Jennifer Atilémile is the definition of a woman who does it all. A true multi-hyphenate, she is a model, writer, creative, activist, and intellectual. As an editor in residence, she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry.
The courthouse wedding used to be an alternative to the old-school “establishment” religious ceremony, but now, it’s one of the chicest ways to get married. There are two camps to the courthouse wedding: those who choose that moment to be their entire wedding and those who opt for the courthouse as their intimate moment before they celebrate in a main event with all their friends (your faves/cool girls/celebs). Dua Lipa had her intimate version in none other than custom Schiaparelli before her Italian celebration. Charli XCX married George Daniel at Hackney Town Hall in a Vivienne Westwood mini with her Sicilian blowout still to come. Let’s talk about Sicily as the cool-girl musician’s wedding-party destination in a different article.
I’ve got a personal stake in all of this. I’m following each detail like a hawk, even while I’m on date night with my fiancé, for any inkling or inch of the reveal of Lipa’s ultimate wedding dress. My reason? I’m getting married at the end of the year, starting with the courthouse and then celebrating with all our friends at a separate event. So much of what I’ve seen play out as a 2026 bride has already been on my Pinterest list, and I’m watching—not so I can copy but so that I can appreciate and then make some choices on what feels most aligned with how I envision my moment.
For the Bride
The Suit
The most enduring courthouse-wedding look in fashion history is a suit, and it belongs to Bianca Jagger… well, according to my planning and Pinterest searches. She married Mick Jagger in Saint-Tropez in 1971 and wore an Yves Saint Laurent bias-cut column skirt and the ever-iconic Le Smoking single-buttoned jacket. She topped it off with a hat that hinted at a veil.
It’s literally been on my Pinterest board for months, and clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s stunningly chic. That reference is having a full resurgence, and while the look is currently being talked about by one of the biggest pop stars of the moment, there’s a reason why it’s remained iconic since 1971.
Who What Wear’s own Ana Escalante got married in a vintage Dior suit sourced by Studio Dorothy.
What I love most about the idea of the wedding suit is that it isn’t just a one-and-done moment. It’s something that can be reworn time and again, unlike a big, showstopping gown, which—don’t get me wrong—I also love!
The Only Rule That Really Matters
Don’t wear white to a wedding that isn’t yours—unless you’re Lipa at Simon Porte Jacquemus’s wedding, where her dress was actually designed by the groom, and the dress code is white to begin with.
At the end of the day, you can have Pinterest boards galore and be following every celeb wedding trend, but something that always gets missed is that, ultimately, the final decision for anything you plan to wear to your wedding, be it a courthouse or the whole shebang, is whatever your heart desires.
Lady Gaga, who could literally have the most extravagant wedding on the planet, said this about marrying her fiancé, Michael Polansky: “We actually talk a lot about just going to a courthouse, just the two of us, and ordering Chinese food. But knowing me, also, it could become like a circus with unicorns.”
That’s how I feel about ours right now. I’ve had a couple of fittings, and I keep seeing other people’s weddings online, and the one thing I say is, “Do what feels natural to you.” It’s your moment, and these trends are all guidelines. So follow the suit if the suit calls you. Follow the resurgence, copy Bianca Jagger, and wear the hat. Or ignore all of it and wear the biggest dress you can find to a tiny municipal office because you love a big dress. It’s your day, and nobody else’s! The brides who look the best at the end of the day are the ones who looked and felt the most like themselves. That’s the only thing your future self will care about.
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