Iconic Brides # 28 : Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne’s 2006 wedding to musician Deryck Whibley was notable, not just for the singer’s relatively young age (she was just 21 at the time of the ceremony, on July 15th), but because the usually sullen skater girl ditched her trademark, grungy look for the day, opting instead for a stunning, floor-length gown by Vera Wang. Avril changed into a second Vera Wang gown for her reception, while her four bridesmaids wore pink – a far cry from the kind of look most people were expecting.

The ceremony took place outdoors at a private estate in California, and the couple had their first dance to the Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’. Avril later admitted that she’d considered a more unusual, goth-style wedding, but had been dreaming about a fairytale wedding since she was a child, and decided to go ahead and treat herself. “I wanted to be a princess,” she said. Awww!

Related: Avril Lavigne opted for fairytale wedding | Iconic Brides # 26: Nicole Kidman marries Keith Urban | Iconic Brides # 11 -Princess Diana

Iconic Brides # 27 – Angelina Jolie marries Brad Pitt in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’

It may have been an on-screen-only wedding, but as this is probably the closest we’ll ever get to a picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the altar, I think it definitely counts as an iconic bridal moment!

It is, of course, a still from the 2005 movie, Mr and Mrs Smith, in which Angie and Brad play married assassins hired to kill each other, and although Angelina probably didn’t have much of a say in her character’s wedding attire, I think the simple style of this white off-the-shoulder gown and short viel is exactly the kind of look she would go for as a bride. It certainly suits her, anyway – if only it were real!

Related: Angelina Jolie’s ‘Good Shepherd’ wedding gown at Cherished Bride | Pick Angelina Jolie’s wedding dress! | Angelina Jolie to get wedding dress from Goodwill?

Iconic Brides # 26: Nicole Kidman marries Keith Urban

It may not have been quite as hotly-anticipated an event as ex-husband Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes, but Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban still managed to throw quite the party. Married on June 25th, 2006 in Nicole’s native Australia, the guest list included Naomi Watts and Russel Crowe, and the reception was held at St. Patrick’s estate, in Sydney.

Glamorous Nicole wore a puff-sleeved dress by Balenciaga with Christian Louboutin shoes, and her bridesmaids must be some of the luckiest around, also getting to wear Balenciaga gowns. With her red hair died blonde, Nicole looked ethereal and lovely as a bride, and, unlike some of our past Iconic Brides, the marriage is still going strong!

Related: Iconic Brides # 25 – Marilyn Monroe marries Jo DiMaggio | Iconic Brides # 24 – Liv Tyler | Iconic Brides # 23 – Courteney Cox

Iconic Brides # 25 – Marilyn Monroe marries Jo DiMaggio

Marilyn Monroe was an iconic bride three times over (we featured her first wedding, to Jim Dougherty back in April), but it was her second marriage, to baseball legend Jo DiMaggio that came at the height of Monroe’s fame. The couple wed on January 14, 1954, at City Hall in San Francisco, and despite her superstar status, Marilyn opted to wear a surprisingly demure dark brown suit.

Her groom, meanwhile, went for the romantic touch, wearing the same tie he’d been wearing on their first date. Although Monroe filed for divorce just 274 days after the wedding, DiMaggio is said to have never gotten over her, and had a dozen red roses sent to her grave three times a week for twenty years after her death.

Related: Iconic Brides # 24 – Kate Winslett | Iconic Brides # 23 – Courteney Cox | Iconic Brides # 22 – Mia Farrow

Iconic Brides # 24 – Liv Tyler

She tends to take a casual approach to fashion in general, so it’s unsurprising that actress Liv Tyler choose a similarly low-key look when she married Royston Langton in 2003. Liv looked stunning in her empire-line Alexander McQueen dress – and I particularly like the way her pink sandals match the groom’s tie!

This picture is actually from the couple’s second ceremony, in New York City. They’d already enjoyed a private ceremony in Barbados, with no guests, but made up for it with their city reception, with famous guests including Kate Hudson, David Bowie, Kirsten Dust, Stella McCartney, and, of course, the bride’s father, Steven Tyler. The marriage is still going strong, and the couple have a two-year-old son called Milo.

Related: Iconic Brides # 23 – Courteney Cox | Iconic Brides # 22 – Mia Farrow | Iconic Brides # 21: Kate Winslet

Iconic Brides # 23 – Courteney Cox

Like her Friends co-star and Best Friend Forever, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox tried her best to keep the details of her wedding to actor David Arquette as private as possible. The ceremony took place on July 3rd, 2000, menaing that the couple have now clocked up 7 years as man and wife – not bad for a Hollywood wedding!

Courteney’s dress choice was also on the unusual side, in that she opted for a dress with full-length sleeves, at a time when dresses that aren’t strapless are increasingly hard to find. Courteney’s gown was by Valentino, and was simple but stunning, with a plunging neckline and pristine white silk, accessories with a bunch of red roses.The wedding invitation featured Cox and Arquette in Halloween costumes, with Courteney in a blonde wig and David dressed as a squirrel. “We’re nuts about each other!” read the caption. Well, ya gotta love a bride a groom with a sense of humour…

Related: Iconic Brides # 22 – Mia Farrow |Iconic Brides # 21 – Kate Winslett | Iconic Brides # 20 – Marcia Cross

Iconic Brides # 22 – Mia Farrow

She’s best know for her marriage to Woody Allen (which ended acrimoniously, with Allen later marrying Mia’s adopted daughter), but Mia Farrow’s first marriage was to singer Frank Sinatra. Mia was just 21 when she married the 50 year old Sinatra in Las Vegas in 1966. Unfortunately the marriage was short lived, with Sinatra serving the actress with divorce papers while she was on the set of her classic film, Rosemary’s Baby, the next year.

