What to Wear to a Courthouse or City Hall Wedding
A city hall wedding lasts minutes, takes place in a small room and is photographed on the steps outside. Short dresses, suits, tea-length gowns and coats, and the famous brides who wore them.
On January 14, 1954, Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio at San Francisco City Hall in a ceremony that, by the San Francisco Chronicle’s account the next day, took about two minutes. She wore a dark brown broadcloth suit with an ermine collar. There was no veil and no train, and the photographs from the steps, of a woman in a beautifully cut suit holding flowers, are among the most famous wedding pictures of the century. A civil ceremony doesn’t need a gown. It needs something that looks right in a small room, a hallway and a city street, and that makes you feel like a bride in all three.
First, the practicalities
Every clerk’s office has its own rules. Some require appointments made weeks ahead; New York City’s, for example, books in-person ceremonies through its online Project Cupid system and doesn’t accept walk-ins. Ask about:
- Guest limits. Ceremony rooms are often small, and some limit the number of guests.
- Timing. You may have a set appointment and a short wait. Wear something you can sit and stand in comfortably.
- Security. Many courthouses have airport-style screening. Keep accessories simple and bring any metal hairpieces or jewelry you can remove easily.
- Photographs. Ask where photographs are allowed, both inside and outside.
What to wear
The short dress. A knee-length or midi dress in white, ivory or a color is the classic city hall look. In 1969, Yoko Ono married John Lennon at the British Consulate in Gibraltar in a short white dress, a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and white knee socks and sneakers. The ceremony lasted about ten minutes, and the look has been copied ever since. For a modern version, choose structured fabrics such as silk faille, crepe, heavy satin or tweed, which keep their shape in photographs.
The suit. The bridal suit and the civil ceremony were made for each other. In February 2018 Emily Ratajkowski married at New York’s City Hall in a mustard Zara suit and a black wide-brimmed hat with a small veil. A white or ivory skirt suit with a fitted jacket is the most classic choice; a trouser suit is chic in any season. Bridal separates, suits and jumpsuits has detailed advice.
Tea-length. A full skirt ending between knee and ankle is elegant and romantic, easy to walk and dance in, and looks formal without being too much. It suits a civil ceremony followed by lunch or dinner.
The slip or column. A simple silk slip or crepe column works well if the ceremony is followed by a dinner. Carolyn Bessette’s bias-cut silk crepe dress by Narciso Rodriguez is the reference many brides bring to fittings, although her own wedding, on September 21, 1996, was not at a city hall. She married John F. Kennedy Jr. in a small, private ceremony at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia. The full story is here.
The dress with a history. Before her religious wedding in 1956, Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III in a civil ceremony in Monaco on April 18, wearing a pale pink taffeta dress covered with ivory Alençon lace, with a fitted bodice, a high rounded collar and a Juliet cap. A civil ceremony can be as elegant as any other.
A civil ceremony doesn’t need a gown. It needs something that looks right in a small room, a hallway and a city street.
Coats and cover-ups
A city hall wedding happens partly outdoors, on steps and sidewalks, and often in cold or wet weather.
A good coat makes the look. A tailored white, ivory or camel wool coat over a short dress is one of the most elegant civil wedding looks there is. A cape is dramatic; a cropped jacket works over a tea-length skirt.
A wrap or stole in cashmere or faux fur for winter; a light silk jacket for spring.
Umbrellas. A clear umbrella lets the photographer see you in the rain.
Accessories
Veils and hats. A short veil, a birdcage veil on a comb, a small hat or a wide-brimmed hat with a veil all make a short dress read as bridal. See veils and headpieces and the lengths in veils, decoded.
Gloves. Short gloves in satin or leather are elegant and practical in winter.
Shoes. Courthouse floors are hard and polished; choose a heel you can stand in and a sole that grips. The wedding shoes guide has more.
Flowers. A small posy, a single stem or a boutonnière-style corsage suits a small room. Keep it light enough to hold while signing the license.
The bag. You will be carrying identification, the license paperwork and possibly the rings. Choose a small bag or give them to a witness.
Color, formality and the celebration afterwards
A civil ceremony gives you more freedom than a traditional one. Blush, pale blue, pastels and bright colors all photograph well against stone and city streets. See colored wedding dresses.
If you are planning a larger celebration later, you can treat the civil ceremony as a separate occasion with its own look, rather than a rehearsal for the big dress. Many couples marry legally at city hall and hold a ceremony or party later; a short dress for the first and a gown for the second is a natural pairing. Reception and second dresses covers dressing for a celebration.
Borrowing the idea
- Plan the photographs. Book a photographer for an hour, and plan a walk from the courthouse to a nearby park, café or landmark. Wedding photography has advice.
- Dress the witnesses. A coordinated palette for the two witnesses, or a buttonhole for each, makes the photographs look deliberate.
- Bring a coat for everyone. Hallways and steps can be cold.
- Hair and makeup. Book a stylist who can work quickly, or do your own and keep it simple. Wedding hair and makeup has timing tips.
- Celebrate afterwards. A lunch, a dinner or a party, even for six people, turns a legal appointment into a wedding.
For more famous looks, see celebrity wedding dresses and wedding dress styles.
Written and edited by the Today’s Weddings editors. How we research and check what we publish is set out in our editorial standards. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
