English singer-songwriter Lily Allen married Stranger Things actor David Harbour in a Las Vegas wedding, officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
With such an unconventional ceremony, it wasn’t likely that the 35-year-old singer was going to wear a princess-style wedding dress. Instead, Ms Allen kept things simple in a white double-breasted mini dress with a boat neckline. She completed the vintage vibe with beehive hair and chunky black heels.
While big gowns still rule wedding fashion, there’s a growing trend for alternative outfits. This might be suits – like the mustard version Emily Ratajkowski wore for her 2018 wedding – or shorter styles, like Ms Allen’s.
Lily Allen joins a trend of celebrities shunning traditional wedding dresses.
1. Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley kept things simple for her wedding to musician James Righton in 2013, wearing a tulle pale pink mini dress from Chanel, paired on the day with a boucle cropped jacket, flats and a flower crown. Big, full-length wedding dresses aren’t exactly the kind of thing you can often re-wear, but Ms Knightley showed short is the way to go and has since worn her dress again on the red carpet.
2. Nancy Shevell
In 2011, Nancy Shevell married Sir Paul McCartney at the Westminster Register Office in London, and she did so in a chic and simple white dress cut above the knees with long sleeves. The dress was designed by Sir McCartney’s daughter, Stella.
3. Poppy Delevingne
On first glance, Poppy Delevingne’s dress doesn’t look like it would belong on this list – after all, it’s a two-tiered, full-length gown. However, the model’s white Chanel dress was multi-functional: the sheer underlay was detachable and, after the ceremony at her 2014 wedding to James Cook, she removed it and wore the white, capped sleeve mini dress on its own.
4. Audrey Hepburn
For her 1954 Swiss wedding to actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn wore a white dress designed by Pierre Balmain. The style became instantly iconic with its tea-length, bell sleeves, high neck and gloves. While not exactly a mini dress, this gown was definitely a shorter style than normally seen at weddings. This wasn’t the only time Ms Hepburn wore an unusual wedding dress: for her 1969 marriage to Andrea Dotti she wore a Givenchy pale pink mini dress, very much in the Swinging Sixties style.
5. Zoë Kravitz
Possibly inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s wedding dress in the film Funny Face, actress Zoë Kravitz’s gown for her 2019 nuptials was ballerina style with a drop waist, designed by Alexander Wang. Again, this isn’t the shortest dress you’ll see – but it’s certainly cropped and showed off her shoes perfectly.
6. Cilla Black
Not only did Cilla Black shun a longer gown for her 1969 wedding to manager Bobby Willis, but she also ignored the all-white tradition and chose a red velvet dress. The outfit was designed by John Bates, who was synonymous with hip Sixties style.
7. Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford married Rande Gerber in the Bahamas in 1998, and a beach wedding calls for a more relaxed style of dress. The supermodel went barefoot to walk down the aisle with her hair in loose waves, wearing a short lace shift dress by John Galliano.
Do you think traditional wedding customs are on the way out? What was your wedding dress like? What do you think of brides who opt out of the traditional gown and choose something more contemporary?
– With PA
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