Celebrity Wedding Dresses
From red carpet events to royal galas, the globe’s glitterati may be accustomed to donning couture creations. However, no dress will ever mean more to any bride than the gown she dons for her wedding day. Following are a few celebrity “I do” designs from yesterday and today:
Their marriage may not have stood the test of time, but former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres will always have the memory of the day she donned a Reem Acra creation and exchanged vows with salsa sensation Marc Anthony. Light danced on the facets of the Swarovski crystals which clung to the gown’s duchesse satin fabric as the bride strolled down the aisle the San Juan Cathedral during the couple’s 2002 vow renewal ceremony.
Marc Anthony and Dayanara Torres’ formal celebration of their love took place two years after their first walk down the aisle in the penthouse Oriental Suite at the Desert Inn. For their Vegas vows, the bride wore a two-tone Eduardo Lucero ensemble which she had donned to attend the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards earlier that evening. Accustomed to building dream houses for fortunate recipients on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Constance Ramos turned to Kansas designer Elaine Beckman Biggs to contract her dream dress. On May 6, 2005 the bride walked down the aisle of Saint Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carlsbad, California in a lace draped creation with a scalloped hemline which pooled at her feet as she stood at the altar by her groom, J.J. Carrell.
Juxtaposed against the rustic charm of a barn’s interior, actress Bethany Joy Lenz’s strapless Justina McCaffrey wedding dress was an opulent ode to every girl’s dream of a fairytale “I do.” A trailing, diaphanous veil paired with a billowing ballgown skirt made for a a voluptuous vision as the One Tree Hill star walked along a wood floor which led to her groom, Michael Galeotti. Harmonizing with the hue of the heavens on that August day in 1996, the few dainty silk flowers which clung to the straps of Tisha Campbell-Martin’s off-the-shoulder silhouette provided her “something blue” on her wedding day. As bridesmaids Jada Pinkett (the future bride of actor Will Smith) and Brandy looked on, the bride made her grand entrance in an off-white creation by designer Renee Strauss, the garment’s ballgown skirt gently shifting as she walked in backyard of the home she shared with the man who waited to make her his wife, actor Duane Martin.
The shadow of scandal having passed, there was nothing to darken the smile on Mabel Wisse Smit’s face on the day she exchanged vows with Dutch Prince Johan Friso Wearing a couture Viktor & Rolf creation of duchesse satin sprinkled with 249 silk georgette bows, the bride first said “I do” in the Town Hall before walking down the aisle passed 1,400 guests at Delft’s Old Church, where her new husband relinquished his position as third in line to the throne as he pledged his love. Sarah Jessica Parker is not the only star who has worn a somber silhouette on her wedding day. Jennifer Connelly donned a black, off-the-shoulder gown with diaphanous sleeves on the day she said “I do” to actor Paul Bettany.
Actress Rachel Griffiths, who has appeared in such maritally-minded movies as My Best Friend’s Wedding and Muriel’s Wedding, enjoyed an “I do” day of her own on New Year’s Eve 2002. The bride walked down the aisle in a silk gauze Alberto Ferretti creation, with flower-shaped hair adornments fashioned from mother-of-pearl adding an extra romantic element. It was a “Beautiful Day” when U2 guitarist The Edge watched his bride, choreographer Morleigh Steinberg, walk toward him in a Rosai Nichols gown, an ethereal ivory creation whihc featured a delicate lace overlay. Hind Hariri may be the world’s youngest female billionaire, but the daughter of Lebanon’s fallen former premier received a priceless gift on March 21, 2009– the promise of a lifetime together with the man she loves– her family’s former bodyguard, Anas Karout. Exchanging vows in Paris, the bride wore an elaborate off-the-shoulder design from the couturier with a name that is the quintessence of French fashion, Chanel.
White strips of fabric which clung to the skirt of Arden Myrin’s strapless Monique Lhuillier gown mirrored the look of merrily tossed confetti as the MADTV comedienne made her grand entrance at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. Their union didn’t last forever, but respect and affection remain between actress Kate Hudson and Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. Years before her Bride Wars character retorts “You don’t alter Vera to fit you; you alter yourself to fit Vera” the star slipped into her own Vera Wang bridal attire. Constructed of ivory satin, the strapless silhouette was draped with a white coat which kept the Colorado cold at bay for the wintertime vows.
2009 Wedding Trends
If you’re planning a wedding, you’re probably wondering what will be trendy and hip. There’s no denying that 2009 Wedding Trends will be heavily influenced by two things. Firstly, the economy. It seems dreary to be constantly talking about how the economy will impact your life, but fortunately, I’m already seeing ways in which a smaller budget has inspired couples to have more creative, intimate, and personal weddings. These weddings are benefiting from a heavy dose of style, influenced by the many images and ideas circulating around the blogosphere. This chic style will be the second biggest influence this year. Rather than huge weddings, where cost cutting means a lack of details or fun, the 2009 wedding trends are full of fabulous details meant for smaller, affordable weddings.
