Why Charli XCX’s registry wedding is so on point right now
Pop’s reigning queen of indie sleaze, Charli XCX, tied the knot at the weekend in a low-key town-hall ceremony, donning jet black sunglasses and a short Vivienne Westwood corset dress.
The pared-down wedding was a refreshing change from the Venice extravaganza Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez opted for this month. Granted, Charli XCX’s net worth is not quite as high as that of Bezos.
British pop singer Charli XCX wed at Hackney Town Hall in London at the weekend.Credit: Michael Howard
The 32-year-old Brat singer married George Daniel, drummer for The 1975. Following their nuptials, the newlyweds stood on the front steps of Hackney Town Hall in east London waving to onlookers.
The couple join other celebrities who have opted for registry-style weddings, including Dax Sheppard and Kristen Bell, You actor Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke and Ozark’s Julia Garner and Mark Foster. Celine Song’s 2025 film Materialists concluded with a security camera-style shot inside a New York registry office with an array of real-life couples passing through before and after their ceremonies.
The shift towards less-formal affairs is not just for celebrities. In Australia, thousands of couples are opting for a low-key registry office wedding each year, and the trend has been on the rise since the pandemic.
The registry wedding as aspirational
NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages recorded a 32 per cent rise in couples getting married at the registry between 2023 and 2024. And between 2024 and 2025, 3427 of the 39,580 weddings in NSW were registry weddings.
At Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages, 3677 couples married at the registry in the 2024 financial year, up from 2904 in 2019.
Amy Parfett, co-founder of digital wedding platform Wedshed, says registry office weddings have been booming since COVID, when they were a necessity due to restrictions on large gatherings.
“I think a lot of people saw those weddings – how lovely, low-key, chilled they were – and thought, ‘You know what, that’s actually what I want.’”
She thinks cost-of-living pressures (compared with the $35,313 the average couple spends on weddings, according to a 2025 industry report, registry weddings start at $390 in Victoria and $480 in NSW), as well as a desire for more intimacy around the ceremony itself, are driving the trend.
“Once upon a time, couples might have felt pressure to follow the spectacle of getting married in front of everyone. Many couples we work with have decided to have a private ceremony, and then will regroup with all of their friends and family later on for a meal and bigger celebration.”
Jye Marshall, a fashion lecturer at Swinburne University in Melbourne, thinks the decline in religious ceremonies is part of it too. In 2023, 83 per cent of weddings were performed by civil celebrants, up from 72.5 per cent in 2013.
“It’s much more about celebrating two people that have come together in love, and therefore people are much more willing to take a less formal approach, which is a very Australian approach as well,” says Marshall.
Parfett is happy to see more public figures opt out of the big wedding.
“When you see celebrities like Charli XCX, it also legitimises [registry office weddings] as aspirational,” she says.
The rise of the micro wedding
Zena Lythgo is a civil celebrant and business partner with I Do Drive Thru Weddings, which offers elopements and micro weddings – smaller, budget friendly weddings – Australia-wide.
Founded in 2020, I Do Drive Thru rode the wave of pandemic weddings, as couples were forced into intimate celebrations and many sought out more affordable options. But five years later, Lythgo says business is still booming.
“It continues to grow because there are so many considerations when it comes to having a big wedding. Some of them are financial, some of them are stress and planning something to that scale, and for others it just doesn’t suit their personality,” she says.
“People are realising you don’t have to do that. You can get married in whatever way you want to, and it can be really affordable, simple and reflect who you are.”
Wedded Wonderland’s 2025 industry report found that guest-list numbers have been shrinking over the past three years, while there has been a 12 per cent increase year-on-year in weddings with 11 to 30 guests.
Laid-back fashion
Registry weddings, and their more laid-back style, have long elicited a certain manner of dress. Think Carrie Bradshaw’s elegant vintage skirt suit for her city hall wedding at the end of the first Sex and the City film.
Charli XCX opted for a cropped gown.
“People are going for more non-traditional wedding dresses. They’re selecting brighter colours, they’re happy to show some leg,” says Marshall.
“[Brides] are selecting dresses that actually represent their identity, which I think is what a wedding dress should be all about.”
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