Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge’s Magical Wedding: Inside Her Three Stunning Chanel Dresses”
The fairytale wedding of Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge has taken place at the exquisite Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France. The couple exchanged their vows in a romantic ceremony, surrounded by family and friends, following a weekend of extravagant festivities. Prior to the wedding, Vogue was granted an exclusive preview of the three dresses designed for the bride’s special weekend.
Sofia Richie, the 24-year-old model and designer, visited the Chanel haute couture salons in Paris for her final dress fitting with her mother-in-law, Lady Caroline Grainge, and her best friend, Ali Meller. The preview featured the dresses made for the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, and the after-party. While Richie always envisioned a grand princess dress, she desired a simpler design as she got older, which was ultimately brought to life in a sophisticated and stunning way.
The preview showcases Sofia Richie wearing a one-shoulder black Chanel sweater with silver buttons and jeans, while she walks through the salons with her family and friends. The bride then tries on her high-necked, long-sleeved beaded dress, which she wore on the rehearsal dinner night, exclaiming her fear of ruining a single bead. The fitting concludes with Richie donning her breathtaking wedding dress, with Lady Caroline Grainge in awe of the beauty of the dress and the moment.
The couple’s engagement occurred in April of 2022, with Grainge proposing after a year of dating in an intimate setting, resulting in Richie joyfully accepting his proposal. The families’ connections have run deep for years, with Lionel Richie and Sir Lucian Grainge frequently collaborating, and the two families knowing each other for years before the couple’s romantic relationship began.
It’s not lost on the bride that to be in the Chanel haute couture salons trying on not one, but three custom wedding dresses is—in her own words—“a larger-than-life dream.” “I was extremely intimidated coming into these fittings just because Chanel is such a big house,” she admits. “But they were so open to hearing my thoughts and suggestions, and they were so lovely to work with, and I adore everyone that I got to know along the process. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
For the rehearsal dinner, which took place at a private estate, Richie and Grainge set the dress code as cocktail attire: something fun and colorful that would offer guests a chance to meet each other in a more casual setting before the main event. “I really wanted to bring a sparkly elegant perspective with this dress [for the rehearsal dinner moment],” Richie explains. “Obviously there’s a lot going on with the beading, and my hair will probably get tangled if we leave it down so we’re thinking maybe like a side part or something up so we can show off the neck and detailing. I’m keeping the makeup for the entire weekend super simple and clean. I just want it to feel timeless: I don’t want to look back in like 20 years and be like, ‘She’s a glamazon.’”
Next, Richie tries on her short, white, structured after-party dress with the iconic Chanel camellia front and center. It fits her perfectly. “This, to me, is like my little girl dream,” Richie says. “And the fact that it is inspired [by] Claudia Schiffer’s runway dress is iconic and dope.” Lady Caroline chimes in: “It is the cutest!”
“I can dance, [and] I can move,” Richie says. “I love it! It’s traditional Chanel.” Richie explains that her vision for the after-party is for it to be somewhat like a nightclub—very dark, but with fun music and strobe lights. “I will be eating pizza and fries in this dress,” she says. “Pray for this dress. It will be my life’s mission to make sure nothing happens to it.”
Finally, Richie steps into her wedding dress—a unique bridal silhouette with a criss-cross neckline inspired by a look from Chanel’s fall 2023 collection. “We created the top of that dress and made it bridal-y,” Richie says, while Madame Olivia Douchez, première of haute couture atelier, ensures all of the details of the dress’s iridescent white sequins are just so. “It is such magic,” Richie adds. “I honestly think Elliot is going to love it. He is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to anything I wear. If he doesn’t cry, I’ll be very sad.”
On the inside of the dress, Richie’s something blue—an “S&E” with the date underneath—is sewn into the fabric. “We also loved the heart design in the middle of my chest and my ribs,” the bride says. In addition to the heart design on the bodice, there’s another heart embellishment further down the dress facing in the other direction. Fittingly, the two hearts are facing each other—making for a subtle but highly romantic hidden motif in the center of the design that is emblematic of the connection Richie feels to the man she has now married. “I am so excited,” Richie says. “[It’s] because I’m marrying Elliot, I know that sounds cheesy—but he is the man of my dreams.”
First, Richie tries on the high-necked, long-sleeved beaded dress she wore on Friday night to the rehearsal dinner.
Richie examining the handiwork.
The bride marveling at her rehearsal dinner dress.
A first look at the bride’s custom Chanel wedding dress.
The train of Richie’s wedding dress was embellished with white and iridescent beads.
The bride with her short, white after-party dress featuring the Chanel camellia front and center.
The bride’s Chanel shoes.
“I’m scared to move because I don’t want to ruin one bead!” Richie says.
Richie’s short, white, structured after-party dress with the iconic Chanel camellia front and center.
“This to me is like my little-girl dream,” Richie says. “And the fact that it is inspired [by] Claudia Schiffer’s runway dress is iconic and dope.”
A short white veil is placed atop Richie’s head.
“It’s traditional Chanel with the flower,” Richie says.
A final bridal portrait in the Chanel haute couture salons.
A last look in the mirror before her wedding day.
Couturiers inspect every aspect of the dress
The bride makes her way down the stairs at the Chanel haute couture salons.
Another view of the back
The bride makes her way down the stairs at the Chanel haute couture salons.
Another view of the back.
“If Elliot doesn’t cry [when he sees me], I’ll be very sad,” Richie jokes.
The criss-cross neck was inspired by a look from Chanel’s fall 2023 collection
The dress features a heart design on the bodice and another heart embellished further down, facing in the opposite direction.
“It is such magic,” Richie says. “I honestly think Elliot is going to love it. He is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to anything I wear.”
“[Everyone at Chanel] was so open to hearing my thoughts and suggestions,” Richie says. “They were so lovely to work with.”
“It is such magic,” Richie says. “I honestly think Elliot is going to love it. He is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to anything I wear.”
“[Everyone at Chanel] was so open to hearing my thoughts and suggestions,” Richie says. “They were so lovely to work with.”
“I adore everyone that I got to know along the process,” Richie says. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
“I was extremely intimidated coming into these fittings just because Chanel is such a big house,” Richie admits.
“The back is so beautiful!” Lady Caroline Grainge, the bride’s mother-in-law, says.
Pray for this dress,” Richie jokes. “It will be my life’s mission to make sure nothing happens to it.”