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The Dreamiest Wedding Dresses From Your Favourite TV Shows
Everyone remembers where they were when Monica married Chandler, or when the Game Of Thrones Red Wedding shook the TV world. We invest so much in the characters of our favourite shows that to see them in a wedding dress for a major television event is sure to tug at the heartstrings – whether the ceremony goes for better or for worse!
TV show weddings are also a chance for the show’s costume design team to shine. All eyes are on the outfits, and a truly great wedding dress has everyone talking about it around the water cooler the next day. So, we decided it was time for an inspiring look back at the dreamiest wedding dresses of the new golden age of TV. Ready for your fitting?
GAME OF THRONES
A wedding isn’t a wedding without a drunken scrap between in-laws, and GoT pushed the average wedding planner’s deepest fears to extremes with season three episode ‘The Rains of Castamere’. But red is not the only colour as these gorgeous GoT gowns show.
1. Daenarys Targaryen
The soap opera to end all soap operas began with a bang when Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo offered an army in exchange for Daenerys’ hand. Costume designer Michele Clapton and embroiderer Michele Carragher kept it simple yet mythical with a draped opaque lavender wedding dress intended to recall the colour of the moon.
2. Talisa Maegyr
Nobody marries in grey any more, do they? But Talisa Maegyr carried off an earthy shade of gloomy through sheer necessity for her secret night time induction into the Stark dynasty. An epic cloak and shimmering scarf add a touch of magic to the simple elegance of Michele Clapton’s design.
3. Roslin Frey
What’s embroidered, white, and red all over? Poor Roslin arrived for what would turn out to be the show’s most famous moment – the ‘red wedding’ – draped in a divine lacework veil, little expecting the slaughter to come. “I guess weddings in Game of Thrones are always quite cynical,” says GoT costume designer Michele Clapton, “so I never design them thinking ‘wow this is the happiest day of her life.’ It’s usually like ‘so how is this event going to scar her today’.”
4. Sansa Stark (to Tyrion Lannister)
Her dress deliberately over-sized to emphasize her immaturity, young Sansa was marched down the aisle on a political mission in a Lannister shade of gold. Her girdle, too, was intended to evoke how trapped she felt; the detail of her dress portrayed Lannister lions dominating Stark direwolves. Still, it’s an inspiring wedding outfit for a fantasy wedding if you don’t think too hard about the hidden meaning!
5. Margaery Tyrell (to King Joffrey)
Margaery’s nuptials with Joffrey were always going to be tinged with danger – and that’s just what Clapton wove into her dress over a six-week production period. Roses were hand-rolled and stitched, the linen-silk mix of the dress falls just so, and thorns on her crown were echoed on the crown of her groom in the twisting thorns that choke Joffrey’s Baratheon antlers.
6. Margaery Baratheon (to Tommen Baratheon)
Margaery may have kept the same crown for her second marriage into the Baratheon clan, but other than that it was all change, the more traditional and regal look of her gold brocade sleeveless gown signalling that she was ready to assume power as the worldly wife of her naïve new husband.
7. Sansa Stark (to Ramsay Bolton)
Sansa’s snow-white wedding outfit, was one of the most memorable costumes of any GoT character or event – not just for being so striking, but because the details were so symbolic. The shape of the dress was intended to evoke the statues in the Winterfell crypt; the fur cape recalled Ned Stark’s accessory of choice, while the fish-shaped clasps called to mind her late mother Catelyn.
8. Lyanna Stark
The idyllic secret wedding, told in flashback, of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, little announced the bloodshed that would follow in its wake. Lyanna’s grey-green gown was unconventional, earthy, and eye-catching, the ornate body chain marking out this simple garment for its importance in the moment – and for the unfolding drama of the Game of Thrones universe.
DOWNTON ABBEY
For vintage wedding dress inspiration, it has to be Downton. For half a decade, the period drama added welcome frills to our Sunday evenings as the show traced the fortunes of the aristocratic Crawley family from the years before the First World War to the heights of the jazz age. Desirable fixtures and fittings – for the home and the wardrobe – were always a high priority for producers and audiences alike.
