Celebs Who Didn't Wear White Dresses On Their Wedding Day & Still Looked Fabulous

For generations, the fabled white dress has reigned supreme as the undisputed star of bridal fashion, especially in the showbiz world where weddings double as high-profile style spectacles. Every once in a while though, a celebrity bride comes along and disrupts that long-standing tradition with a wedding gown that dares to color outside the lines. 

From blush-pink fairytale gowns to sunshine-yellow dresses, and baby blue numbers or even brave jet-black ensembles, a milieu of wedding wardrobe options have been championed by celebrities who have proved that the bridal white is an age-old custom that can be glamorously toed. 

Audrey Hepburn had the best of both worlds when it came to her bridal wardrobe. While for her first wedding to Mel Ferrer in 1954, she placed a safe bet on a traditional (albeit chic) white gown, she went rogue at her second ceremony with a knee-length pink dress that continues to be regarded as a major wedding fashion moment from the 1960s, and it's one vintage wedding dress style we desperately want to make a comeback. 

Designed by Givenchy, the dress Hepburn wore to marry Andrea Dotti featured an audacious length that cut above her knees, with the rest of her legs (somewhat) covered up by sheer stockings. A pink hooded scarf, color co-ordinated with the rest of her look, blended seamlessly into the dress' era-appropriate high funnel neckline. 

For her 2012 wedding to Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel broke the all-white bridal gown mold with a pretty pink wedding dress that looked like it had been plucked out of a cotton candy fever dream — in the best way possible. The dress, which Biel described as "whimsical and dramatic" to People, fit right in with the dreamy setting of her Italian nuptials. 

The strapless piece featured layers of silk organza ruffles and was custom-made for the actor by her friend Giambattista Valli, who told Vogue, "She has always been a fabulous interpreter of my creations." Biel paired the dress with a matching pink veil that was sentimentally adorned with her grandmother's pearls. 

Piper Perabo's wedding dress strayed so audaciously far from the traditional bridal handbook that it could have gone either way. Thankfully, it went in her favor. On the day the "Coyote Ugly" star stepped out in New York City to marry producer Stephen Kay, she decked up in a shimmery silver, full-sleeved, figure-hugging piece that could just as easily have been a party gown. 

Perabo topped off the look with a contrasting yellow veil affixed to her simple bun-up hairdo. Though her high-glam look didn't exactly scream wedding aesthetic, the unique combination somehow worked and she came out on the other side looking like a total diva. She was even able to get a second use out of the dress, rewearing it to the 2025 Glamour Women of the Year Awards. 

Emily Ratajkowski's whirlwind wedding to Sebastian Bear-McClard wasn't the only thing that came as a surprise when the model coolly made an announcement about it on social media one random day in 2018. Her mustard yellow bridal pantsuit was every bit as unexpected — not to mention, the wide-brimmed black netted hat she topped it off with. 

Ratajkowski pulled off the look with such casual panache that the shock value of the whole affair took a backseat. The choice of a pantsuit was eye-catching, yes, but not quite as much as its surprisingly modest price tag of about $200. Ratajkowski explained matter-of-factly to W magazine: "I was in a Zara uptown and picked it out and thought, 'This will do.'" 

Elizabeth Taylor was married a stunning number of times, with each ceremony featuring a wedding dress more iconic than the last. The getup she donned for her fourth (and perhaps most scandalous) nuptials to singer Eddie Fisher in 1959 was especially momentous, with its distinct green palette and sheer details. 

Instead of a veil, Taylor's attire featured a matching hood draped fashionably over her head and around her bust. In fact, the color she wore to the ceremony was so beloved to the legendary actor that she commissioned a Rolls-Royce in the same hue just a year later to match her wedding dress. The vehicle came to be known as the "Green Goddess" (via Daily Mail). 

Who doesn't love a pretty yellow dress? Alison Pill sure does. For her 2015 nuptials, the "Midnight in Paris" star swapped out traditional white for a lightweight yellow gown that added the perfect touch of bright cheer to the celebrations. A short retro hairdo and a swipe of bright red lipstick completed her look. 

Considering the loved-up snaps Pill and her husband Joshua Leonard shared on social media, it seemed like they had a low-key, close-knit ceremony with limited people and endless candid moments that left fans swooning. The duo had a 10-year run as husband and wife before calling it quits in 2025.

For her wedding to Mike Hill in 2020, "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Cynthia Bailey chose a most unique rose gold gown that was as symbolic as it was stunning to witness. "I feel like these are my golden years and I feel like ... I kind of struck gold with Mike," she explained to Page Six. 

This wasn't the first time Bailey challenged the customary bridal wardrobe; for her first wedding to Peter Thomas in 2010, the reality TV star had decked up in a dramatic metallic gown — a look she told the outlet she would "top" at her second wedding, which she did. Her ensemble featured a heavily encrusted, sheer figure-hugging dress and a seemingly infinite matching veil. 

