Jemima Goldsmith was 21 when she married Imran Khan in a gold salwar-kameez that saw her wholly embrace her then-husband’s culture – but at 52, her choice of wedding dress was a love letter to herself.
The film producer wowed in a custom Oscar de la Renta gown, which experts say cost at least £100,000, as she exchanged vows with multi-millionaire financier Cameron O’Reilly, 62, on Saturday.
Her ‘dreamy’ dress featured a tiered skirt with sheer panels and a strapless bustier – and had delighted fans the world over gushing that Jemima’s outfit broke the mould for what midlife brides should wear.
‘There can be a tendency for brides in their 50s and beyond to gravitate towards more modest styles or conservative silhouettes, but your wedding day is one of the few occasions where you can truly embrace the fantasy,’ stylist Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail.
‘I think we need to move away from this idea that women over 50 should automatically choose something more modest or conservative for their wedding day. There’s a difference between dressing your age and being defined by your age.’
Together with fashion expert Caroline Baxter, Lisa has shared the midlife celebrity wedding dresses that were a hit and those that missed the mark…
The British-Australian actress stunned in a $7,400 white Oscar de la Renta Sweetheart Water Lilly Guipure dress
Naomi Watts was 54 when she married Billy Crudup at a New York City courthouse three years ago, as she celebrated a ‘growing recognition that women’s stories don’t end at a certain age’.
The Impossible actor broke the news that she was ‘hitched’ on Instagram after she posted a photo of herself and her husband posing on the steps of Manhattan courthouse.
The British-Australian actress stunned in a $7,400 white Oscar de la Renta Sweetheart Water Lilly Guipure dress and captioned the post: ‘Hitched.’
The floor-length gown featured stunning guipure lace, and Naomi paired the sleeveless ensemble with Gianvito Rossi gold heels, an Anita Ko pear diamond choker, and a bouquet from a local deli, Harper’s Bazaar reported.
The overall effect is ‘very pretty, but it doesn’t say wedding to me,’ said Caroline. While the sleeveless dress has ‘all the romance’ of an Oscar de la Renta creation, it’s too casual to be bridal.
‘It’s almost like she went too far the other way because she was older,’ Caroline continued.
Verdict: The dress is perfect for a holiday in the Hamptons, or even a picnic in Central Park, but it’s a miss if you’re planning on wearing it to the altar, Caroline declared.
Mel B
Mel picked an ivory pearl-embellished gown with a strapless corset that was custom-designed for the singer by British bridal designer Josephine Scott
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Mel B was every inch the blushing bride as she shared a kiss with her husband Rory McPhee after their wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral in London last July.
The Spice Girl, then 50, opted for a traditional white wedding at the cathedral, followed by a lavish £28,000 post-nuptial celebration at The Shard.
On her big day, Mel wore an ivory gown with a strapless corset that was custom-designed for the singer by British bridal designer Josephine Scott. The dress also included a sheer-illusion jacket and a flowing veil to complete the look.
Ahead of the wedding, Mel B seemed inclined to ditch her famous leopard print attire when she admitted she wants to feel ‘regal and very proper on her big day’.
Caroline agreed that the dress ‘reflected Mel B’ because it’s ‘larger than life’; the detachable jacket with a high neckline attached to the bustier is covered in a constellation of pearls for a bit of bling.
However, Caroline felt that the jacket was the one element that didn’t work.
‘I’m going to be honest, I don’t like it,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘The sheer does not work. It’s two different styles joined together. She might have put on the dress and felt it was a bit boring.’
Verdict: The jacket doesn’t look like it’s part of the dress and the bling feels like an afterthought, she said. ‘I feel like Mel B was trying to be demure but then got a bit bored and wanted some sparkle.’
Jemima Goldsmith, 52
Jemima said ‘I do’ in a silk mesh dress with a princess-length hemline, strapless bodice and a delicate veil adorned with crystals
Jemima Goldsmith was the picture of pure bridal bliss in the first photographs from her church wedding to Cameron O’Reilly this weekend.
The film producer, 52, married multimillionaire financier Cameron, 62, during a traditional church ceremony this weekend, as her sons, Sulaiman, 29, and Kasim, 27, from her first marriage to Imran Khan, walked her down a candle-lit aisle.
Every detail of the wedding – from the flowers to the profiterole-laden wedding cake – was breathtaking, but it was Jemima’s sheer Oscar de la Renta gown that stole the show.
Jemima said ‘I do’ in a silk mesh dress with a princess-length hemline, strapless bodice and a delicate veil adorned with crystals. She finished her bridal ensemble with heart-shaped slingback heels from Maison Alaia.
Commenting on her look, stylist Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail that Jemima is a ‘wonderful example of why age shouldn’t dictate how a bride ‘should’ dress’.
Lisa said Jemima’s Oscar de la Renta gown, which would have been worth over £100,000, feels like it’s straight out of a ‘fairytale, and that’s the point’.
‘Her dreamy Oscar de la Renta gown feels romantic, feminine and completely fairytale, and that’s the point.
‘Jemima hasn’t dressed for her age; she’s dressed for herself and the moment. She looked beautiful because the dress reflected her personality and the magic of the occasion, rather than being constrained by an outdated idea of what a bride in her 50s should wear.’
Caroline also suggested the crystal-embellished veil was intended to be a hair adornment or accessory rather than a traditional bridal veil.
Verdict: Everything about Jemima’s bridal look was a hit, she concluded. ‘She won.’
Mel C
In stark contrast to her Spice Girls namesake, Melanie Chisholm’s satin slip dress was simple and understated.