1. Lady Mary Crawley (to Mathew Crawley)
Mary’s short-lived marriage to her cousin Matthew was complicated by financial considerations: she originally resisted his appeal for fear of being branded an heir-chaser. Her wedding outfit was suitably expensive: a £4,500 long-sleeved cream number complete with rice pearls and Swarovski crystals. A 45-carat floral diamond tiara and simple white Calla lilies – echoing the shape of her dress – completed the look.
2. Lady Edith Crawley (to Sir Anthony Strallan)
Downton Abbey's costume designer, Caroline McCall, turned to French high fashion house Lanvin for inspiration when Edith and Sir Anthony so nearly wed. Hand-stitched silver embroidery and crystals completed a Grecian, draped satin look – with Edith wearing the tiara Lady Mary wore at her own wedding, a subtle ‘family heirloom’ motif. The “key to both Lady Mary’s and Lady Edith’s wedding dresses is that they are so soft, they drape so beautifully,” McCall told Elle Magazine.
3. Lady Rose MacClare
Lady Rose wore an authentic 1920s beaded silk tulle gown that had never been out of its box for her wedding to Atticus Aldridge. “It was just a ghost of a dress, and I stumbled upon it. A trader I'd made friends with has a little shop in London and he actually kept it in a box… we managed to give it this fairy tale ending,” reports Anna Mary Scott Robbins, costume designer for the show’s final two seasons.
4. Lady Mary Crawley (to Henry Talbot)
Second time around, Lady Mary shunned tradition to marry in a silk suit that was pure 1920s. Her wedding to Henry Talbot was arranged in something of a hurry, but of course Mary pulled it off with grace – the only hint at her nerves were the very real butterflies woven into the vintage baling of her hat.
5. Lady Edith Crawley (to Bertie Pelham)
Lady Edith finally made it to ‘I do’ in Downton’s emotional finale, coming out on top with Bertie Pelham - Marquess of Hexham, no less – in an original Brussels lace dress created by adding gauzier fabrics to an original frock found at a vintage fair. “[W]e cut away the slightly solid neckline on the other dress,” reports Robbins. “I wanted it to have a soft transition, something almost light as air as it came up on Laura's skin and neck.”
PARKS AND RECREATION
A political satire on a local scale, Parks and Recreation was an unlikely hit but once it hit its stride it charmed audiences and critics alike. Amy Poehler starred as Leslie Knope, deputy director of the parks department of a fictional Indiana town, tasked with balancing the needs of the locals with the whims and demands of her colleagues and superiors.
1. Leslie Knope
It took a full week for Kirston Mann, Parks and Recreation’s costume designer, to literally piece together Leslie’s dress: it’s made of newspapers with headlines about the character’s political successes over the years. The origami flower on her belt was made from the city logo of Pawnee, the show’s fictional setting.
NEW GIRL
A post-twenty something romantic comedy in a kooky style, New Girl divided audiences upon its initial broadcast. But those who stuck with Zooey Deschanel’s adventures in love and life were richly rewarded with glimpses of great design among the giggles.
1. Cece Parekh
Cece’s white dress with gold lace overlay and a red dupatta pay tribute to her Indian heritage and to her status as a first-generation American – not to mention her status as a fashion model. The outfit was put together by Debra McGuire, New Girl’s costume designer and Friends veteran.
2. Jess Day
The most notable detail of Jess’s wedding outfit not pictured here (because why ruin the dream?) was an eye-patch – inspired by show creator Liz Meriwether’s own near-miss (ultimately Meriwether was able to take her own patch off just in time for the ceremony). The dress itself was created by Debra McGuire, New Girl’s costume designer.
GILMORE GIRLS
The dreamy but troubled storybook world of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore has become a low-key cornerstone of modern TV and is regularly cited as one of the greatest shows ever. Teenagers for generations to come are sure to happen upon the annals of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, as they begin to make sense of that curious dimension between childhood and adulthood when everything is so simple and so confusing all at once.
1. Sookie St. James
Nobody in the world who saw Sookie tie the knot could fail to feel happy for her. And she absolutely glowed in that beaded ivory long-sleeved gown – catching the attention even next to groom Jackson in his kilt!
