The longer the coronavirus pandemic lasts, keeping people at home sheltering in place, the more holiday celebrations, calendar-worthy gatherings, and yes, even weddings, will get postponed and canceled. Should a change in wedding plans be top of mind right now? Probably not for everyone, but for couples who have been planning their nuptials, there is a sense of loss that sets in following the initial panic: "Oh, my wedding day is going to be much different than I thought it would be."
"Some very bold and very iconic ladies tied the knot with black tie attire completely out of the equation."
Carolina Herrera invited people from the bridal community to get together for a Zoom meeting, led by celebrity and bridal stylist Micaela Erlanger, who I personally visited the Carolina Herrera New York showroom with last season. As a community, the panel discussed the general mood (Love isn't canceled!) and shifting nature of the industry. Camille Russler, owner of Ever After Boutique, was tapped specifically to dole out advice for brides about wedding dresses that may or may not come to fruition exactly as expected.
"For brides thinking about their wedding dress saying, 'Well, I just want to get married. I just want to have a civil ceremony or I just want to get married in my backyard because I love my fiancé and I want to have a wedding,' do it. Have the ceremony and wear a beautiful little white dress. Have your intimate wedding and have that memory. You can reschedule your big event with your dream dress if you want to," Camille said, who maintained a practical yet sympathetic perspective throughout the conference call.
Camille got me thinking about women throughout history that I have admired for being a lot more laid-back about their ceremonies, down to their fashion mentality. Some very bold and very iconic ladies, from Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot to Cindy Crawford and Amal Clooney, tied the knot with "black tie" attire completely out of the equation. Their weddings were simple; their outfit choices felt comfortable and painted a picture of who they were. More recently, we have Emily Ratajkowski, who chose a marigold Zara pantsuit and Julia Garner, who tapped Danielle Frankel for ribbed matching coordinates, both young stars wearing the looks proudly to City Hall. Whether or not they hosted another event later on - yes, I know about Amal Clooney's lace Oscar de la Renta ballgown - the most official moment of all was not about glamour.
If you're a bride whose wedding day is affected by the COVID-19 crisis and you still want to get married on your upcoming wedding date, you can make that happen, even if it doesn't involve the whole family. And even if your date is not on the books anytime soon, perhaps you'll consider a bridal ensemble that would fit in right beside the rest of the clothes in your closet after you see the historic examples I've gathered below. Your look will still be special - not because it's well-kept in a garment bag to be unwrapped in a bridal suite somewhere - but because it feels like you.