10 Elegantly Chic Court Wedding Dresses for Nigerian Brides

If you’re looking for ideas of what to wear for your registry wedding, in this post we’re presenting 10 latest and elegantly chic court wedding dresses to get married at the courthouse. That’s not all, I also shared court wedding outfit tips for grooms. Finally, get to see my answers to common questions brides and grooms ask about how to dress for a civil/ court wedding. Read on!

For some women, a court wedding doesn’t need any special dressing, but not so for the stylish woman, especially if the location is an upscale court like the infamous ‘Ikoyi registry’. While a court wedding calls for a toned-down ‘civil’ look, who says you can’t find outfits that ooze both of style and elegance?

Now, swipe or scroll down to see the inspirational pictures on what to wear for your registry/ civil/ court wedding.

#1, 2, 3: Formal Short and Knee-Length Fitted Gowns for Court Wedding – Accessorized with Bridal Hats  |  Monochrome White Look

SEE SIMILAR STYLES: Stunning Short English Gown Styles for Occasion Dressing

• Above left, this bride wears a white off-shoulder fit-and-flare court wedding dress with high-low ruffle hem. She completes her registry wedding look with a matching colour white hat, black court shoes/ pumps, and a little black clutch purse to match her shoes.
• Middle (above):  This is a monochrome look with a fit-n-flare white high-low lace court wedding gown, white pumps (shoes) and a matching white feather fascinator birdcage that features an over-the-eye french netting.
• Right (above): White knee-length long-sleeve scuba material bodycon gown with high-neck. She accessorized the look with a fascinator net hat.

Choose from any of the above styles of fitted monochrome white dresses and ensure to add the right accessories, as in the pictures, to get the perfect but simple bridal look for your registry wedding.

#4: Sexy and Sleek Bridal Jumpsuit for Registry/ Court Wedding

Above, this bride wears a cream/champagne-coloured high-neck and illusion lace-top satin wedding jumpsuit with a detachable draped waist cape/ train.

• This bridal jumpsuit is perfect for a court wedding. She completes the look with a black and white strappy high-heeled sandals, which amps up the glamour of her entire dressing.
• The above bridal jumpsuit style has a long removable train/ waist cape that you can detach right after your registry wedding and wear it in a different look for the reception party. How cool is that?
• Bridal pantsuits/ trouser suits are in trend. Nollywood actress, Ini Dima Okojie’s court wedding dress was a two-piece bridal trouser suit, and she looked elegantly chic in it.

Bridal jumpsuits are such a perfect one-piece ensemble for any court wedding and are also a great option for a wedding reception look. These special pantsuits look good and classy on most body types. Wedding jumpsuits are a super-sleek option for a bride who wants a stylish outfit that she can wear again for occasions, after her big day.

#5, 6: Chic Minimalist Pencil Dress Court Wedding Dress Ideas

SEE SIMILAR STYLES: Latest Long Gown Styles for Occasion Dressing

• Above left: Streamlined fitted white long-sleeved maxi gown court wedding dress idea, accessorized with a matching white Fascinator hat, contrasting black-with-gold strappy high-heels and brown purse in-hand.
• Above right: This is a simple but elegant 2-piece brown and sky-blue fitted skirt and blouse court wedding dress idea. She completes the look with a matching nude/ brown court-shoes and a clutch bag and accessorized with a fascinator hat, wristwatch, and clutch purse.

#7, 8: Cocktail Dresses and Dressy Jumpsuit Court Wedding Outfits | Off-Shoulder Short and Midi Length Civil Wedding Attire for Brides

• Above left: This bride wore a pretty mustard-yellow strapless chiffon short gown with waist cape for her court wedding look. She completes her look with a green and white flower bouquet with yellow accents. Her bouquet gives off a beautiful contrast to her dress.
• Above right: This happy bride flaunts her flower bouquet, wearing an all-white midi-length sweetheart-neck strapless jumpsuit with waist cape and sparkly metallic silver belt. She completes her look with a matching white strappy high heels (open-toe sandals). Actress, Ini Dima-Okojie also wore a white strapless jumpsuit to her Civil Wedding ceremony.

Types of Wedding Gown Necklines and How to Choose (w/ Photos of Neckline Styles)

#9, 10: All-White Court Wedding Gowns Accessorized with Netted Hats (and their Grooms in Neutral Coloured Sleek Two-Piece Suits)

STYLE TIPS: You don’t have to wear an elaborate floor-length bridal gown, but you can wear a short wedding gown for a courthouse wedding. Short English gowns also make perfect registry wedding attires.

You can make any simple white fitted gown look like a short wedding dress by accessorizing the look with a hat. White netted or feather fascinator bridal hats look the most flattering when going for a registry wedding look.

Finish the look by throwing wearing a crystal drop earrings, a pair of court shoes or pumps and clutch a purse in your hand. Don’t forget to do a flawless makeup.

Civil Wedding: 5 Ways to Look Stylish and Stand Out at the Courthouse

Finally, finish off your look with a flawless makeup. Hire a professional to do it for you, if you don’t know how to. Some of them are very affordable. To avoid surprises and be sure you get the type of makeup you like, ensure to pay for a pre-wedding makeup, or trial makeup, to ask the makeup artist to give you the same wedding day look.

