Who else is tired of seeing brides look casual and un-bridely at their civil/ registry wedding? Every type of wedding is special and deserves a stand-out outfit, not only the church/ worship-house wedding. Come on, you only (pray to) get married once in your lifetime, so why dress casually to your civil wedding? Read on for ideas on how to look stylist for your court wedding.
By the way, your civil wedding attire doesn’t have to be expensive, but it has to look special. In this post, I’ll share 5 things to do to make your civil/ registry wedding outfit stand out and look special, plus a tip for grooms – read to the end to see the tips.

Some brides wear their basic, everyday look at their civil wedding event, making them mix in with everyone else, on the day of their registry wedding. So, you’ll have to ask ‘who is the bride?’ in order to spot her. That’s not cool.
If you’re a bride, whether it’s a court wedding or traditional wedding or blessing of marriage, make an effort to stand out with your dressing – and that does is not saying you should buy or sew an expensive dress.
To help you figure out how to stand out and look like a bride on the day of your court wedding (on any budget), here are some styling tips and things to consider when choosing what to wear for your court wedding:
1. Make Your Personality Shine Through Your Civil/ Court Wedding Attire
Show your personality through your civil wedding dressing. Here are some ideas to add some fun and a touch of elegance when getting married at the courthouse:
2. Wear a Simple White Dress (Short or Long)
The colour white is such a simple and neutral but just has a way to make you look classy without a need for you to add much. With a simple dress style and minimal decoration and design on the fabric, all you need is to look like a bride is to add a feathered or net bridal fascinator hat and a sandal with heels. The keyword here is ‘simple’ so that you can wear the dress again and again after your court wedding.
HINT: ‘English gowns‘ are popular options for brides to wear for their civil/ registry weddings. Also, outfits labelled as ‘prom dresses’ also make perfect courthouse wedding dresses – without costing too much, and it’s worth checking them out when shopping for the perfect registry wedding attire.
3. Throw in Some Colour, if That’s Your Vibe
Don’t be afraid to wear colours for your court/ civil wedding. While an all-white themed attire gives a clean, minimalist elegant look to registry wedding dresses, It doesn’t have to be white and neutral colours, if you’re someone who loves to wear colours. However, if you want to dress colourful, try and keep the colour choice soft. Our list of colour combinations for different colours is a great place to find non-clashing combos.
4. Transform Your Entire Look to ‘Bridal Look’, with a Netted Fascinator Hat
Fascinator hats with net and/ or feathers just have a way to transform even the most minimalist look to a bridal look perfect for a court registry wedding. For Muslim brides, bridal turbans are stylish alternatives to fascinator hats and they look really beautiful.
5. Complete Your Civil Wedding Look to Appear Sharper
Wear sparkly drop earrings, get your hair done by a good hairstylist and have your face makeup done by a professional. Hold a small clutch purse in-hand. Add a simple necklace, wrist bracelet, and sparkly earrings.
6. BONUS TIP: Help Style Your Groom for a Coordinated Look
Most men rely on their significant other for ideas on what to wear and colours to combine. They believe that women are quick to know what’s on-trend and what is no longer reigning in fashion, and that is true – most men would wear their 5-year-old suit to any occasion.
While you’re putting together your own look, ensure to look out for your groom’s civil wedding attire. The right sharp and modern men’s occasion suits always work for weddings. The right men’s suit accessories can transform an ordinary-looking suit to make it look special.
A well-sewn men’s senator suit wear is also a cool alternative for grooms who like to look different with a flair for sharp native-corporate style.
Latest Wedding Suit Styles for Men: 15 Ideas to Dress Sharper
What You Wear to a Civil Wedding Doesn’t Have to Be Uninteresting
Many Nigerians obsess about the idea of getting married in 3 different wedding ceremonies and ranking their registry wedding as the least important that does not require any attention to details or dressing up.
That’s very wrong because a civil/ registry wedding is no lesser a wedding than the traditional and white wedding. For some couples, it’s the only type of wedding they choose to have and celebrate too. It’s that important.
Even if you plan to have a ‘big, bigger, biggest’ levels of wedding ceremonies and have the court wedding at the bottom of the list, it’s still important that you look good on the day of the registry ceremony. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
MORE WEDDING STYLE IDEAS:
- 13 Hottest Bridesmaid Dress Trends Every Bride Should Know (w/ Pictures)
- Trendy Flower Girl Dresses and Little Bride Hairstyles
There you have it on what to consider when choosing a civil wedding outfit, and how to stand without breaking the bank. How do you plan to stand out at your civil/ court wedding ceremony or how did you dress to stand out (if you’ve already tied the knot)? Comment down below to tell me.
Did I miss any tip? Add it in the comments section down below, or simply let me know your thoughts on this topic.
Also I need tip on how to go about it…I have no idea at all please help a sister
Don’t worry, I just replied to your first comment, sis. Reply to tell me the styles and colour combo you picked.
Thanks for the tips…I really appreciate it . kindly give me a colour combinations for tradition and white wedding…we plan having both same day.
Thanks.
P.s. just dress me up for the trad. N white. I really need this please
Hello Hasel, thanks for your feedback. Here’s my reply:
-On tips for how to have a traditional and white wedding the same day, I have already written a detailed post to help you and anyone needing it. You can read it here (click) ==> how to organize both traditional and white wedding on the same day.
-You made me smile when I saw ‘dress me up’. I like that. You didn’t tell me whether you’re a man or a woman, and your name does not give a clue. But not to worry, I’ll still point you in the right direction. I’ve put together lots of photo ideas of trendy traditional and white wedding dressing for couples. You should check them out.
>>If you’re a man, go here to see all our featured men’s wedding fashion styles and tips.
>>If you’re a woman, take a look at our featured women’s wedding fashion styles and tips.
-On a suitable colour combo, colours are personal, as different people like different colours. I like to tell couples to pick something around their favourite everyday colours. What’s your best colour? Pick a combo around that.
>>To help you choose, I have put together hundreds of nice matching colours. Check them out here ==> List of Colour Combinations for Nigerian Weddings
Look through those and let me know what you picked.