With her delicate, elfin feautres and pixie-cut hairdo, Mia decided to eschew the traditional big white wedding dress and went for a suitably 60s style mini dress and boxy jacket instead. The divorce was finalised in 1968.

Related: Iconic brides # 21 – Kate Winslet | Iconic Brides: Marcia Cross (or ‘Bree’ from Desperate Housewives) | Iconic Brides # 19 – Elizabeth Hurley

Iconic Brides # 21: Kate Winslet

Actress Kate Winslet may have two weddings under her belt these days, but with pictures from her second marriage to director Sam Mendes kept a closely guarded secret, it's her first marriage, to Jim Threapleton, which makes her an iconic bride.

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Iconic Brides: Marcia Cross (or ‘Bree’ from Desperate Housewives)

Eva Longoria’s wedding may have sent the media into a frenzy earlier this month, but Eva wasn’t the only Desperate Housewife to marry recently. Marcia Cross, better known as Bree Van DerKamp, married businessman Tom Mahoney in San Gabriel, California, on June 24, 2006, having met by chance in a florists. Intrigued by the handsome stranger, Marcia left her number with the store, Tom called a week later, and eight months after that, they were engaged. Aww!

Marcia wore a Reem Acra gown for the ceremony, just like her character Bree, who also married that year. The reception was held at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena, with the interior of the hotel being transformed into a flower shop, in recognition of the couple’s meeting.

Related: Desperate Housewive’s Marcia Cross marries | Marcia Cross and hubby Tom’s wedding pictures | Eva Longoria’s wedding pictures

Iconic Brides # 19 – Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley’s wedding to Arun Nayar earlier this year was one of those celebrity weddings we’ve all become very familiar with lately. You know the kind I mean: the wedding goes on for days on end, usually includes at least two ceremonies, and is the subject of intense speculation in the press, with the photos normally selling for more than most of us spend on our entire weddings – and then some.

So it was for Elizabeth and Arun. Their first ceremony took place at Sudley Castle, in Gloucestershire, with Sir Elton John walking Liz down the aisle, and continued with Hindu ceremonies held in Mumbai and Jodhpur, India. Because of the multiple ceremonies, Elizabeth naturally found herself in need of multiple wedding dresses, with the most photographed one being this swan-like gown by Donatella Versace. For the Indian ceremonies, Hurley choose couture sari’s, also designed by Donatella, and had her hands and feet painted with traditional henna designs.

Related: Liz Hurley’s wedding | Liz Hurley’s hen night aka how much? | Liz Hurley to wear 13 different wedding dresses?

Iconic Brides # 16 – Jessica Simpson

Her marriage to Nick Lachey may not have lasted, but Jessica Simpson remains an iconic bride nevertheless – if only because of her much-copied Vera Wang gown. Visit any wedding forum or website and you’ll quickly realise that Jessica’s dress is one of the most-talked about celebrity wedding dresses of recent years – and it’s not hard to understand why!

The wedding itself took place on 26th October, 2002, in a Baptist church in Austin, Texas. Nick, a singer, sang a song he’d written especially for Jessica, and the couple embarked on newly married life surrounded by cameramen, recording their TV series, Newlyweds. Now newly divorced, Jessica is still dispensing wedding planning advice to other brides to be, via her book I Do: Achieving Your Dream Wedding, which contains photos of her own wedding to Nick.

Related: Iconic Brides # 15 – Britney Spears | Iconic Brides # 14: Katie Holmes | Iconic Brides # 13 – Yoko Ono

Iconic Brides # 15 – Britney Spears

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Cast your minds back to 2004, if you will, when Britney Spears was still at the very start of her downward spiral and, against pretty much everyone’s advice, was marrying dancer Kevin Federline – or “K-Fed” as he was to become known. Despite her tender age (Britney was just 22 at the time), this was the singer’s second marriage that year – her two day marriage two childhood sweetheart, Jason Alexander, had been annulled in January.

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Iconic Brides # 14 – Katie Holmes

Remarkable as much for the media frenzy it spawned as for the actual wedding itself, Katie Holmes 2006 wedding to Tom Cruise was the culmination of months of speculation. The ceremony took place at Odescalchi Castle in Italy, but because the Scientology vows aren’t deemed legally binding under Italian law, Tom and Katie are said to have married in a private ceremony at their California home a couple of days before flying out to Italy.

Katie’s dress was by Armani, as was Tom’s suit, daughter Suri’s dress and, well, all of the wedding party’s clothes. The wedding was attended by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez, but Tom’s ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, was conspicuously absent. Katie’s ivory silk, off the shoulder dress may not have been the most memorable every worn, but it was suitably “princess like” for her fairytale castle wedding, making her one of the decade’s most iconic brides.

Related: Iconic Brides #13 Yoko Ono | Iconic Brides # 12 – Jennifer Aniston | Iconic Bride # 11: Princess Diana