35 Celebrity Brides Who Didn’t Wear White Wedding Dresses

Who would expect Carrie Bradshaw to walk down the aisle in white? Well, the same is true for Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Whilst her fictional counterpart got to try on everything in Vogue’s bridal collection, SJP settled on a Morgane Le Fay black dress for her wedding.

Marrying actor Matthew Broderick in 1997, Parker wore a flirty black dress and her hair in bouncy curls. Looking loved up in black and white wedding pictures, the couple is still happily married today.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen actress Alison Pill married American actor, writer, and director Joshua Leonard in 2015. Pill went for a particularly non-traditional gown, choosing a yellow vintage dress to celebrate her nuptials.

The American Horror Story star paired the retro number with ‘50s style tight pin curls, a red lip, and a striking brooch. Only close family and friends attended the wedding, and Leonard and Pill welcomed their daughter Wilder Grace in 2016.

Hold your breath folks because you’re about to be taken on a whirlwind of non-traditional wedding dresses, courtesy of Ms. Elizabeth Taylor. After the death of film producer Michael Todd, Taylor turned her sights to Todd’s best friend Eddie Fisher. Interestingly, Fisher was also the husband of Taylor’s best friend Debbie Reynolds, and Taylor had been maid-of-honor at their wedding.

Of course, the actress was dubbed a homewrecker. At the 1959 ceremony  — which took place at a Las Vegas synagogue — Taylor wore a knee-length green silk hooded dress with long sheer sleeves. Taylor has since admitted that she married Fisher because of her grief over Todd’s death.

No Doubt frontwoman and all-around fashion hero Gwen Stefani surprised no one by opting for a non-traditional wedding dress. For her 2002 wedding to British singer Gavin Rossdale, Stefani wore a striking pink ombre gown.

The dress, made by John Galliano for Christian Dior, had a dip-dye design, with bright pink at the bottom and a lighter shade towards the top. Stefani wore the large poufy gown with an up-do and a long veil. Chic as ever.

Australian-American actress Portia de Rossi is known for her roles on hit shows including Ally McBeal and Arrested Development, as well as her high profile marriage to comedian Ellen DeGeneres. The couple got hitched in 2008 at their Beverly Hills home — and de Rossi wore a pale pink backless, tulle Zac Posen dress.

The actress wore her hair up to show off the gown’s beautiful neckline, and DeGeneres wore a white suit. The couple is still together, and have adopted several rescue animals.

For her wedding to actor Channing Tatum, actress and dancer Jenna Dewan wore an elaborate pale pink, floor-length gown. Dewan’s dress is actually quite traditional, asides from the non-white color. The gown features a corseted waist and a ruffled tulle skirt.

Dewan and Channing met on the set of dance movie Step Up and got married several years later. The couple had two children together, but amicably announced their divorce in 2018. Today, the two keep busy co-parenting their kids.

Best known for playing straight-talking Miranda on Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon also has an impressive career in politics. The Emmy award-winning actress announced her campaign for Governor of New York in 2018, and focused on issues like income inequality and renewable energy.

For her 2012 wedding to Christine Marinoni, the actress turned politician wore a pale green Carolina Herrera gown. Green is a wonderful choice for Nixon, as it beautifully complements her red hair.

Jessica and Justin are a staple celebrity couple these days, but do you remember what she wore to get hitched? Biel sported a massive, pink, ruffled Giambattista Valli haute couture gown when marrying JT in 2012, and it was fabulous.

Biel and Timberlake got married in Italy, and the actress described the experience as “a total fantasy.” She paired the couture dress with a floor-length veil, and wore her hair in a classy low bun. These two are still going strong.

While still married to Eddie Fisher, Taylor met Welsh actor Richard Burton while the two filmed Cleopatra in Italy in 1962. The pair started an affair, which soon spiraled into a huge public scandal. U.S. congress called for the pair to be barred from re-entering the country, and the Vatican condemned their actions.

Taylor got her divorce in Mexico and married Burton nine days later. For this wedding, the actress wore a canary yellow baby-doll dress with a dramatic braided up-do.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Kiera Knightly tied the knot in 2013 to Klaxons musician James Righton. For the special occasion, the actress wore a pink Chanel mini dress that she already owned.

The dress was a simple, knee-length tulle affair, which the actress paired with ballet flats and dark sunglasses. The bare-legged wedding look was perfect for the actress’s breezy English rose vibe. Knightly and Righton got married in the south of France, and are still happily together.

Anne Hathaway’s dress looks almost white, but the custom-made Valentino gown has flashes of pink in its underskirts. The star of The Devil Wears Prada opted for an off the shoulder dress with intricate lace and embroidery for her big day. Also non-traditional was the matching headpiece, which came with a full-length veil.

The Les Miserables actress married actor and businessman Adam Shulman in 2012 in California. The couple has two children together, named Jonathan and Jack Shulman.

Pink wedding dresses are a popular alternative to white, and this next celebrity really pulled out all the stops when it came to her huge pink dress. The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco married professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting in 2013 in California.