Designed by Victoria Beckham, the sleek ivory gown featured a dramatic open back and minimalist silhouette, with the hidden blue embroidery stitched inside as a discreet nod to her and Chris Dingwall’s first ceremony in Sydney earlier this year.
Mel C had the words ‘Sydney’ and ‘7.6.2026’ embroidered in blue into the inside of her custom Victoria Beckham wedding gown as her ‘something blue’, commemorating the date and place where she and Dingwall officially became husband and wife.
Sporty Spice kept her accessories simple, carrying a delicate bouquet of white flowers while letting the gown take centre stage.
The strapless dress showed off Sporty Spice’s ‘incredible upper arms’, said Caroline, noting the look reminded her of the Narciso Rodriguez 90s slip dress Carolyn Bessette wore when she married JFK Jr.
Verdict: ‘The two are so similar,’ she said, noting the classic VB design ‘suits Mel C perfectly’. Another big win.
Queen Camilla
For the civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Camilla picked an ivory silk chiffon dress designed by Anna Valentine, complete with a scalloped trim, tailored coat and Philip Tracey hat.
Queen Camilla and King Charles’s wedding day in 2005 was more low-key than the monarch’s previous nuptials to Princess Diana at London’s Westminster Abbey.
For the civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Camilla picked a grey silk chiffon dress designed by Anna Valentine, complete with a scalloped trim, tailored coat and Philip Tracey hat.
She has since repurposed the famous gown – albeit with some slight modifications – for state visits and official engagements, proving its versatility.
In 2007, she broke with tradition by wearing the dress for the opening of the National Assembly for Wales.
Her Majesty also wore the Anna Valentine design during Camilla and Charles’ state visit to Italy last year during an appearance at the Italian Parliament. The outfit now features additional embroidery details by the King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville.
According to Lisa, the elegant dress is a ‘great example of how you don’t need a traditional white gown to look beautiful on your wedding day’.
Verdict: The Queen’s outfit was ‘elegant, understated and suited her personality’. She knew what worked for her and didn’t feel the need to transform herself into a traditional bride, Lisa concluded.
India Hicks
Earl Mountbatten’s granddaughter, who was a bridesmaid at the King’s first wedding to Lady Diana Spencer, was a vision in an ivory tulle Emilia Wickstead dress with an A-line skirt
King Charles’s goddaughter India Hicks was 54, married David Flint in a ‘very conventional’ ceremony in Oxfordshire five years ago.
Earl Mountbatten’s granddaughter, who was a bridesmaid at the King’s first wedding to Lady Diana Spencer, was a vision in an ivory tulle Emilia Wickstead dress with an A-line skirt.
It had taken 17 months to complete the design as India later said it was ‘a dress that felt perfectly at home in a church deep in the English countryside’. She completed her bridal outfit with a pair of white satin shoes by Christian Louboutin and carried a bouquet arranged by Pulbrook & Gould London.
While India ultimately walked down the aisle inside Brightwell Baldwin Parish Church wearing a veil, she candidly told British Vogue that she ‘debated’ wearing one in the days before the ceremony.
‘I had debated wearing a veil, the symbol of virginity, because let’s face it, I had lost that a while ago. But it also felt like a simple, very bridal gesture,’ India explained in an article for the magazine.
The look was reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s famous wedding gown created by MGM’s Oscar-winning costume designer Helen Rose, said Caroline.
Like Jemima, India understands couture and ‘what works for her’, she continued. ‘They’re not relying on people to tell them what works, because they are so confident in their own choices and they know what suits them.’
Verdict: A real hit! The look feels ‘personal, effortless and very much connected to her own style’, Lisa added. ‘It’s a lovely reminder that being a bride doesn’t mean you have to suddenly become someone else.’
Nancy Shevell
The pair exchanged vows during an intimate civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall 15 years ago, and the beaming bride’s Stella McCartney outfit was ‘stunning’, Caroline added
Nancy Shevell delivered a masterclass in midlife bridal dressing with her simple, elegant and iconic ivory ensemble when she married Paul McCartney in 2011, said Caroline.
The pair exchanged vows during an intimate civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall 15 years ago, and the beaming bride’s Stella McCartney outfit was ‘stunning’, Caroline added.
The knee-length dress featured a V-neck collar and long sleeves, as Paul’s daughter previously said she was inspired by the silk dress Wallis Simpson wore when she married the Duke of Windsor.
American heiress Nancy, who was 51 at the time, wore little makeup and accessorised with a white flower worn in her hair.
To Caroline, the dress felt ‘very 70s’ when the Beatles were at the height of their popularity in what may have been a sweet nod to the groom.
Verdict: Lisa felt the look was ‘elegant and understated’. There is something to be said for knowing when you don’t need to add more. Caroline agreed that it was ‘definitely a win’.
Jerry Hall
Jerry, with her son James, 30, arriving for her wedding at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street in March 2016
Former supermodel Jerry Hall turned to her friend and celebrated designer Vivienne Westwood to create a one-of-a-kind ensemble for her church wedding to Rupert Murdoch.
The pair were married at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street in March 2016, with Jerry, then 59, photographed emerging from a Range Rover with her son James on her arm.
Jerry, who was previously married to Mick Jagger, said ‘I do’ in an ice blue silk dress, with a net overlay and matching sleeves. She finished the look with a pair of silver Roger Vivier shoes with a bedazzled buckle, headband and face veil.
However, Caroline felt that the shoes did not work with the dress, and pointed out the shiny hosiery made the bride’s legs ‘look really reflective’.
The silhouette didn’t work for Jerry, she added, noting the bride looked ‘uncomfortable’.
Verdict: ‘When a dress doesn’t feel like you, whether you’re 20 or 50, it’s not going to work,’ she added. Jerry’s look felt like a miss, Caroline added.
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