Why Kristen Bell And Dax Shepard Opted For A Courthouse Wedding

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard ditched the white dress and party guests for a more intimate ceremony at their wedding. The couple began dating back in 2007 and Shepard popped the question in 2009. When the time did come for them to get hitched in 2013, the couple opted against the glitz and glam anticipated of a Hollywood wedding, solidifying that Bell lives a very normal life despite being a celebrity. 

When asked by People during a November 2022 interview why they chose a more discreet way to get married, the "Veronica Mars" actor expressed, "What we desired was the intimacy of just each other. We didn't want to look at or talk to anyone else other than each other." The couple chose relatively unconventional ways to approach most wedding traditions; Bell ditched the white gown for black slacks and a matching top, and the "Armchair Expert" podcast host later opted for a tattoo of a bell on his finger instead of a ring. Altogether, Bell said in a March 2019 interview with The Knot that the whole shebang cost $147.

That same month, Bell told People that she did want to maintain one wedding tradition, seemingly referring to her ring: "We do a lot of things differently, but there's a couple things where I'm just like, 'God, can we not just fall inside the lines once in a while? I want to wear a pretty piece of jewelry. It's fun!'" Shepard reportedly proposed with a 3-carat engagement ring. If it's a rock Kristen Bell wants, it's a rock Kristen Bell shall get.

Kristen Bell has shared her and Dax Shepard's secret for a successful marriage, but they actually held off on tying the knot for four years. They finally did in 2013, when gay marriage was legal in California. Bell voiced to People a few months before their nuptials, "We would feel weird taking advantage of a right that's not available to certain citizens of the state we live in."

When the news broke, the actors celebrated the way any couple would — by proposing to each other again via X (formerly Twitter). In the now-deleted tweets, Bell wrote, "@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove," while Shepard wrote, "DOMA is dead. Prop 8 is dead. Now let's bring my big, gay marriage to @IMKristenBell to Life!!!!" (via Refinery29).

The actors emphasized how much this underlying issue was no laughing matter and that they didn't want to celebrate their love until everyone could, especially since several of the people they would ideally celebrate with were those in the LGBTQ+ community whose rights were being infringed upon. During a February 2012 interview with The Advocate, Bell detailed how unfair they thought their union would be. "To be honest with you ... the reason we're not rushing to get married is because I don't feel appropriate taking advantage of a right that's denied to my best friends," Bell said. She later added, "Dax and I have talked about it a lot, and this issue is very important to both of us. We're just standing up for what we believe in. Period."