2. Liz Danes
As far as themed weddings go, it’s hard to lose your dignity if you go with the ‘Renaissance’-look. The show’s costume designer, Brenda Maben, got the chance to go ultra-retro with Liz’s floral crown (and, ahem, TJ’s Robin Hood tights)
3. Lorelai Gilmore
Lorelai’s “perfect dress” came at a price, even if the character found it among the sale items: the Monique Lhuillier-designed frock, composed of blush-silk tulle bodice and floral-bustier godet-panelled gown, set the show’s producers back $7,500 (£5,750).
4. Lane Kim
Lane arrived at her wedding ready for all eventualities: a Buddhist ceremony, a Seventh Day Adventist one, and a whip-off mini-skirt and mod boots for the wild wedding reception.
Perfect for getting on down to the show’s own fictional band, Hemp Alien.
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
With its unique ‘told from the future’ plot structure, will-they-won’t-they subplots, and overarching theme of romantic destiny, it’s no wonder HIMYM captured the hearts of dreamier sitcom fans over its 208 episodes right up to the finale’s twist in the tale.
1. Lily Aldrin
Show costume designer Reiko Kurumada seems to be a big fan of Monique Lhuillier, and rolled out the Filipino-American fashion designer’s threads for several characters over the series. “Lily's wedding dress was Monique Lhuillier,” she confirms. "It fit Alyson [Hannigan] wonderfully and was a popular style for that time.”
2. Robin Scherbatsky
Robin’s take on the Monique Lhuillier brand matched an Addie V-neck lace gown with a corset bodice and gauzy sleeves for a $7,000 (£5,370) outfit to die for (or at least to suffer panic attacks over, as both Robin and her betrothed - Barney Stinson – managed).
3. Tracy McConnell
While colour-theories abound across the seasons (was the true identity of the show’s title ‘Mother’ colour-coded?), when Tracy McConnell – the biological mother, at least, of Ted’s kids – walked the aisle she wore a colourless ivory frock. Costume designer, Reiko Kurumada found it in a vintage costume house, along with that hair pin, and believed it to be age-appropriate to the character since the wedding took place midway between the show’s ‘now’ (the year 2030) and ‘then’ (2014).
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
No show has quite shaped our contemporary understanding of vampires or teenage love like Joss Whedon’s Buffy. It paved the way for newcomers Twilight and True Blood. But unlike those aforementioned properties which feature actual weddings Buffy’s bridal gown only appears in a dream.
1. Buffy Summers
New York fashion designer Vera Wang provided the gown for Buffy’s dream-sequence nuptials with Angel – just as she did for actress Sarah Michelle Gellar’s real-life ceremony. The three-quarter-length sleeved column dress was technically a ball gown, but then this fantasy marriage wasn’t exactly traditional.
MAD MEN
Marriage often seemed more about status than actually affecting the way the characters of Mad Men conducted their love lives. And despite being the most stylish show of the millennium, actual wedding episodes were rare – even Megan and Don married off-screen – while the drama concentrated on the distinctly less fairytale-like events of the everyday.
1. Margaret Sterling
Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant had a special investment in this one: Roger’s daughter wed in the dress of Janie’s mother. Her draped satin wedding gown fitted on the first try and added a sugary sweetness to an otherwise heavy episode, taking place in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination.
2. Mrs. Dinkins
Mrs. Who? After an all-night drinking session in Hawaii, Don has a ‘moment’ when asked to give away a random squaddie’s bride-to-be in a beach wedding at dawn. And where did that high-necked white satin and lace gown come from? “My aunt Linda had given me her wedding gown over the summer,” explains Bryant. “She told me that she and my uncle were married in 1967. Of course, I had no idea that there would be a wedding in the show. But when I found out there would be one in the season six premiere, I thought ‘Now, I can immortalize my aunt Linda’s wedding gown!’”
