She ended up on the dance floor in just a bodysuit though
From the Editors of PeopleStyle
Words by Brittany Talarico
Julianne Hough has worn hundreds of designer gowns, from her glam weekly judging looks on Dancing With the Stars to her countless red carpet appearances. So when it came time to create the dress for her wedding to Brooks Laich, the 28-year-old star made sure to be very involved in ever step of the process.
Julianne turned to a team she trusts, Marchesa design duo Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, as well as her close friend and stylist Anita Patrickson, to bring her bridal vision to life, a vision which included not one, but two, custom Marchesa designs.
'Julianne’s been to the Golden Globes, the Oscars, the SAGs, everything! It was really quite hard and I think the one thing we both talked about and felt we really wanted to find was to find something that felt really classic, really elegant and really clean,' Anita Patrickson tells PeopleStyle of developing Julianne’s wedding wardrobe alongside the star, adding that they started the process in December 2016. 'We wanted something very fresh, and something she would not look back on in 10 years time and say, ‘Oh God what was I thinking?.''
The 'classic' strapless ceremony gown was crafted using over 20 yards of silk radzimir and featured 37 buttons down the back. She paired the look with a tiered tulle Marchesa veil and Lorraine Schwartz earrings.
'From the start, Julianne had a clear vision on what she wanted and we worked closely with her to create her dream ceremony and reception dresses,' Georgina Chapman tells PeopleStyle.
Keren Craig adds, 'It was an emotional moment with teary eyes once she tried it on.'
For her something blue, the designers stitched 'Custom Marchesa for Julianne,' in blue thread, and she wore a pair of platform Schutz shoes to walk down the aisle. The celeb-loved footwear brand made her a white satin pair special for her big day, since Julianne often wears the comfortable style under her gowns on Dancing with the Stars.
After the main party (dress) is the afterparty (dress), and Julianne pulled a complete 180 with her reception look. Team Marchesa designed a three-piece ensemble, which was hand-beaded with thousands of pearls and crystals throughout the bodysuit, tulle skirt and illusion cape.
'Julianne wanted a dress that she could dance the night away in,'Georgina shares.
And dance she did. Hough’s hairstylist and close friend Riawna Capri told PeopleStyle: 'Of course after a lot of dancing, there goes the skirt and it’s just the bodysuit that she has on.'
Riawna adds that Hough’s bridesmaids and best friends surprised her by doing one of her dance routines from her Move Live tour — and she wanted in on the action.
'She had no idea what was going on, we sat her in the chair, and the music comes on and we started doing the routine,'Riawna shares. 'After that dance, she was so excited, she was standing on the chair, and that’s when we did another hair change and a skirt change. Anita [Patrickson] helped get the skirt off, and I’m taking out all the bobby pins from her faux bob and then putting her hair down so she was just free in her bodysuit with her long blonde hair down.'
Anita Patrickson adds that Julianne had a 'very strong vision' on what she wanted for the reception look which she describes as 'very Jules.'
'Jules had really done the work in finding the inspiration pictures for the reception dress,' Anita says. 'Jules wanted to party and dance and get crazy which is why we came up with this idea of three different looks in one. It was something a little bit different but Marchesa really ran with us as well and they came up with a lot of it and we just all worked together as a team, which was really cool.'
Julianne’s bridesmaids, including her sisters and bestie Nina Dobrev, wore custom 'ethereal and romantic' Marchesa Notte gowns for the affair, which were a 'mix of Honeysuckle Blush and Rose Quartz.'
'The strapless dress was a classic silhouette from our Spring 2016 Marchesa Notte collection, re-imagined with 3-D chiffon flowers and intricate embroidery,'Georgina Chapman shares. 'This was also carried through on the plunging v-neck gown that we designed specifically for the wedding.'
The dresses took two months to complete thanks to all the intricate embroidery and bead work.
Julianne’s mom. Mari Ann Hough, also wore custom Marchesa, celebrating her daughter’s big day in a silver silk chiffon soft draped, one-shoulder gown with gunmetal crystal and bugle bead wisteria floral embroidery.