It's one thing to want to look like a doll on your wedding day. But to actually play out that fantasy is an act of bravado few can attempt. Kristin Chenoweth did just that for her wedding to musician Josh Bryant in 2023. The Broadway star ditched the usual bridal white in favor of a saccharine baby pink dress encrusted with pretty pearl flowers all over and an unbelievably humongous bow on the back. 

"I never thought I'd get married, so I went very nontraditional with the gown," she gushed to People about her Pamella Roland dress. "On that day, I want to look like Kristin, I want to feel like Kristin." The fairy-tale pink theme spilled over into other aspects of the wedding, including Chenoweth's reception dress, which featured a similar oversized bow down the front.

In 2003, Julianne Moore rolled up to her wedding ceremony in New York looking radiant in a dress that was anything but bridal. The Vera Wang piece featured a slip-style design, was ethereally colored in soft purple, and looked absolutely perfect for a date night outing — which her intimate wedding was, in a way. 

This was Moore's second marriage, to director Bart Freundlich, whom she had been with for about seven years and had two children with before tying the knot. So it's possible that the Oscar winner didn't feel the need to go all out for her lowkey ceremony. Acknowledging her unique choice of color palette, Moore wrote in an anniversary post on Instagram: "22 years later and I still don't know why the theme was purple." 

Tina Turner never played by the rules and brought that same fearless energy to her 2013 nuptials to music producer Erwin Bach with a wedding dress that blew right past convention. The custom piece by Armani featured a crystal-studded top and a voluminous skirt made up of a dramatic tulle and taffeta combo. But that wasn't the most striking thing about the look.

The dress was unapologetically colored in shades of black and, believe it or not, lime green. To add to the whimsy, a pair of sheer leggings peeked out from under its asymmetrical hem. The late rock 'n' roll legend was 73 when she pulled off this surreal fashion moment and told Hello! magazine that after chancing upon the dress in Beijing, she thought, "'I know, that will be my wedding dress!'"

Ahead of her wedding to Taylor Goldsmith in 2018, Mandy Moore told People about her wardrobe for the big day: "I'm kind of confident that it's not going to be the stereotypical white wedding dress, because it just doesn't feel the most me." And sure enough, the "This Is Us" star saw her proclamation to the end by opting for a ruffled pink dress from Rodarte that set fans swooning.

As she walked down the aisle in the dreamy garden setting of her Los Angeles home, Moore looked like an angelic vision in pink, with her matching tulle veil lending her an almost ethereal glow. An assortment of pink flowers in her hand and floral arrangements in her hair completed her vintage-inspired look. 

Kristen Bell doubled down on the casual chic aesthetic by opting for an all-black co-ord set to say "I do" to fellow actor Dax Shepard in 2013. Having ditched the theatrics of a typical white Hollywood wedding shebang, Bell looked über-comfortable in her simple top and trousers combo, which was adorned by little else than a silver necklace.

The choice seemed apt for Bell's lowkey courthouse nuptials, which amusingly enough cost only about $140 and was awarded the title of the "World's Worst Wedding" by their friends. The whole affair was nevertheless memorable for Bell, who told "CBS Sunday Morning": "We got married in a tiny room in the Beverly Hills courthouse and it was still one of the best days of my life." 

Ramp queen Agyness Deyn wowed the world in 2016 in what was one of the most unique wedding ensembles ever witnessed. At the core of her fashion-forward look was a multi-tiered white dress loaded up on frills and tulle textures, with slivers of a pastel pink base peeking out from under it. 

It was designed by Molly Goddard, who told Vogue that the concept behind Deyn's garb was rooted in the idea of "a wedding-y wedding dress, a bit glam but not glamorous, and sparkly." A pair of contrasting teal heels completed the look. 

When Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcom in the Middle" fame married her high school boyfriend Rusty Long in 2025 — after reconnecting with him 50 years after they first dated – her bright mustard yellow wedding dress fit the heartwarming, full-circle occasion perfectly.

The symbolic yellow also complemented the rustic barn setting for Kaczmarek's daytime ceremony, where old friends gathered and the happy couple's shared Wisconsin pride was on merry display. Her wardrobe came about as effortlessly as her love story with Long did. "It was a dress I bought — and wore — for my son's college graduation in 2023," she told Yahoo. "When Rusty proposed, I looked around, but thought, Why? I love that dress." 

Her punk status considered, millennials waited with bated breath in 2013 to witness the edgy statement Avril Lavigne would whip up at her wedding to musician Chad Kroeger. Needless to say, she exceeded expectations in a goth princess gown by Monique Lhuillier that screamed "Sk8er Boi"-core.

The all-black ensemble also featured a dramatic dark veil and a bouquet of black roses — all of which was on-theme with the moody setting of her wedding at a 14th-century castle in France. With all the signature grunge eye makeup she wore with her outfit, Lavigne may as well have stepped straight out of one of her noughties music videos. 

