Weddings of The Year
27 July 2023
An abundance of white lace and flowing veils. Buttery soft petals from blooming bouquets. Dozens of rounded tables covered in thick white tablecloths that wrap around them like marzipan. People in silk dresses and black bow ties flit about country estates or mansions nestled on the coasts of Italy. Anticipation buzzes in the air for the words, ‘I do.’ Declarations of love and the pledge of sacred vows have been happening for centuries. The romantic idea of two people coming together and fusing their lives, content to spend the rest of their days with each other. But marriage is not what we’re looking at here. We want the good bit. The bit where champagne bottles are popped and drained; where pieces of confetti drift through the air and land like snowflakes on neatly curled hair; where a glowing bride glides towards the altar, in silk or satin, veiled or not, a sleek outline or just barely able to fit all the taffeta between the aisles. The wedding! What we expect them to look like has changed over the years, morphing in and out of different trends, but our fascination with them has never faltered. I distinctly remember sitting in front of the TV as a little girl, in awe of the massive taffeta princess dresses that were worn by brides in the early 2010s, particularly on iconic shows like Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
The brides on this show weren’t messing about: dressed to the nines with glittery nail extensions, overflowing bouquets, sparkling tiaras, and pounds upon pounds of taffeta and toile. As if these gargantuan dresses weren’t enough, brides occasionally switched up the colour scheme too. White was the norm, of course, but sometimes I’d be lucky enough to watch an episode with a bride smothered in fuchsia pink or sunflower yellow. I was hooked. For the most part, I have since grown out of my obsession with over-the-top weddings, but I still can’t help but hold a small bit of love for a big fluffy princess dress –blame Disney. With the new wave of elegant and sleek gowns that are now dominating the wedding industry however, I don’t think I will be walking down the aisle in a gypsy-style princess gown when the day comes (a shame, really). But Big Faty Gypsy Weddings wasn’t the only show that sparked my interest in weddings. There was a plethora of shows in the early and mid 2000s that satiated my desire for them. Say Yes to the Dress was, to ten-year-old me, a situation of life or death. Would they get their dream dress or not? I was on the edge of my seat. Bonus points of course for massive arguments with the maid of honour or mother of the bride, which often left the bride storming off in tears or, my favourite, mouthing back and uninviting said tormenter from the wedding.
The drama didn’t stop there, though. Don’t Tell the Bride was another iconic piece of TV with even more at stake. Not only was the dress itself at risk, but brides had to trust their husbands-to-be with organising the venue, entertainment, hen and stag dos (of which the latter was almost always a top priority) and remembering to invite the right people. Unsurprisingly, chaos often ensued and in one episode a bride even refused to go through with the marriage. Despite the popularity of these shows at the time, there has been a distinct shift in the wedding culture of recent years. Gone are the spectacles of tacky and garish dresses, along with the anticipated drama that seems unavoidable with these kinds of events. No, the wedding of today is a timeless, elegant affair that, at all costs, avoids the embarrassment of drama. Just because these modern weddings might lack the tantalising conflict that Don’t Tell the Bride and Say Yes to the Dress epitomised, doesn’t mean we are any less hooked on them. Instead of drama, we have a new obsession: aesthetic. We don’t care if the weddings of today are lacking meltdowns over outfits and venues, as long as we have the beautiful, classy aesthetic of the traditional wedding. Enter Sofia Richie. Dubbed by Vogue as the “royal wedding” of the year, Sofia married Elliot Grainge at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, this April. It was not a small wedding. Why should it be? Daughter to legendary singer Lionel Richie, Sofia is a celebrity in her own right with 10.4 million Instagram followers and the beauty director of cosmetics company Nudestix. The guest list, therefore, included a range of celebs like the OG celebrity princess Paris Hilton, best known for her iconic reality TV show The Simple Life which also starred Nicole, Sofia’s sister, who was, of course, also in attendance at the wedding. Cameron Diaz, TikTok star Jake Shane, and even the Princess Olympia of Greece are just a few more names from the star-studded guest list – a royal wedding indeed!
Sofia, pictured here in one of three custom Chanel
gowns made for her.
The obsession with Sofia’s wedding swept the internet. On TikTok, the hastags #sofiarichiewedding and #sophiarichiewedding culminated 30.7 million views. For reference, that’s almost three times the population of Greece and approximately just under half the population of the UK. On Sofia’s Instagram account (@sofiarichiegrainge) the three pinned posts at the top of her page, a collection of photos taken from the wedding, all have over a million likes. It’s no wonder that Sofia’s wedding was such a pop culture sensation with A-list attendees and performances by musical icons like Lionel Richie himself and Stephen Sanchez, who sung a live rendition of ‘Until I Found You’, a romantic ballad that’s hashtag has over 1.4 billion views on TikTok. It was a wedding for the books, and one we were all invited to in a way, through the unfolding social media posts that dominated the month of April.