Here’s what I predict will be the top 2009 wedding trends:
* Farm Weddings No, I’m not talking about getting married amongst the combines, or having a cow for your bridesmaid. But farms can be an affordable place to get married with a lot of charm. Several of them allow your guests to interact with the animals, while others just provide idyllic pastoral settings. Add some additional down-home touches like gingham tablecloths, pitchers of jam or other country wedding style. Look for a farm that has a barn suitable for a reception. An opportunity to
* Small luxurious weddings Budgets might be tight, but that doesn’t mean that luxury and glamour are going away. Instead, couples are opting for intimate glamorous affairs. By having fewer guests, they can have more opulent details, like elaborate favors, beautiful wines and gourmet tasting menus. With such a backdrop, it then feels right to be in your tuxedos and gowns, surrounded only by your truest friends and loved ones.
* Macarons The delightful French cookies not only have a delicious almond flavor and light texture, but bakers have a tradition of making them in bright eye-catching colors, making them perfect for weddings. The newest trend is creating a tower of macarons instead of a wedding cake, but they’re also stunning as favors or as accompaniment to wedding cake.
* Gray For the past few years, chocolate brown has been the “It Color” popping up in weddings as a hip neutral, and combined with bright pink or cheery yellow. While chocolate brown isn’t going anywhere, the hippest new color for 2009 is gray. You may think of gray as too dreary a color for weddings, but on the contrary, it can serve as a sophisticated foil to brighter colors. It’s great paired with pink or yellow, but perhaps the hottest combination this year will be silver and royal purple.
* Affordable and Rewearable Bridesmaid Dresses Forget the peach tulle atrocities of yesteryear. 2009 brides are considerate, and mindful of the economy, so they’re looking for bridesmaid dresses that are truly rewearable, and don’t come with a sky-high price tag. For a beach wedding, consider telling your bridesmaids that they can wear a knee-length, spaghetti-strap dress in any shade of blue. They’ll not only be able to shop the department store sales, but your wedding reflect the beautiful colors of the ocean. If you still want a unified bridal party look, consider gathering your maids for a group shopping expedition.
* Vintage Fashion and Fascinators Having a vintage-inspired wedding is a great way to add some style without adding a lot of cost. 1920’s weddings will be especially hot this year. Especially look for brides wearing birdcage veils and fascinators. If you’re a Project Runway fan, you’ll definitely recall Kenley’s fascinators – the feathery charms that perch on your head. But many other designers also make a wide range of fascinators.They look both vintage and modern, whimsical and classic, all at the same time.
Secret Celebrity Weddings
While there are those couples who do everything they can do make sure the press gets wind of their special day, there are those who would rather not exchange vows over the sounds of whirring helicopters and clicking cameras. Some surprise celebrity weddings include:
Country crooner Kenney Chesney and Bridgette Jones actress Renee Zellweger caught the world by surprise when they successfully pulled off a secret beach wedding in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The surprise was huge considering half the world didn’t even know they were dating. An even bigger surprise rocked the world a few short months later when the not-so-happy couple filed for annulment.
The gasp heard around the world sounded when it was revealed Jennifer Lopez and singer Marc Anthony were married in a hush-hush backyard affair. As with most successful surprise celebrity weddings, it was an intimate affair with only a few close friends and family members. Britney Spears surprised even her mother when she married dancer Kevin Federline. The ceremony, which was held at a private home, was attended by about 30 guests How can someone who is always in the public eye pull off a wedding without the press finding out? It takes some doing, but it’s not impossible.
Most couples who have been able to successfully pull off a secret celebrity wedding have been able to do so because they have had fifty people or less on the guest list. This is important because there are less people to spill the beans. The Happy Couple only invites their most trustworthy family members and friends. Some couples such as Julia Roberts and husband Danny Moder didn’t even tell their guests they would be attending a wedding on July 4, 2002. Instead they issued hand written invitations requesting guests help them to celebrate Independence Day. With no one on the guest list knowing they will be attending a wedding, there’s no one to accidentally rat them out to the press.
Wedding planners to the stars also have to act in secret. For many weddings, they will give pseudonyms to their vendors instead of telling them who is really getting married. Since florists and wedding cake designers have been known to tip of the paparazzi, it’s best to let them know as few details as possible. Some couples, such as Spears and Federline or Brooke Shields and her husband Christ Henchy, will list release one date as their Big Day but actually get married on a different occasion, faking out the press. Other couples will fly off to foreign lands to pull off their nuptials.
