2018’s Best Dressed: Weddings
There’s something addictive about looking at wedding pictures, even if you have no intention of tying the knot. Luckily, 2018 was a year of humdingers, but which were your favorite bridal looks? This was a hard one to judge…
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex
The phrase ‘wedding of the year’ gets thrown around a lot, but Meghan Markle’s nuptials to Prince Harry in May surely deserve the title. Markle’s dress, conjured in impressive secrecy by Clare Waight Keller and her team at Givenchy, was a study in simplicity with its boat neckline and 16ft veil embroidered with flowers that represent each of the Commonwealth countries. And don’t get us started on the Stella McCartney dress she changed into for the reception…
Alexandra Carl
The Danish stylist was the epitome of understated elegance when she married Jacob John Harmer in Copenhagen this summer. She worked with her friend, Self-Portrait’s Han Chong, to dream up a dress inspired by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s legendary wedding gown; the result was an effortlessly sophisticated silk sheath dress and, in an effort to keep things in line with Carl’s pared-back style, she wore it with a pearl-encrusted cape in lieu of a veil.
Priyanka Chopra
We still can’t get enough of the pictures of Chopra’s three-day Indian wedding to singer Nick Jonas, which was a next-level extravaganza that called for multiple wardrobe changes. Her Ralph Lauren gown (quite the honor – to date the designer has only created wedding dresses for his close family), complete with 75ft veil and 2.4 million hand-stitched sequins, was an obvious highlight, but we also loved this pre-wedding ceremony look. Custom-made by Ralph & Russo, the off-the-shoulder top and wide-leg pants combo featured a sweetheart neckline and draped silk chiffon straps, and was hand-embroidered with gold crystals and glass beads.
Mandy Moore
Moore was as pretty as a princess when she married singer-songwriter Taylor Goldsmith last month. Her dress – a high-necked, frothy tiered affair in pale pink rather than traditional white – was dreamed up by Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte and designed to be both unconventional and to make Moore feel as much like herself as possible.
Gwyneth Paltrow
When she married Brad Falchuk at her home back in September, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Valentino dress was the star of the show, all capped sleeves, keyhole back, swirling lace and a cathedral-length veil. She then changed into a short jumpsuit by her pal Stella McCartney once dinner was done – all the better to dance the night away.
Nicole Warne
Warne needed a dress that could compete with her wedding’s awe-inspiring backdrop of New Zealand’s Lake Wanaka, and her custom Valentino Haute Couture dress, with its cut-out top, floral embroidery and silk veil, was more than up to the task. And then there was the ruffled Oscar de la Renta gown that she wore for the reception and the Dion Lee slip dress that she changed into for the evening’s celebrations, not to mention the custom Michael Lo Sordo gown for the next-day brunch.
Princess Eugenie
Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos were an unexpected choice for Princess Eugenie’s wedding dress, but the London-based design duo really delivered. Her gown was inspired by a clutch of previous royal wedding dresses and cut from a truly personal fabric that nodded to four places particularly special to the bride and groom. And in a perfectly personal-yet-bold touch, it had a low back designed to show the scar along the Princess’ spine from surgery that she had as a child to correct her scoliosis.
Chiara Ferragni
Ferragni’s Sicilian wedding to Italian rap star Fedez was pure Instagram gold, from the desserts emblazoned with their moniker, Ferragnez, to the plush dolls made in their image. No surprise, then, that her dresses – both custom-made by Dior – were as spectacular as the setting: a crocheted lace playsuit under an enormous tulle skirt for the ceremony, and an embroidered pale pink dress that transformed into a mini once the skirt was removed.
Chanel Iman
What does a Victoria’s Secret Angel wear to her wedding? In Iman’s case, a classic tulle gown by Zuhair Murad with a short cape that she wore as she exchanged vows with NFL player Sterling Shepard, and second lace dress by the designer for the party afterwards. A special mention goes to the model’s mother, who walked her down the aisle in a blush pink tux.
Bee Schaffer
It was a meeting of two fashion dynasties when Bee Shaffer, daughter of Anna Wintour, married Francesco Carrozzini, son of Franca Sozzani, this summer. Thanks to a social-media blackout, the details are still sketchy, but we know that for the Italian leg of the wedding (their first ceremony was at Wintour’s Long Island estate), Shaffer donned a bohemian, beautifully traditional dress that was cropped at the ankle and topped with a lace veil.
The people featured in this story are not associated with NET-A-PORTER and do not endorse it or the products shown.