Now that I’m spending a lot of time at home, I figure I should start thinking about that wedding that I’ve got coming up in a year, for which I am the bride. Even though I have eccentric everyday style, my bridal taste is a lot more simple or nontraditional. I’m still not sure what my wedding dress will look like, but I figure why not take inspiration from one of the sources I’m quite familiar with these days: movies. I recently put together a list of casual brides IRL, (I’ll always love that Emily Ratajkowski wore a marigold Zara suit to City Hall to tie the knot, for example), but some iconic moments in film do come straight to mind.
I can narrate almost every scene from 1998’s The Parent Trap, including the one where Hallie (who is pretending to be Annie) asks her mother, Elizabeth James, about her wedding to Nick Parker after coming home from summer camp. “Actually, I didn’t even wear a wedding dress,” Elizabeth tells her as she recounts a very small snippet of the wedding we so gratifyingly get to see in the opening scene of the movie aboard the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship. Elizabeth wore a classic white sheath with spaghetti straps and a slightly fuller skirt for the occasion, but really, it was something one might have packed for a black-tie dinner on a cruise ship in the early ’90s. It wasn’t extravagant or your typical ballgown, and I always loved how simply it was styled, as is evident by the photo Hallie and Annie each own halves of.
Even though I haven’t picked out my own wedding dress yet, I’m not too worried when I know how much I love Elizabeth James’s effortless outfit, along with the rest of the ensembles you’ll see here. I’d be perfectly fine with wearing any of them down the aisle, just because they’re all so different and relaxed in their own way. From the canary yellow fit-and-flare Maria wears with a veil in West Side Story to Sandra Bullock‘s Jackie Kennedy-esque skirt suit in Two Weeks Notice, I think you’ll fully enjoy looking back on some of these unique bridal moments with me.
Related: 2020 Brides Have Some Stunning Wedding Dress Trends to Choose From
Everett Collection / DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
Rashida Jones in I Love You, Man
Rashida plays Zooey, who wears this simple white summer A-line dress with a subtle sweetheart neckline down the aisle.
Everett Collection / Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner
Mary shows up in this off-the-shoulder silhouette, a shortened veil, and simple choker necklace for her casual wedding to Massimo, played by Grey’s Anatomy‘s Justin Chambers.
Everett Collection / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice
Bullock plays Lucy in the 2002 film, who gets married to George Wade (played by Hugh Grant) in this Jackie Kennedy-esque skirt suit and standard pumps.
Everett Collection / Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Uma Thurman in Ceremony
Zoe’s bridal look is bohemian inspired and simple, a floaty ivory number with embroidered lace lining the collar and hip.
Everett Collection / Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Malin Akerman in The Heartbreak Kid
Lila marries Eddie (aka Ben Stiller) before their honeymoon in Cabo, sporting this flirty ruffled tiered minidress with a smocked bodice.
Everett Collection / Screen Media Films/courtesy Everett Collection
Blake Lively in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Blake plays a young Pippa Lee in the 2009 film. Her ruched, bow-adorned drop-waist dress is a definite take on the ’80s prom look.
Everett Collection / Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma
It’s easy to remember this incredibly dreamy look that Emma Woodhouse wears down the aisle in the 1996 film. With sheer lace poof sleeves and a gathered center, it’s an approach to the boudoir bridal trend we’re seeing repeated this year.
Everett Collection / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas
It’s easy to flash back to Karen and Henry Hill’s wedding in this 1990 classic. With a modest veil, fitted jacquard sheath, and pearls, Karen made for a very classic bride.
Everett Collection / Courtesy Everett Collection
Natalie Wood in West Side Story
Maria and Tony are heavenly as a couple in their wedding scene from 1961’s West Side Story. We love the canary yellow shade of her three-quarter sleeve fit-and-flare, made even more romantic by subtle touches like a satin bow and matching satin piping at the sleeve and neckline.
Everett Collection / Courtesy Everett Collection
Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Tracy is James Bond’s unabashedly sexy bride in this eyelet number in the 1969 film. The see-through jumpsuit is at first coordinated with a sheer overlay, but by itself, it foreshadowed where free-spirited fashion was headed in the ’70s and proves that the naked bridal dress has been around for longer than you think.
