Bella Swan’s Twilight Wedding Dress: A Look Back at the Iconic Carolina Herrera Gown

If you’ve waited “a thousand years” for your wedding, you’ll want the dress to be worth it.

Ahead of the 2011 edition The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, fans were eagerly waiting to see the wedding of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) on screen. And while there were several elements — the venue, the music, the supernatural guest list — that Twihards were eager to see come to life from Stephenie Meyer’s novel, no detail received more pre-film attention than Bella’s wedding dress.

To create the long-awaited dress, Meyer personally chose a renowned designer – and a long-standing one at that Twilight fan — Carolina Herrera. “Because I’m a big follower Twilight sagaI was flattered to be a part of this fantastic project,” she said Vogue. “I read the books and saw the first movie and have been a fan ever since.”

Considering the huge fan base and huge excitement surrounding the fourth film, there was quite a bit of pressure to perfect the dress design. “It had to be magical,” Herrera explained on The dawn premiere. “I still have all the sketches and everything because it was so special.”

From how Herrera dreamed up the iconic dress to the stunning accessories that went with it, here’s everything you need to know about Belle Swan’s wedding dress.

Carolina Herrera Belle Swan wedding dress

Bella Swan in her wedding dress in the film ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1’.

Summit Entertainment

To bring Bella’s wedding dress to life, Herrera first had to consider the source material.

“Of course I was inspired by Stephenie’s description of the dress in the book, but I added a touch of Herrera and also took into account the personality and style of the bride,” she told Vogue of her design process.

The designer decided to create a dress made of crepe satin and French Chantilly lace, which took six months and four seamstresses to make. The dress featured 152 covered buttons along the back – a detail Bella mentions in the book’s description of the dress – along with illusion lace appliqué and a train. The long sleeves featured an additional 17 buttons and additional lace detailing, while a subtle V-neck completed the bride’s elegant look.

It was exactly what Meyer was hoping for for her protagonist’s special moment, which is why she wanted Herrera to make the dress in the first place. “My favorite designer, Carolina Herrera, made the wedding dress,” Meyer said Hey! News. “I wanted the dress to be something special, not something you would see every day. I love what Carolina did with it, she came up with a stunning concept. It’s similar to what I envisioned, but with added elements.”

Meyer wasn’t the only one overjoyed with the end result. “When Kristen put on the dress and looked in the mirror, she was very moved,” Herrera said. Vogue when Stewart first wore a dress. “At that moment she was not an actress or a character in a movie, she was a bride, and a happy one at that.”

The back of Bella Swan’s wedding dress in ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1’.

Summit Entertainment

But that wasn’t the only wedding dress Stewart wore in the film. In the nightmare before the wedding, Bella has a different dress. According to The dawn costume designer Michael Wilkinson, the contrast between these dresses was important.

“The script gave us an excellent opportunity to delve into Bella’s thoughts about the upcoming wedding,” he explained to MTV. “For the nightmare, we chose something that was a version of the dress that she would hate to wear. Something that is uncomfortable and a dress that would make Bella feel ashamed. She was stiff and had a boned vest that showed a lot of bare skin which she would be horrified because she’s a bit of a man.”

To create that vision, the team chose a dress with a revealing boning bodice that Bella would be “horrified” along with a “bulky, puffy skirt.”

However, on Bella’s actual wedding day, she needed a look that would make her feel more comfortable. “The actual dress fit Bella like a second skin and I was very pleased with how it all turned out. It reflects her simplicity and elegance,” explained Wilkinson. “I thought it really hit the right note because it has some vintage elements while also working well for the modern woman.”

The film’s producers were very careful to keep Bella’s dress design a secret, so much so that they took precautionary measures to prevent the photos from leaking. According to Stewart, she had to wear a Volturi-style cape to cover the dress.

“It was really important to keep this thing under wraps,” she said during Comic-Con 2011. “You know, you want to feel beautiful on your wedding day, and every time you’re invited, someone would come and attack you with a Volturi cape, and you you’re like, ‘Where am I?’ ”

Still, Stewart called the dress “very pretty,” and fans agreed. The vintage-yet-modern dress became so popular that Herrera began making more by hand and selling them for $35,000 each.

Belle Swan wedding shoes

Bella Swan Manolo Blahnik White Satin Wedding Shoes.

Neiman Marcus

White satin heels, a long veil and a bejeweled hair comb completed Bella’s wedding look that wasn’t out of a nightmare. The heels themselves were beautiful – although Bella could barely walk in them. Her Manolo Blahniks were more than four inches tall and adorned with crystal embellishments.

After the film’s release, fans clamored for Bella’s shoes, so much so that Manolo Blahnik released the design a year earlier than planned at a price of $1,295 per Glamour.

Bella Swan engagement ring

Bella’s engagement ring in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’.

Summit Entertainment

Through books and movies, Bella has never been one to care too much about jewelry. Of course, she had to wear one significant piece of jewelry for her wedding: Edward’s engagement ring.

The large oval-shaped ring contained 69 cubic zirconia stones on a silver band. And although the sprinkler contained no natural diamonds, it was priceless Twilight fans; In 2016 it was put up for selection and fetched a price of $16,800 per Hey! News.

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Source: HIS Education