Skip the White Mini: Meet the Cool City Brides Wearing Suits on Their Wedding Days

When most brides imagine what they're going to walk down the aisle in, they'll conjure up an idea of a white wedding dress. Whether it's princess-like, simple, sleek, or modern, the choice is left up to their personal style, and wedding dresses are the stereotypical outfit for those saying "I do." Since the beginning of wedding fashion, there have always been a few cool disruptors and sartorial innovators who love nothing more than to challenge our fashion norms and force us to think about occasionwear in a new way. Enter the bridal suit.

From Carrie Bradshaw's second wedding look in the Sex and the City movie to the iconic Bianca Jagger, well-dressed women throughout history have been throwing their cathedral-length trains to the wind and ditching 20-pound gowns in favor of pantsuits and buttoned-up blazers. Women's suits aren't exactly new—they have roots in the early 20th century when icons like Marlene Dietrich began challenging gender norms with pantsuits. In the wedding space, though, the idea has only been around for just over 50 years. Bianca Jagger made waves in 1971 when she married Mick Jagger in a white Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo, and more recently, stars like Solange Knowles and Amal Clooney have continued to wear suits on their wedding days.

"With bridal tailoring, the emotional significance and personal storytelling are front and center," explains Farida Raafat—a master tailor and founder of Dalya, a bespoke women's suit brand. Raafat, who previously worked in the menswear space at iconic tailoring-first maisons like Tom Ford, found herself craving a woman's perspective when it came to her everyday wardrobe and, by extension, the garments she and her friends would wear when walking down the aisle. Since Raafat launched the brand in 2022, bespoke suiting has become the brand's bread-and-butter, and wedding suiting is coming in hot. "Every detail is intimate, as the piece often reflects not only the bride's personality but also the unique aspects of her relationship and vision for her day," she says.

Raafat and her SoHo-based team work with clients closely, performing a thorough color analysis, taking exact measurements, and selecting fabrics, linings, and buttons to create their desired suit. The world is your oyster when working with Dalya, Raafat explains. Appliqué, beading, and other lace elements can also be added to a suit if you'd like to create a silhouette a bit more traditionally feminine. From start to finish, the entire process takes about three to four weeks.

"I think a lot of women are fed up with the traditional wedding dress shopping process. Many don't feel like they're 'dress people' and are looking for something that feels more in line with their personal style," Raafat tells Who What Wear. "Ultimately, the motivation behind choosing a suit often comes down to wanting something that feels intentional, authentic, and uniquely theirs."

Since the launch of Who What Wear Weddings, I've kept tabs on the stylish fiancés who have ditched the dresses and instead opt for sharp tailoring and tuxedo jackets. Our managing editor, Tiff Soga, was one of them. For Soga, choosing a wedding suit was all about breaking from tradition. She, however, concedes that suiting shouldn't be out of the ordinary for brides on their big day. The decision mostly came from a place of embracing her personal style and, naturally, feeling meh about all of the wedding dresses she'd seen on the rack.

"The traditional 'femme/female' look was never for me. I get my hair cut at a barber shop. I'm working on a sleeve of tattoos. I feel more powerful in a suit than I do in a dress. Veils and multilayered skirts weren't my cup of tea," Soga explains. Instead, it was all about feeling strong, sexy, and powerful. "I settled on an ivory silk single-breasted blazer and matching trousers, sans crop top under the blazer because who doesn't love a cheeky low-V moment?" she adds. Heels and jewelry from the her mother were all Soga needed to feel perfectly bridal on her wedding day.

Tailoring has become more dominant in the conversation about womenswear, especially in the wedding space, Raafat shares. In a wedding industry where second, third, and even fourth looks are common during your #EngagementEra, Raafat and the Dalya team have been finding more and more clients seeking looks for wedding events aside from the ceremony. Rehearsal dinners, courthouse ceremonies, and engagement parties are all among the brand's bespoke tailoring repertoire at this point.

"For me, the beauty of bridal tailoring lies in its ability to be both timeless and uniquely personal, creating a piece that holds meaning long after the wedding day itself every time she looks at it," Raafat says, nodding to the small personal details her customers are able to add to their designs. Men have been able to enjoy tailoring for years, and Raafat questions, "Why doesn't this exist for women in the same way?"

The rise of bridal suits is a clear sign that the wedding industry is evolving to embrace a more inclusive and personalized approach to wedding fashion. For many modern brides, it's not about fitting into a traditional mold—it's about creating an outfit that reflects their true selves through bold tailoring, sleek lines, and the empowering feel of a perfectly fitted suit. Whether it's for the ceremony, the after-party, or simply the joy of breaking tradition, the bridal suit is here to stay, offering a fresh, stylish alternative to the classic gown. After all, weddings are as much about personal expression as they are about tradition, and sometimes, the most memorable statement is the one that challenges the norm.

Below, shop bridal suits from our favorite brands rethinking the wedding wardrobe.

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