When Charlotte Emma Aitchison walked down the aisle at Hackney Town Hall on Saturday 19 July 2025, she was wearing something most people wouldn’t pick for a £10m pop star’s wedding: a short dress and sunglasses.
The 32-year-old, known professionally as Charli XCX, married George Daniel – drummer and producer of The 1975 – in an intimate ceremony attended by approximately 20 guests. The venue was a Grade II-listed registry office in east London, not a Sicilian estate. The dress was Vivienne Westwood’s Nova Cora mini, an ivory crepe satin corset with an off-the-shoulder neckline and asymmetric hem. No tiara. No cathedral train.
The Dress That Made a Statement by Not Trying
British Vogue identified the gown as Westwood’s Nova Cora minidress, the same silhouette worn by Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. It retails for approximately £3,400. Charli paired it with white Jimmy Choo Amita 85 slingback heels, a long sheer veil, and her signature black curved sunglasses.
For a woman whose Brat album spawned an entire cultural movement – the lime-green aesthetic, the unapologetic hedonism – the wedding outfit was restrained. But the sunglasses are her brand. The short dress is her silhouette. She dressed as herself. Jeweller Laura Taylor told the Evening Standard the chunky wedding band, estimated at £8,000-£10,000, was “a good example of how you can incorporate your own personal style,” rejecting the traditional eternity band.
George Daniel: The Drummer Who Became a Producer
George Bedford Daniel was born on 23 March 1990 in Brussels and grew up in Seattle before moving to Wilmslow, Cheshire. He joined The 1975 in 2002, replacing Matty Healy as drummer when Healy moved to vocals. He studied electronic music at a Manchester college, where tutors introduced him to Aphex Twin and Squarepusher – influences that shaped the band’s sound across five UK number-one albums.
His production work extends beyond The 1975. He co-produced Charli XCX’s Brat album alongside A.G. Cook and Finn Keane, and has worked with the Japanese House on EPs including Pools to Bathe In (2015) and Saw You in a Dream (2017). The couple first collaborated in 2021 on No Rome’s single “Spinning.”
A Relationship Built in Studios
The couple began dating in 2022, though their connection predates that. Charli revealed in 2024 that the Brat track “Talk Talk” was written about a moment at the 2020 NME Awards, before they were together. “We were both sat on different tables, and we were texting each other, but we weren’t hanging out,” she told the NME. “But we were both looking over at each other.” She followed him to the bathroom, then thought better of it and returned to her seat.
The engagement came in November 2023, announced via an Instagram post: “charli xcx and george daniel f–king for life!!!” The post has since been deleted.
The Guest List: 20 People, One Notable Absence
Daniel’s The 1975 bandmates Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald attended. Frontman Matty Healy did not – he was in Los Angeles for the screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer, starring his fiancée Gabbriette Bechtel. He had attended Daniel’s bachelor party in Ibiza days earlier.
Charli’s parents, Jon and Shameera Aitchison, were present. Shameera, who is of Gujarati Indian descent and fled Uganda during the Idi Amin regime, wore baby pink. The couple have been credited by Charli with introducing her to rave music as a teenager – a formative experience that shaped Brat’s club-heavy sound.
The After-Party: Pasta, Cigarettes, and a 4am Finish
After the ceremony, the wedding party walked down Hackney High Street to Dalla, an Italian restaurant that had closed exclusively for the event. “People walking past were stunned when they saw Charli and George having a cheeky pre-dinner cigarette outside,” a source told The Sun. The meal was family-style with pasta and champagne.
Charli then changed into a Saint Laurent white ruffled jersey minidress for the evening at Ellie’s, a Dalston bar known for its £8 martinis. The after-party ran until 4am with a free bar and trays of cigarettes. A “no social media policy” was enforced. Daniel was photographed in silk pyjamas, holding Charli’s veil to his head and smoking – the defining image of the night.
A Second Wedding in Sicily
The Hackney ceremony was the legal wedding. A second, larger celebration is planned for Sicily in September 2025, where The 1975’s full lineup will attend. “Charli and George fell in love with Sicily and knew they wanted to get married there,” a source told The Sun. The event is expected to cost close to six figures.
The Brat Context
The wedding arrived at the peak of Charli’s career. Brat, released in June 2024, reached number three on the Billboard 200 – her highest chart position – and topped the UK Albums Chart. It won three Grammy Awards: Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Dance Pop Recording for “Von Dutch,” and Best Recording Package. The album was named best of 2024 by Billboard, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, and spawned the cultural phenomenon Brat Summer.
Charli married George Daniel with the same energy that made Brat work: no pretence, no performance, no costume. She wore what she wanted, where she wanted, with the people who mattered. Everything really is romantic.
