you don't only have an option for a pants suit. You can do a dress, skirt, pants...you get it.

I wore my dress the whole time.  We got married on an incredibly cold February day and my (long sleeved, fully lined) dress kept me comfortable with just a wrap for in & out of car.

Also we had mulled wine as our arrivals drink (as did friends of ours who married the December after us).  Does wonders to warm you up.

Alas, I don't drink alcohol so I'll be shivering in my ballerina slippers 
Seems the consensus is that most wore their dresses the entire day -- and that's something I'd really like to do too. 

This morning I stopped by Ross and was able to find a winter pants suit in ivory (my gown is ivory).  The jacket is fitted (really sleek looking) and stops at mid-thigh.  I'll wear the jacket after the ceremony when we're outside.  Inside I'll take the jacket off and leave the wrap on. 

Thanks all for your responses! 

Ha! I got married in a church with no heat or electricity on February 14! That could have been very, very ugly, but we were lucky with the weather. I mean, for February. Our vows were visible -- let's  put it that way.

I wore a longish skirt/blouse/suit thing and went out at the last minute and bought a shawl to go with. It worked out perfectly, except...the ONE part of my wardrobe I didn't check before the day was the hose. And dammit if they weren't laddered all to buggery. My then-fiance said, "you can't go out like that." So I walked up the aisle sockless in February. I'm so pale, I was hoping people would think it was white hosiery.

I began to feel my toes again after a generous internal application of champagne.