Some brides like a light makeup for their wedding and others love a heavy makeup. Similarly, some makeup artists are known to do heavy makeup for their brides. A trial makeup (before your wedding day) is how you will you know if you like the makeup artist’s work or want it toned up or down?

Elegant Court Wedding Outfit Tips for Nigerian Grooms

1. Stylish men make the effort to look special with their registry look, and that’s the mindset every groom should have.
2. Dressing up for your courthouse wedding should not be left for only your bride-to-be. It’s also your day, so put together a special-occasion look.
3. For the groom, suits are the most popular court wedding attire. This can sometimes resemble the office corporate look and uninteresting if the groom is usually dressed in a suit for work.
4. It doesn’t have to be like that. The right men’s suit accessories can help transform a groom’s court wedding suit from boring to interesting.
5. Do not limit yourself to neutral-colour suits. Coloured wedding suits for men also look cool. Take some time to check out occasion-suit styles and colours worn by male celebs for inspiration. You don’t have to buy the exact same clothing brand if you cannot afford to.
6. Look at photos of other people’s weddings to know what’s in-vogue wedding styles for men. Then pick a style you like and buy or sew something similar that is affordable to you. We featured some cool men’s wedding suits in a previous post.

50 Latest Wedding Gown Styles In Nigeria 2022 (Pictures)

FAQs About What to Wear During a Court/ Registry Wedding (and My Answers)

As a bride, what should I wear to a Court Wedding?

You are free to wear what you like to your court wedding. There are no rules stating what a bride or groom can wear or not wear during court/ registry wedding.  You can choose how simple, formal or informal you want your court wedding outfit to be – the choice is yours. Some popular types of outfits that Nigerian brides wear for registry weddings include: traditional attires, ankara wears, jumpsuits, skirt suits, trouser suits, short gowns or short skirt and blouse, and long gowns.  Summary: you can wear whatever you like to a Nigerian court wedding.

Can I wear a veil for my court wedding?

Yes, you can wear a veil for a court wedding. You won’t be the first to do it, as many Nigerian brides have worn veils to their registry/ civil wedding.  Even if a veil is not your fancy, bridal turbans, turban gele, regular Gele, and hats are some of other types of headpiece accessories you can wear to your court wedding in Nigeria.

7 Gorgeous Bridal Turban & Veil Ideas for Muslim Weddings

Can I wear trousers or trouser suits for a court wedding?

Yes, you can wear trousers or trouser suit for your court wedding in Nigeria. Nollywood actress, Ini Dima Okojie, wore a pristine-white pantsuit to her court wedding and she looked fabulous in it. You can see what Ini’s civil wedding jumpsuit looks like here.

Can I wear a white wedding gown for my court wedding?

Yes, you can wear a white wedding gown for a court wedding. Many Nigerian brides do it, and so can you. In fact, if you search through featured weddings section in this blog (NaijaGlamWedding), you’ll see pictures of real-life Nigerian brides in wedding gowns at their registry wedding.

There’s no law saying one can’t wear a traditional wedding gown fr registry wedding.  So, if that’s what you feel like wearing, feel free to do so.

Can I Carry a Flower Bouquet for my Court Wedding?

ANS: Sure, you can carry a bouquet as part of your registry wedding attire. Many brides do that, even one of the featured brides (in the court wedding dressing styles) above is carrying a bouquet.

Can I Wear Whatever I Like for  My Court Registry Wedding?

You can. I’ve seen some people wear a regular day time outfit for a court wedding, and I’ve seen some wear lace Iro and Buba. Wear whatever you feel like, as long as you’re not naked.

Recap and Conclusion: Latest Registry/ Court Wedding Dresses for Brides

If you read up to this point, below are some ideas of what to wear for a court wedding, including a short or knee-length gown, a maxi gown, a dressy jumpsuit, a trouser suit or skirt suit, peplum-top dress and cocktail dresses.

Do not be afraid to wear off-shoulder neckline dresses for your courthouse wedding if you’re comfortable with pulling off the look.

I also talked about suitable accessories for a court wedding such as sparkly drop earrings, bracelet and/ or wristwatch, court shoes or strappy heeled sandals, bridal turbans (for Muslim brides), bridal headpiece or feather/ net fascinator hat and a clutch purse.

Flower bouquets flatter styles of court wedding outfits that look similar to church wedding attires, if that’s the look you’re going for.

Finally, I touched on court wedding dressing ideas for men, and what they can add to transform their look from ordinary to special-occasion look.

For more court/ registry wedding styling ideas, check out my post on 5 Ways to Look Stylish and Stand Out at Your Court Wedding.

There you have it on court wedding outfit ideas that will stand out and flatter every type of body shape. Thanks for reading. If you like this post, I’d appreciate it if you help me share it on social media to help others find it.

Now tell me – what’s your favourite of the 10 latest court wedding dresses featured above? Which one are you likely to wear if you’re planning your registry wedding?

Also, what do you think is the best dressing style or type of attire for men to wear to their registry wedding? Let me know in the comment section down below.