LOVE/HATE: Dressing For City Hall
By Never teh BrideOnce upon a time, I imagined that The Beard and I would say our marriage vows in the offices of the closest city hall. It didn’t work out that way, but I nurtured that particular fantasy for a very long time. In my wedding vision, we were having the most frugal of budget wedding ceremonies while wearing the most luxurious of wedding attire. It would, I thought, be ever so much fun to go gallivanting about town in a wedding dress and a tuxedo. And when I say wedding dress, I mean a big, poufy, princessy number with all the trimmings!
Consequently, I was interested to see how Brides.com envisions the perfect wedding dress for the city hall bride. In one word, the answer is “short.”
Not quite as short as Vivi, a $1,050 sleeveless silk faille ivory dress with bateau neckline and pleated detail at hem by Amsale.
Most of the wedding dresses in the slide show are variations on a theme that includes dresses like Jocelyn, an off-white silk shantung Jenny Yoo Collection dress with a small key-hole in the front and a dip that dips to just above the waists. (Ooh, it’s only $425!)
I say if you’re getting married at city hall, wear whatever you want, whether that means cut-off jeans or a $10,000 ballgown. Isn’t that the whole point of getting married at city hall: Doing whatever you want (while also maybe saving a little cash)? It seems silly to me that brides would limit their attire choices to mostly short, 1950s-ish wedding dresses — as cute as they always are — when it’s so damn fun to run around in full formal dress or jeans and a sparkling tiara! In conclusion, I love the dresses, but hate the limitations implied.
What say you?
June 4th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I believe that this sentence:
“wear whatever you want, whether that means cut-off jeans or a $10,000 ballgown”
applies to EVERY wedding, regardless of location. As long as you feel beautiful and happy, then by golly, wear whatcha want.
June 4th, 2009 at 9:48 am
On days when the wedding was annoying me, I used to plan our “fantasy” city hall wedding in my head. I always pictured myself in a Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress. I’ve been dying to own one for years, but it’s hard to justify the money … unless, of course, it becomes a wedding dress, where the price tag seems cheap in comparison!
June 4th, 2009 at 10:22 am
We went to city hall the week before our ‘real’ wedding. I just ducked out of work for an hour, wearing jeans and a t-shirt =) Though I think the sheriff who married us didn’t take us seriously because of it… he kept telling us that this was the real thing, and asking us if we were sure about this *insert eye roll*.
Whatever, it was awesome, and we had a good friend perform the ceremony at the wedding without having to worry about legalities =)
June 4th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I agree absolutely with the sentiment that cit hall brides should wear whatever they like…but for myself I would have difficulty accepting the idea of spending thousands (or even a thousand…okay, even a few hundred) dollars on the dress I wear for a wedding ceremony that costs less than two hundred bucks overall. I’m all for irony, but that’s a bit too incongruous for my personal taste.
So, no wedding gown for Twistie at a city hall ceremony. YMMV.
On the other hand, I certainly would want to appear in something suitable to the dignity of the event. Someone else might feel great showing up to their wedding in jeans (and more power to them if they do), but that ain’t me in a big way.
What I would probably do is to pick out my most gorgeous boho skirt (I’m thinking my ice blue crushed velvet one that goes perfectly to my ankles), pair it with a fabulous new blouse, add some righteous and colorful boots, and consider this an excuse to buy a truly spectacular hat.
That way, even if the outfit ended up costing more than the rest of the wedding combined, my frugal heart wouldn’t attack me, and I would have a fabulous blouse, righteous boots, and a spectacular hat added to my wardrobe.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I am now finding myself with a large desire to put on my formal gown that I wear far too little as it is, get a tiara, and just go around town. And I’m not even getting married!
June 4th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
For whatever reason, the city hall wedding brings an image to my mind like a 40s/50s movie (was this actually a scene or something? I’m not sure), with the woman in a sharply tailored skirt suit and a hat (with flowers, for some reason). Which seems like a fine thing to get married in, and very practical, because what’s more rewearable than a nice suit? Probably not the route I’d go, though, due to an excess of family.
June 4th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I had a college roommate who planned to get married at city hall in a navy suit. If I were going to wear a white dress to city hall, I’d go for a cheaper one than those. You could get an eyelet sundress that would look more bridal than the ones shown, at a lot lower cost.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:55 am
I think most brides who get married at the city hall wear what they wish. If they decide to buy something special for the occasion… they tend not to spend too much on that outfit. That has been my experience working with brides for many years. My own daughter decided to go this route. She gave me a “one day” notice. We went out found her a creme two piece suit she liked for the occasion.
Some brides that got married at the city hall that I have worked with in the past, end up later purchasing a traditional bridal gown because they have an elaborate reception planned to take place later in the year.