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Nov 18, 2023

Inside Sofia Richie’s Final Wedding

By Alexandra Macon Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge are married! The couple

By Alexandra Macon

Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge are married! The couple exchanged vows this evening at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, marking the second day of their whirlwind wedding weekend in the South of France. A few weeks before the ceremony—and before Richie debuted her new last name on TikTok—the bride visited the Chanel haute couture salons in Paris with her mother-in-law Lady Caroline Grainge and her best friend Ali Meller for her final dress fitting, and invited Vogue for an exclusive preview of her three wedding-weekend looks.

The 24-year-old model and designer, who is also the youngest child of legendary singer Lionel Richie, became engaged to Elliot Grainge, a music executive and founder of 10K Projects, in April of 2022. He asked Richie to marry him after a year of dating, with an intimate proposal that featured candles, rose petals, and Grainge on bended knee. "Forever isn't long enough," Richie captioned her Instagram post from the day.

The ties between the Richie and Grainge families run deep. Lionel has been a frequent collaborator of Grainge's father, Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, and the couple knew each other as friends growing up for years before they began dating—making the fact that Lady Caroline Grainge accompanied her daughter-in-law to this final fitting in Paris all the more special.

Ahead of walking into the salons, Richie wore a one-shoulder black Chanel sweater with silver buttons and jeans, and talked us through the three dresses that have been created for her three major wedding weekend events: the rehearsal dinner, which took place last night; the ceremony; and the after-party. "I always had this vision of the big princess dress, and going big, but as I got older, I realized that I wanted something a bit more simple," the bride explains. "Maybe simple isn't the right word because my dress definitely is not simple!"

Upon arriving at the salons, the group is greeted by members of the Chanel team, before being taken to see the three dresses on display. "It's perfect, isn't it?" Lady Caroline Grange declares. "It's absolutely perfect." Richie first tries on the high-necked, long-sleeved beaded dress she wore on Friday night to the rehearsal dinner. "I’m scared to move because I don't want to ruin one bead," she says. "This is like a fairy tale. It really is. It's like an art piece. I feel like a princess, I really do!"

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.

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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.

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