THE BIG BANG THEORY
The Big Bang Theory may seem like daft humour with a science twist – but the awkward façades of the characters reveal the romantic chemistry below the surface. As the show reaches its finale, there are plenty of quantum entanglements still unresolved between the characters, with Raj and Anu filling the wedding cake figurine-shaped hole left by Sheldon and Amy at the end of season eleven.
1. Bernadette Rostenkowsky
You don’t get more of a send-off than seeing your husband blasted into space. That’s what happened to aspiring microbiologist Bernadette, who hurried to complete her nuptials before Howard’s big NASA mission. Big Bang Theory's costume designer, Mary T. Quigley, conjured up a traditional white dress, with Bernadette’s maroon spectacles echoed by Howard’s waistcoat and bow-tie.
2. Penny ‘Hofstadter’
The creators of the show have purposely never revealed Penny’s last name. So, at least by marrying Leonard she finally got a surname she can use. For the wedding itself Penny and Leonard decided to do things a little more improvised, eloping to Vegas and live-streaming their party for the folks back on Planet Pasadena. Penny’s pink sleeveless ruffle dress, provided by wedding dress designer Adrianna Papell, matches the colour of actress Kaley Cuoco’s real-life frock.
3. Amy Farrah-Fowler
Quigley pulled out all the stops for the wedding of Amy and Sheldon, with a cascading white capelet and cape skirt. “The actual dress is a strapless dress,” actress Mayim Bialik told The Vulture. “The skirt is attached to a strapless bodice, then there’s a whole long-sleeve piece, which in theory would’ve been from another kind of dress. And then there’s two capes on top. And there’s a whole frame that I was wearing, a hoop frame, hard frame, underneath, and I couldn’t sit down.” Still, she concludes: “[i]t’s a very satisfying dress for the character.”
FRIENDS
When Jennifer Aniston made her dramatic entrance on the run from a wedding in the pilot episode of Friends, we knew this was going to be a sentimental sitcom with a mischievous twist. The show creators weren’t shy about milking the wedding motif across ten long series. Ross, for example, headed up the aisle once every 80 episodes on average.
1. Rachel Green
“You know, it’s rare on a pilot that you can design anything, because you get hired and it has to happen in five seconds,” says costume designer Debra McGuire. The concept was for Rachel to be the “perfect Long Island princess,” so it’s no surprise that McGuire found the off-the-shoulder frock in the Warner Bros. costume wardrobe.
2. Monica Geller
The wedding of Monica and Chandler was one of the biggest TV events of recent years. That House of Bianchi V-neck and A-line skirt was picked off the rack because there wasn’t time to design and fit a bespoke wedding dress, much to the chagrin of show designer Debra McGuire, who also had a shop that sold wedding dresses – and who would’ve benefitted from the publicity of designing Monica’s frock.
3. Emily Waltham
Perhaps Ross’s accidental use of Rachel’s name instead of Emily’s was the first sign we got that he wasn’t yet through with wedding cake. If Helen Baxendale looks the ideal English rose for the London wedding, her outfit arrangements weren’t without a hitch: adjustments were made to account for the actress’s pregnancy, and McGuire cooked up a new jacket so that nobody would notice Monica had worn the same frock in “The One With All the Wedding Dresses.”
4. Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe’s light-lavender dress was another off-the-rack number, but this time around McGuire got to shine through the addition of an embroidered technicolour dream coat she designed using materials sourced in India and lined with fake fur. “The colours are just amazing. They pick up the colour in her wedding dress, and it really showed her personality. It’s just so Phoebe!” says the designer.
5. Carol Willick
The first series to feature a lesbian wedding, the nuptials of Carol and Susan were censored by NBC affiliates in some states. McGuire drew inspiration for Carol’s jacket with bustle and full skirt from the world of polo and turn-of-the-century Englishness – and also from her own equestrian-themed wedding dress. “[I]t really took a lot of thought,” she says, “because it was a radical thing. I really loved the idea of these women being women, of them looking beautiful and feminine, because of the stereotypes about gay women.”
SEX AND THE CITY
Carrie Bradshaw and gang set the tone for fin-de-siécle sophistication across a mere 94 episodes between 1998-2004. Following columnist Carrie Bradshaw and her thirty-something friends as they negotiated, well, sex and the city, the series has become a touchstone for anyone who wants to talk about the sublime and the absurd of 21st-century dating.