Another hit wedding from this year was the union of Made in Chelsea stars Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing. They got hitched in a beautiful service in sunny Seville that emulated the classy, old money vibes of a traditional Italian wedding, from the dress to the photography. The dress itself was a sleek silhouette, perfectly complimenting Sophie’s slender frame, and stitched in lace over the bodice, skirt, exposed back detail, and even the long sleeves, a wedding trend from the early 1900s that Sophie had modernised for her bridal outfit. Her veil added to the overall conservative yet romantic look, simple and unembellished, yet adding a flair of elegance and drama with its extended length. In other words, her bridal look was both traditional and chic, elegant and timeless. But her traditional wedding look wasn’t the only element that Sophie re-modernised for her wedding. Just before their nuptials in Seville, the couple decided to officially tie the knot in a small ceremony with close friends and family in a Chelsea registry office. This intimate courthouse wedding is another example of how the couple took a traditional, often no-frills approach, of a courthouse ceremony and adapted it to fit their personal style. Often a dressed down and less exciting affair, Jamie and Sophie reinvigorated the event with chic, modern clothing choices, whilst keeping it traditional with the registry office location and black-and-white photography.
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Unlike her Seville bridal look, Sophie’s choice of gown in Chelsea was a trendy white Vivienne Westwood mini dress, with an off the shoulder neckline, fitted bodice, and high-low hemline that shortened in the front and lengthened in the back. She paired this with an adorable baby veil from Gigi & Olive that stopped just around her shoulders and sported a white ribbon atop her head. Footwear was pointed, court stilettos from Jimmy Choo with a white satin finish and an ankle strap embellished with crystals – retailing at £875 from Selfridges. To finish off the look, Sophie held a small white clutch bag from Sophia Webster - a British fashion label that launched in 2012, of which I have a particular obsession with their butterfly-design heels. This small little purse is perhaps my favourite detail of the look, adding to the trendy style with its sharp box shape that contrasts against the glittering gold embellishment that spells out ‘Wifey For Lifey’. Slay.
I could talk about this look forever. It’s the perfect mix of tradition and trendiness. We have the classy, timeless elements that come from keeping the white gown and veil, the courthouse setting, and using staple designers like Vivienne Westwood and Jimmy choo. However, Sophie breathes new life into her look by incorporating modern short hemlines, a glittering clutch bag, and even donning sunglasses to mirror her husband who wore a black Thom Sweeney suit and matching black sunglasses. The photos of the ceremony, available on both of their Instagram pages (@jamielaing & @sophiehabboo), epitomise the fusion of tradition and modernity, showcasing their modern looks in classic black-and-white film.
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Sophie and Jamie aren’t the only ones that have gone for this idea, though. Anastazia, a popular content creator with over a million TikTok followers (@stazzylicious), followed this new trend in her engagement photos. Donning a House of CB mini dress and keeping her hair down with a large white ribbon to fasten half of it back, Anastasia’s engagement photoshoot showcased all the modern bridal trends. She simultaneously kept the classy traditional vibe by wearing Christian Louboutin wedding heels and being photographed both around and inside of a classic convertible car. It seems, therefore, that the courthouse wedding has come back with a fury. Indeed, registry office weddings are becoming more and more popular in the UK, even the hashtag #courthousewedding has over 74 million views on TikTok. And they all seem to embody this idea of combining the tradition of a courthouse wedding with modern trends. Looking through the various photos and videos that have been posted on social media, TikTok and Pinterest are the goldmine platforms here, there is a recurring theme of white mini dresses, stylish stilettos and jewellery, and, the crowning jewel, a pair of statement sunglasses. The chicness of this trend is often emphasised by editorial-like photography. A perfect example is this picture (right), of two newlyweds sat on the courthouse steps eating a pizza together (true love). I love this photo. It’s the new courthouse wedding trend in a nutshell: a traditional suit and wedding colours, elegant jewellery, hair and footwear, paired with the modern trends of adapted wedding gowns, in this case a sleek white jumpsuit, black sunglasses, and the laid-back vibe of chilling outside your wedding location scoffing a pizza with your loved one. Count me in. Another bonus of this new trend is that it saves you money (ideal if you want to get married in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis). While many of us can dream of massive Sofia Richie-esque weddings, the reality is that most cannot afford this. We don’t all have Lionel Richie footing the bill. So if you want to have a traditional but trendy wedding, elegant and chic whilst remaining timeless, a courthouse wedding just might be for you. I’ve made a Pinterest board for mine already.
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