Sadly this marriage didn’t last, with Cuoco and Sweeting announcing their divorce in 2015. The actress has since remarried to Karl Cook, son of billionaire Scott Cook. They tied the knot in 2018, but this time the bride wore white.

Another popular choice for non-white wedding dresses is black gowns. Of course, wearing a black dress for a wedding is a controversial decision, but it does make sense for some personalities. However, 90210 star Shenae Grimes isn’t exactly the gothic type.

The actress married British model and musician Josh Beech in 2013 wearing Vera Wang’s Josephine dress from the 2012 fall bridal line. The dress featured a voluminous tulle skirt, and the actress accessorized with her hair in a bun and a bouquet of red flowers.

Coyote Ugly star Piper Perabo decided to go with a metallic dress for her wedding to director and writer Stephan Kay. The couple tied the knot in New York City in 2014, and are still together.

Perabo’s Michael Kors dress features a silver animal print pattern, and the actress paired it with a yellow veil. Now that’s bold! This look really works for us — it’s daring, different, and yet still so beautiful. To quote Leann Rimes, “Baby it’s the right kind of wrong.”

Mandy Moore was a huge name back in the ‘00s. She played a mean girl in The Princess Diaries in 2001, broke our hearts with A Walk to Remember in 2002, and then voiced Rapunzel in Tangled in 2010. With her sweet persona and pretty face, it’s no surprise that Moore settled on a pink wedding dress.

The singer and actress wore a pink tiered Rodarte gown, with a floral design embroidered at the waist. Unsurprisingly, it looked gorgeous.

Anyone that knows these two celebrity spouses will know that they aren’t exactly traditional. In fact, the Veronica Mars star and actor Dax Shepard decided to not get married until same-sex marriage was legalized in California. When it eventually was, Bell asked Shepherd to marry her on Twitter.

The star of The Good Place married Shepherd in the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office in 2013. As you can see from their pictures, the couple didn’t really dress up for the event.

You might recognize Malin Akerman from cult TV classics like The Comeback, or popular romcoms like 27 Dresses. The Swedish-American actress married English actor Jack Donnelly on a beach in Mexico in 2018.

Like many others on this list, Akerman settled on a pink dress for her big day. However, rather than going for a very pale or bright shade, the actress opted for a pearl-tone pink. The dress was slinky pink satin with a thigh-high split. Va-va voom!

Another gorgeous yellow dress is Amber Tamblyn’s marigold gown for her 2012 wedding in which she married Arrested Development actor David Cross. The General Hospital star wore a gorgeous form-fitting gown for her wedding at the shore of a lake.

Both Tamblyn and her father walked down the “aisle” in bare feet, and the actress carried sunflowers and wore a floral crown. It’s possible that Tamblyn was inspired by the great Elizabeth Taylor’s yellow floral Irene Sharaff wedding ensemble.

Katherine Von Drachenberg — known as Kat Von D — is another famous face that we wouldn’t expect to see walking down the aisle in white. Rather, this Mexican-American tattoo artist and model opted for a dramatic, red, veiled number to tie the knot.

Von D married electronic rocker Rafael Reyes in 2018 wearing a burlesque-style, floor-length, bright red gown. This wedding look is somewhere between Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Game of Thrones “Red Woman” Melisandre — and that’s no bad thing.

Another gothic bride is Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne, who married Nickelback frontman Chad Kroger in France in 2013. The “Sk8ter Boi” singer opted for a black tulle Monique Lhuillier dress for her second wedding, pairing the whole ensemble with black roses and a black veil.

Kroger also opted for a black-on-black ensemble at their medieval castle wedding — which was held at the Château de la Napoule. Sadly, this relationship didn’t last, and Lavigne announced their separation in 2015.

This one is for all the reality TV fans out there, as we take a look at the extremely non-traditional wedding get-up of Honey Boo Boo’s mom, Mama June. This family came to our attention via TLC’s reality series Toddlers and Tiaras, and soon had their own collection of shows and spin-offs.

For her 2013 backyard wedding to Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, June wore a camouflage gown with an orange underskirt. The dress code asked guests to come in camo or hot pink.

Red-headed bombshell Julianne Moore started dating Bart Freundlich — her director on The Myth of Fingerprints — in 1996. The couple tied the knot in 2003, with Moore choosing to wear a lilac slip dress rather than the traditional white wedding gown.

In a very 2003 move, the actress paired her lilac wedding dress with green shoes, green drop earrings, and a green handbag. We’re not sure that this is the most polished wedding look we’ve ever seen, but at least she looks happy.

Now there are some celebrities that we expect a non-traditional wedding look from. Imagine our shock if someone like Dita Von Teese appeared in a demure white dress. What a disappointment that would be!

Thankfully, for her 2005 wedding ceremony to metal singer Marilyn Manson, the burlesque dancer wore a royal purple silk taffeta Vivienne Westwood dress. Von Teese added a tri-cornered hat by Stephen Jones, a bouquet of red roses, and her signature red lip to complete the gothic look. Hurrah!

Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and her wedding dress went on to become iconic. In 2002, American singer Kelis met rapper Nas at an MTV party, and three years later they tied the knot. The singer wore an unusual green wedding dress, with embroidery on the bodice.

Kelis paired her dress with a chic cropped white fur jacket and an up-do. The iconic green dress can be seen on the cover of Nas’s album Life Is Good.

Model Emily Ratajkowski first came to our attention with her role in the video for Robin Thicke’s controversial song “Blurred Lines.” The London-born model told Vanity Fair that she’s never been interested in wearing white for her wedding saying, “I’m not a pure woman. I’m a woman with a lot of character and experience and life.”

It makes sense then that the model would don a mustard trouser suit to marry actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard in a courthouse ceremony.

Emmy award-winning actress Sharon Stone is an icon for her performances in film classics like Basic Instinct and Casino. For her wedding to newspaper executive Phil Bronstein in 1998, the actress opted for a blush pink chiffon dress by Vera Wang.

Stone accessorized her wedding outfit with a bejeweled tiara and a matching long pink veil. Stone and Bronstein’s marriage didn’t stand the test of time, and after adopting a baby son in 2000, the pair divorced in 2004.

Not content with one wedding, “Liz and Dick” divorced in 1974 and then remarried each other in 1975. For their second wedding, Taylor wore a tie-dye Gina Fratini dress with rainbow colors and tiny embroidered feathers.

The actress paired her seventies wedding dress with another ornate up-do. Speaking years later, Taylor remarked that “after Richard, the men in my life were just there to hold the coat, to open the door. All the men after Richard were really just company.”

Some brides opt for multiple dresses for their big day, which was the case for English model and socialite Poppy Delevingne. Sister of model Cara, Poppy tied the knot in several different ceremonies for her wedding to James Cook in 2014.

While Poppy did wear white for her London ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, the socialite opted for an embroidered, floral, Pucci gown for her ceremony in Morocco. The hippy-chic dress was covered in pastel flower embellishments, making it the ideal boho bride look.

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon — known to us simply as Reese — is an Academy Award-winning actress with a ton of successful projects under her belt. The Legally Blonde star got married for the second time in 2011 to talent agent Jim Toth.

For their California wedding at Witherspoon’s country estate, the actress wore a strapless blush Monique Lhuillier gown that had a Chantilly lace corset and a full A-line skirt. Hollywood guests included Matthew McConaughey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Renee Zellweger.

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey tied the knot with Peter Thomas on the third season of the outlandish reality show. The pair got married in 2010 at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and the bride was quite a sight to behold.

Bailey wore a gunmetal puffball dress in a shiny fabric that tied in a huge oversized bow at the neck. This was a seriously over-the-top wedding look that was boosted by a huge bridal party in matching metallic tones.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve seen it all when it comes to Elizabeth Taylor’s weddings — but you’d be wrong. In her eighth wedding ceremony, the iconic actress married Larry Fortensky wearing a pale yellow lace Valentino dress.

The weirdest part of this wedding isn’t the dress though, but the location. Taylor and Fortensky tied the knot at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in front of Liza Minnelli, Eddy Murphy, and Nancy Reagan among others. The pair were married from 1991 to 1996.

Grey’s Anatomy lead Ellen Pompeo is one of the world’s highest-paid actors, earning over half a million dollars per episode of the beloved medical drama. You wouldn’t know this from her wedding pictures though, as the icon decided to go for a more low-key ceremony to marry Chris Ivery in 2007.

Pompeo wore a black cocktail dress — that she’d bought the previous summer in Paris — when she tied the knot in New York City. This totally seems like something Meredith Grey would do.

Daughter of Patty Hearst, model-actress Lydia is another celeb that opted for an ombre pink wedding dress. For her wedding to comedian Chris Hardwick in 2016, Hearst wore a dip-dye style dress with a high-low silhouette.

Designed by Project Runway’s Christian Siriano, the tulle ballgown also had a low-back, an illusion sweetheart neckline, and long sleeves covered in delicate beading. Not a traditional bride at all, Hearst posted a picture of her wedding dress on Instagram a week before the wedding.

This celebrity wedding dress is right on the cusp of being a white dress — but we contend that it’s nude, cream, or just slightly off-white. Regardless, Israeli model Bar Refaeli chose a design that’s far from traditional, with ruffles and an elaborate embroidery.

Refaeli wore her dress with natural tousled hair and minimal jewelry. The model married businessman Adi Ezra in 2015, and together the pair have three children — daughters Liv and Elle, and son David.

The brunette bombshell has been married a whopping eight times, and it’s certainly worth taking a peek at some of her dresses considering that she is a true fashion icon.

At her second wedding, to Michael Wilding — an English stage, television, and film actor — in 1952, Taylor wore a Helen Rose skirt suit with a white peter pan collar. With a 20-year age difference, this marriage lasted five years, before Taylor had a fling with a film producer.