1. Charlotte York (to Trey MacDougal)
It’s a $14,000 (£10,500) Vera Wang strapless ball gown for Connecticut blue-blood Charlotte, who was always the romantic of the crowd and wasn’t about to let a little thing like money stand in the way of her fairytale wedding.
2. Charlotte York (to Harry Goldenblatt)
“Look at your wedding with Trey,” Carrie tells Charlotte second time around. “Wedding was perfect. Marriage was terrible. Focus on the relationship, not one friggin’ day.” Wise words, but Charlotte still looked divinely elegant in her white beaded Badgley Mischka silk gown.
3. Carrie Bradshaw (attempt #1)
Naturally, NYC’s most eligible bachelorette, columnist, and fashion writer, is something of a clothes horse as far as designers are concerned: and so Vivienne Westwood made a gift of the strapless silk satin puff dress that Carrie wore in a photoshoot for Vogue Magazine. The turquoise bird in her hair announced that this was an event wedding, even if it would come to an anti-climax when Mr Big decided he had better things to do.
4. Carrie Bradshaw (attempt #2)
Nobody’s going to force Carrie to make her second trek down the aisle with Big any way but her own way. This time, she underplayed it in the no-label vintage white suit and skirt and blue Manolo pumps she’d intended for the original ceremony before her friends pooh-poohed it. And guess what: it was a lot easier to get in and out of cars with.
5. Miranda Hobbes
Never one for the traditional approach, Miranda chose a community garden for the venue and a take-no-prisoners velvet burgundy suit – created by Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field – instead of a frock.
GOSSIP GIRL
The Gilmore girls after a few more glasses of Prosecco, Gossip Girl was a racy and unashamedly lavish look at the haves and have-nots of Manhattan's Upper East Side. “We’ve never seen the city from the point of view of teenagers,” notes creator Stephanie Savage. “It was very intriguing to see these young people — so sophisticated, so driven, so well-travelled — feeling pressured to succeed more than their parents. It felt like a world with high stakes for young people.”
1. Lily van der Woodsen (to Bart Bass)
Some say Lily was upstaged, in the costume department, by her bridesmaid; but actress Kelly Rutherford carried off her classic Vera Wang A-line strapless gown, folded bodice, and sarong draped skirt as though she were born in it. White silk flowers drew the eye to those dangerous van der Woodsen hips.
2. Lily van der Woodsen (to Rufus Humphrey)
Second time around for Lily, there was no need for the formality of a white wedding: instead, she stunned in a ruffled fuchsia gown, and lest onlookers stare too hard trying to find ‘something blue,’ let us guide you to her turquoise drop earrings.
3. Blair Waldorf
It’s said that some folk watched Gossip Girl just to keep up with Blair’s classic Hollywood sense of glamour. When she wed, she wore a spring 2012 peony-blue Elie Saab gown, long sleeved, but in sheer, nude fabric. “It reminded me of the wedding dress Wallis Simpson wore during her scandalous wedding to The Duke of Windsor,” says the show’s costume designer, Eric Daman.
4. Serena van der Woodsen
As the show closed with Serena tying the knot, nothing was left to chance: her white Georges Chakra Couture Swarovski cage dress blossomed, glinting with the illusion of spilled gold paint – how careless! – below a strapless tulle gown.
THE OFFICE (US)
An altogether more American take on the quintessential awkward British comedy The Office (US) was brighter, bolder, and longer-lasting. While the UK version ended on the verge of a blossoming relationship, their associates at the Pennsylvania Dunder Mifflin Paper Company celebrated a number of weddings across 201 cringeworthy episodes.
1. Pam Beesly
Pam’s four-hundred-dollar crinkle chiffon A-line gown was from David’s Bridal, America’s biggest wedding store chain, since that’s where the character would be most likely to source her dress. “As an experienced and stylish businesswoman,” the store’s spokesperson boasted at the time, “Pam Beesly knows that choosing David’s Bridal, the nation’s most trusted bridal authority, will guarantee a beautiful wedding.”