Experimental fashion has always looked good on Liberty Ross. And so, there was little chance that the model's dark-hued wedding dress would miss the mark. In 2016, Ross tied the knot with former record exec Jimmy Iovine in a couture Givenchy gown that broke all sorts of bridal convention, beginning with its palette that strayed miles away from the customary white. 

As if the off-shoulder black and blue dress — which, by the way, was color coordinated with her groom's tux — wasn't eye-grabbing enough, Ross paired it with a dramatic headpiece that rose several inches above her forehead. The celebration's jewel-toned decor and striking red dress code for the female guests further amplified the gothic theme of the wedding. 

Anne Hathaway's fashion sense treads a fine balance between classic old-time charm and contemporary chic. That signature aesthetic was on glorious display on the actor's wedding day in 2012, when she wore a custom bridal gown that her longtime friend Valentino designed — "a gesture so generous it still brings tears to my eyes," she wrote on Instagram.  

To say that the strapless gown channeled "The Princess Diaries" energy wouldn't be a stretch, considering that it had beautiful touches of pink all along its billowing white tulle skirt. She topped it off with a vintage-style headpiece that trailed off into a long veil. 

Jerry Hall's wedding dress created as much of a sensation in the fashion world as her short-lived marriage to media magnate Rupert Murdoch did in the news world. For her 2016 nuptials, the iconic model opted for a lovely baby blue chiffon number from Vivienne Westwood that had drapes of soft, translucent pleats all over and set a dreamy tone for her winter wedding. 

Hall's distinct wedding wardrobe hardly came as a surprise, considering her own bold catwalking record and her long-standing friendship with fellow fashion maverick Westwood. As she told Another magazine: "[Westwood's] clothes make women feel powerful and sexy and give dignity to age. There was no-one else who could have made me so happy to do my wedding dress." 

Sarah Jessica Parker may regret her wedding dress but to say that it was a game-changer when she wore it back in 1997 would be an understatement. The strappy Morgane Le Fay number was all black, chosen by Parker with an intention to avoid drawing excessive attention toward her wedding to Matthew Broderick. Ironically enough, her iconic outfit ended up setting the tone for many non-traditional bridal dresses to come. 

"I just was too embarrassed to spend any time looking for a wedding dress. There was a store that I liked that I knew, and I just went and got whatever they had hanging," Parker said on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." 

Shenae Grimes threw caution to the wind and flipped the bridal playbook on its head by opting for a black wedding wardrobe. It was a bold choice for a daytime ceremony but the actor made it work.

The Vera Wang piece from the designer's 2012 fall collection featured a fitted lace top and a billowing black tulle skirt with shades of peach blush that undercut the darker palette of the look. 

"I liked that this dress kind of looked like an art deco skyscraper." This is how Cynthia Nixon described to Elle the wedding gown she wore for her 2012 wedding to her longtime partner Christine Marinoni. The Carolina Herrera piece featured a distinctive shade of light green and flowing asymmetrical layers of tulle that lent it a subversive quality often missing from traditional bridalwear.

While Nixon's color choice was initially not intentional, it took on a symbolic meaning in the context of her milestone ceremony. "It's the color of early spring, and no matter how long you've been together, a wedding is a certain kind of beginning," the actor told Elle.

Keira Knightley embraced an über-relaxed French chic aesthetic for her Provencal wedding to James Righton in 2013. The actor dressed up — or rather, dressed down — in a simple, short dress paired with a cropped tweed jacket that had the signature stamp of Chanel top boss Karl Lagerfeld on it. 

Interestingly, the dress wasn't designed for the wedding and was a preloved piece Knightley already had hanging in her wardrobe. "It was my something old. And I liked not making a big deal about it," she told The Telegraph (via Elle). Several photos exist of Knightley having worn her iconic dress to red carpets and award shows in the time before a wine spillage incident eventually marked its retirement. 

Few celebrity wedding dresses have imprinted on public memory as deeply as Gwen Stefani's pink-dyed gown did back in 2002, when she married fellow musician Gavin Rossdale in it. The piece was custom-made for her by John Galliano, who designed a silhouette that started off white at the top and was punctuated with a glorious pink hem near its blown-out bottom. 

"I said I wanted it to be over the top, but not traditional," Stefani told Elle U.K. about the iconic silk dress from her first wedding (via People). The fairytale fantasy that thereafter came to life went on to occupy such a lofty place in fashion that it eventually ended up on display at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. 

Dita Von Teese didn't disappoint with her wedding dress that, much like her larger-than-life burlesque costumes, was a spectacle to behold. For her 2006 wedding to Marilyn Manson, the legendary vedette slipped into a now-iconic ballgown that was big, bold, and resplendently purple. An equally dramatic fascinator topped off her look. 

Given the bride and groom's rebellious records, the ceremony carried heavy shock value, captured best by Vogue in an unsettling photo of Manson carrying a lifeless-looking Teese decked up in her Vivienne Westwood gown. Not only did Teese's attire stand out as the centerpiece of the dark, gothic event, but it was also seminal enough to be showcased at the Victoria and Albert Museum years later.