Inside Sofia Richie’s Final Wedding Dress Fitting at Chanel

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.”