How to Buy a Celebrity Wedding Dress
Although many celebrity wedding dresses are one-of-a-kind and custom made, some are available to purchase direct from the designers, in stores and online. Here are the best ways to buy a celebrity wedding dress for less.
1. BUY A DRESS AT A SAMPLE SALE
Designers like Monique Lhuillier and Reem Acra have sample sales where dresses can be purchased at 40-90% off regular prices. Check the designer’s websites or sign up for the mailing list to find out when the next sample sale will be. One CBG reader found her Junko Yoshioka gown at a sample sale and purchased it for 50% off retail at The White House in Corona Del Mar, CA. The dress was the same dress that Claire Forlani wore at her wedding to Dougray Scott.
2. PURCHASE A PRE-OWNED DRESS
At Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses you can find the same dresses that many celebrities wore at more than 50% off the retail price. The website currently has Jessica Simpson’s Vera Wang Stephanie gown for $5,000, Marcia Cross’s strapless Reem Acra gown for $2,000 and Christine Baumgartner’s Monique Lhuililer Camelot for $3,000.
3. BUY A KNOCK-OFF WEDDING DRESS
Designers like ABS and David’s Bridal are quick to pick up on celebrity style and often release versions of the designs just a few weeks after the dresses are worn. Michelle Obama’s inauguration gown, which could easily be worn as a wedding dress, was created by Jason Wu and ordered from Ikram in Chicago. David’s Bridal created a version of the dress for $155. ABS will debut their version this spring with a price tag of $300.
4. HAVE YOUR WEDDING DRESS MADE
If you are dying for Jenna Bush’s Oscar de la Renta or Gwen Stefani’s Dior wedding dress, you may be able to have it made. Take a picture of the dress you want to a reputable dressmaker and see if they can make it for a fraction of the price.
5. FIND OUT IF THE CELEBRITY WEDDING DRESS IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
If you don’t mind spending the money, call the store or bring in a photo of the dress to find out if it’s available for purchase. We list dress style names in in most of our wedding profiles which can aid with purchase. Lisa Loeb’s pink Amsale Aurora wedding dress is currently for sale as are Beverley Mitchell’s Melissa Sweet Michaela and Gina Glocksen’s Melissa Sweet Anya.
With the popularity of Jessica Simpson’s beaded strapless wedding dress, Vera Wang released the Stephanie Dress as part of her couture line. The price tag is $14,000 without embellishments. Since most of us may not be able to afford that, David’s Bridal has a knockoff version for $799.
Celebrity Wedding Trends
When it comes to love and the grand march down the aisle, we’re fascinated with what charmed celebrities with unlimited money and show-stopping resources can do — as well as where those charmed people can take a wrong turn and create something dreadful. We love to compare notes, get inspiration, or even squeal with horror when things go wrong. Here are my favorite celebrity wedding tidbits to entertain you, and perhaps inspire you, as you plan your own big day. Nothing holds as much intrigue as the huge engagement rings that brides of Hollywood flash around tinsletown. By now, most of the world knows about J. Lo.’s 6-carat pink diamond from Harry Winston. But other ladies have equally enviable rocks. Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn’s adorable daughter, married rocker Chris Robinson in a whirlwind romance. He proposed to her with an old fashioned 5-carat Asher-cut diamond in an art-deco mounting.
For Brad Pitt, buying a ready-made diamond for Jennifer Aniston wouldn’t do. He had one made to his instructions. (He also designed their wedding bands.) The Aside band in white gold with .18 carats of diamonds was the result. Of course, this isn’t the first ring that Pitt has designed. Who can forget the sparkler he gave Gwyneth Paltrow when they were engaged? He also designed that ring, which had three small diamonds set into the band on the palm side, so every way you looked at it, it glittered. Director Guy Ritchie put some personal thought into the Edwardian Ring he gave Madonna; the platinum Neil Lane ring had a decorative band and three large stores to symbolize their family.
Not everyone goes the traditional route. Colored gemstones are a stunning departure from tradition and often catch the eye more than plain diamonds. American Beauty star Mena Suvari chose to use her birthstones — amethysts and citrines when she married her husband, cinematographer Robert Brinkmann. The stones are set in an asymmetrical design around a gold band. All of Hollywood was buzzing when Catherine Zeta-Jones sported her 10-carat antique diamond engagement ring from Michael Douglas, reminding us of the days when Liz Taylor stunned the world with the Taylor-Burton diamond. Douglas and Zeta-Jones prove once again that in Hollywood, size definitely matters.
Often the true sentiment of the romance is captured by the inscription inside the ring. It’s traditional for the date or the name of your future spouse to be engraved inside, but modern brides often like a little love note or personal joke instead. Courtney Cox and David Arquette reportedly have “A Deal’s a Deal” engraved inside their rings. Among the current rumors swirling over possible engagement plans for Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, is one that says that her engagement ring simply has his initials inscribed on a gold band.