2. Angela Martin
For The Office’s big finale, Alysia Raycraft – the show’s costume designer - took over from ‘David’ to put together Angela’s strapless column dress with lace sleeves and tulle veil.
WILL AND GRACE
The show that “probably did more to educate the American public” on LGBT issues than anything else (said Joe Biden!) was always about sharp humour more than civil rights. Interior designer Grace lives with her BFF Will, a successful NYC lawyer. With pokes at gay culture and Jewish society, the show has latterly enjoyed a comeback, continuing to put outrageous laughs ahead of soapy sentimentality.
1. Grace Adler
Costume designer Lori Eskowitz-Carter pulled out all the stops for the event that fans feared would tear their heroes’ friendship apart: Grace’s impulsive wedding to short-term boyfriend Leo, played by Harry Connick Jr. Her $1,750 (£1,340) Sergio Rossi boots vied for attention with a $20,000 off-the-shoulder Vera Wang corset dress, while jewellery from Martin Katz added the sparkle.
SUITS
A sassy legal drama following an unconventional (and unqualified) lawyer and his colleagues, Suits gained a greater profile due to the departure of one of its stars: a certain Meghan Markle, who decided the duties of royal married life were more appealing than an eighth series of the explosive NYC show.
1. Rachel Zane
All eyes were on Rachel/Meghan as she preempted the royal wedding with a stroll down the aisle in a $6,800 (£5,215) bohemian A-line “Versailles” wedding gown by Atlanta-based bridal designer Anne Barge. Intricate floral beading and a black ribbon belt added subtle touches that many prefer to the suffocating spider’s web of that enormous cathedral-length veil of her Windsor nuptials.
EMPIRE
Fox’s hip-hop musical has hypnotized audiences from the start with its blend of soap opera and stops-out entertainment. A soundtrack perfectly calibrated by Timbaland, Jim Beanz, Darkchild, and Ester Dean keeps the melodrama at fever pitch.
1. Laura Calleros
There’s no moment like a wedding for simmering tensions to come to the boil, and that’s precisely what happened to prevent poor Laura from entering into marriage with Hakeem Lyon. Still, she got to wear a billowing princess dress with intricate lace detail, which revealed flickers of pink when it caught the light, all created by Empire’s costume designer Paolo Nieddu.
GREY’S ANATOMY
While for some Grey’s Anatomy filled an ER-shaped hole, others prefer the newer hospital drama for its emphasis on relationships, personal drama, and – inevitably – lashings and lashings of wedding cake.
1. Cristina Yang (to Preston Burke)
Star intern Cristina didn’t quite make it to the vows first time around but she at least made it to Hawaii for a one-person honeymoon. Her dress didn’t fare so well: Meredith ended up cutting it off with scissors when the jilted bride couldn’t stand to be constricted by it any longer.
2. Izzie Stevens
What better wedding gift can you give than… a wedding? That’s just what Meredith and Derek did, donating their plans and arrangements to Izzie as her health worsened. Still, the sick surgeon sparkled in a Kenneth Pool wedding dress, an embroidered crystal bodice sitting atop her glittering tulle skirt. Izzie would eventually pull through from her sickness; the marriage, however, would not prove so hardy.
3. Cristina Yang (to Owen Hunt)
For Cristina’s second-time-up-the-aisle, she wore a simple if untraditional burgundy number with a plunging neckline that looked easier to wriggle out of than that first straightjacket of a wedding dress. This vintage look was created by Mimi Melgaard, Grey’s Anatomy’s costume designer.
4. Callie Torres
Callie’s wedding to Arizona started with a car crash, and it hardly got simpler there on in. However, she finally made it up the aisle in traditional dress modified by Melgaard with a veil and “custom sparkly sleeves.” For contrast, Arizona wore a racier cream number in torn chiffon.
5. Miranda Bailey
“Bailey is that perfect mix of a soft, feminine person who has a strong job,” explains Melgaard. “That’s why she always wears shirts that have something like a floral pattern - I think in her mind, she’s more of a feminine person. We started with a dress and altered it a lot - I added the bling around the sweetheart neckline.”