Before their front page split, Liza Minnelli sported a teardrop-shaped 3.5 carat diamond ring from David Gest. They followed with a wedding where even the bridal party, which included Michael Jackson and Liz Taylor, were fodder for the paparazzi. The guest list was full of a-list and b-list celebs – although Liza’s own sister, Lorna Luft, had “a previous engagement.” My inside scoop is that David Gest missed the rehearsal dinner! No wonder the wedding didn’t last long. While this is Liza’s fourth wedding – and many brides don’t even register for their second wedding – Liza and David registered for 389 gifts from Tiffany & Co., including 12 silver platters and new flatware and crystal. But the couple did give back to their guests. Along with a lavish wedding dinner and the pleasure of hearing Natalie Cole sing, guests got personalized favors. At the rehearsal dinner, guests received heart-shaped cookies with the couple’s names written on top. The theme was repeated with the wedding favors of satin candy boxes that read “Liza and David 4 Ever.”
But wedding favors can be more than a typical burned CD or a scented candle. When the couple takes the time to inject their own personality into their favors (be they hopeless romantics or jokesters), there is nothing cookie-cutter about them. As seen in In Style Weddings, John Stamos and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos created kitschy air-fresheners printed with a ’70s style photo of themselves and the words “our love will last forever” — then had the valets hang them in guests’ cars. Something as simple as flowers can set the tone for the entire wedding. In Style reported that in her wedding to Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston chose a fresh and simple bouquet of vendella roses and green hydrangea tied with a white satin ribbon. When marrying Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards chose to carry a classic bouquet of white and ivory polo roses. Debra Messing, on the other hand, opted for something minimal and stately — a bouquet of tall calla lilies. True to her sweet, girlish nature, LeAnn Rimes opted to carry a bouquet of roses, sweet peas, hydrangea, and freesia.
When celebs choose to have a wedding at home, they often add luxurious touches. When Barbra Streisand married James Brolin, the swimming pool was decorated with hundreds of floating candles and pink water lilies. According to Britain’s Daily Mirror, Emma Thompson and Greg Wise had their wedding at home this summer – their holiday home on Loch Eck in Argyll, Scotland. The newlyweds generously gave champagne to the local villagers who came to wish them well. You might call model Mia Tyler and rocker David Buckner’s wedding low-key and sort of an at home wedding – the pair wed in a surprise move onstage at dad Steven Tyler’s Aerosmith concert.
Yet most celebs spare no expense, spending enough money in one day to buy the average couple 2 or 3 new homes. Aniston and Pitt’s fairy tale wedding cost over $1 million, as did Beatle Paul McCartney’s and Heather Mills’s wedding. Purportedly, Zeta-Jones and Douglas spent between £1.2 and £1.5 million on their lavish feast – catering alone cost £500 pounds per wedding guest and her dress supposedly cost £100,000 pounds. And the short-lived Minnelli-Gest wedding cost $3.4 million. But surprisingly, what’s supposedly the most expensive wedding ever wasn’t a celebrity one. Multimillionaire Peter Shalson and wife Pauline spent £2 million to have Elton John perform at their wedding, plus another £6 million on opulent touches such as live parrots and the finest champagne and caviar for their 300 guests!
Even celebrities can feel overwhelmed by the burden of planning their enormously scaled weddings, even with the help of wedding planners. (Look at Ben and J.Lo – current rumors are that they’re planning a much more scaled-down nuptial after being overwhelmed by the planned gala event.) With all of their resources, many celebrities still fall under the charms of eloping to Las Vegas. Kelly Ripa and her soap opera star husband Mark Consuelos ran away to Sin City, as did Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton (back when they were both sporting their tattoos of each other’s names). Suvari and Brinkmann eloped to California’s Big Sur, supposedly disappointing her parents.
But in keeping with the typical celebrity desire to have it all, many are eloping for the more intimate vows, then returning for the media circus wedding. Ted Casablanca – the authority on celebrity gossip for E! Online – reported that Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar eloped to Mexico to tie the knot in a private ceremony, before returning to the U.S. for the “official” ceremony. Liv Tyler and Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon married in Barbados with only a few friends and no parents, then returned to plan a family affair at New York hotspot Pastis. And in the newest celebrity fad, the paparazzi are thrown off the scent with a fake, mock up wedding. Again leading the pack are Affleck and Lopez, whose original plans included hiring several decoy brides and staging fake weddings. According to Mark Armstrong, celebrity reporter for E! News, Brooke Shields and her writer husband Chris Henchy have already pulled off this stunt. While they married in a private location, they prepared an elaborate fake wedding, complete with mannequins as guests.