6. April Kepner
While researching the dress she wanted to make for April, Melgaard discovered that designer Peter Langner had got there first. Rome-based Langner even went so far as to rush through the adjustments needed so that the barn wedding could run as planned. Well, nearly…
SCANDAL
As the title suggests, Shonda Rhimes’ political drama is anything but shy of sensational storylines as it follows crisis manager Olivia Pope’s efforts to keep U.S. President Fitzgerald Grant III out of trouble and in power. Despite Fitz being played by Tony Goldwyn, the nasty friend from Ghost, Olivia fails to spot the President for being a bad’un, and romance ensues.
1. Olivia Pope
When the show’s heroine tied the knot for the ‘sliding doors’ alternative universe presented in the 100th episode, creator Rhimes requested her dress be “unbelievable, September issue-worthy, amazeballs — all of the adjectives.” Her crew responded with $4,500 (£3,450) worth of Anne Barge Kalika-silk skirt, ruched satin top, Tiffany and Co. pearl and diamond drop earrings, and “Victoria” diamond bracelet – and a hair-do inspired by Janelle Monáe.
JANE THE VIRGIN
Love is complicated for Jane the actual Virgin, who falls pregnant with the child of her teenage crush after a mix-up by her gynaecologist. Will she wind up with stud Justin or her long-waiting fiancé Michael?
1. Jane Villanueva
For a while, at least, Jane ended up wed to Michael (eventually making the series title redundant). This being a sitcom, chaos ensued; but Rachel Sage Kunin, Jane the Virgin’s costume designer, at least provided a beautiful and appropriately white lace, off the shoulder Aria wedding dress.
FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR
Fresh Prince wasn’t known for its moments of quiet romanticism. But over six years, loyal audiences developed an affection for this unlikely family unit – perhaps even enough to sympathize with mean girl Hilary when her wedding plans failed to hit the ground running.
1. Hilary Banks
The show’s costume designer Judy Richman softened Hilary’s look with a traditional dress, white choker, and pearl-accented rosary. Sadly, her anchorman fiancé, Trevor Collins-Newsworthy, hit the headlines for the wrong reason when the bungee-jump cord he wore to make his dramatic proposal proved to be a little too long for purposes.
2. Lisa Wilkes
Following a failed attempt at a Shaft-themed wedding in Vegas, The Fresh Prince was prepared to wed his queen in more traditional circumstances for the season 5 finale. But after discovering that he didn’t even know Lisa’s real name (Beulah) the two began to entertain their doubts. Before calling the whole thing off, Lisa/Beulah got the chance to shine in off-the-shoulder floral sleeves.
THIS IS US
The curious premise of This Is Us posits the troubled thirtysomething ‘triplets’ Kevin, Kate, and adoptee Randall in modern day America with flashbacks to before and after their birth. “This Is Us finds a way to tell schematic stories in a way that underlines how easy it can be to get sucked beneath the water by history's never-ending undertow,” writes Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff.
1. Rebecca Pearson
Rebecca’s boho gown was an inspiration to brides-to-be when the first series aired in 2017 – not least to actress Mandy Moore, who took a cue from her character’s dress when she wed 18 months later. It even gave show designer Hala Bahmet second thoughts about her bachelorette status: “I love that we went with the long sleeves and flower crown. The dress was cut so beautifully and had a long train. For a girl who never wanted to get married or have a proper wedding, it kind of had me rethinking some things.”
2. Kate Pearson
Season 2 presented Kate’s wedding preparations in details. So there were few surprises when she showed up to the rustic-themed event in a lace v-neck with floral sleeves and just enough of a trail to make the point without gathering too much farmyard dust. “[T]he dress was actually really heavy because it's beaded and handmade and couture, literally handmade,” says actress Chrissy Metz.
Whatever type of wedding you have in mind, there’s a good chance TV’s hottest costume designers got there first. Whether you take your wedding dress inspiration wholesale from your favourite show’s heroine or just tune in to their way of thinking to cook up something original, you’re sure to find something spectacular in the annals of television history.
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