Some time back, Kendra ranked her top 10 wedding dresses in historical movies and TV shows. Even in the comments back then, I thought she’d missed a few, so I finally got around to making my own list. And I decided to use her format, giving points to each costume and counting down to number one. As always, this is highly subjective!
5. The Duchess (2008) – Georgiana’s Wedding Dress
+10 for being 18th century
+5 for candlelit ceremony
+5 for great hair
+5 for the blingy stomacher
+5 for the puffy trim
-5 for a nasty wedding night
-80 million for clompy Keira Knightley
TOTAL POINTS: -79,999,965 (OK, so maybe Kendra was right about that one, but I still think it should be up for discussion!)
4. The Age of Innocence (1993) – May’s Wedding Dress
+20 for being 1870s ‘natural form’ bustle
+10 for being Winona Ryder
-5 for high neckline
+10 for a basque bodice
+20 for tiers of pleated chiffon & lace on the skirt
+5 for miles of lace veil
-3 for boring hair
-50 for marrying a manchild who doesn’t really want to marry you
+20 for ripping out that high neckline & reusing the dress later
TOTAL POINTS: 27
3. Jane Eyre (2011) – Jane‘s Wedding Dress
-1 for being 1840s aka the Death of Fashion
+5 for being Brontë
+10 for so much delicate lace
+5 for a surprisingly not derpy bonnet
+3 for accurate hair
-20 for attempted bigamy
+50 for getting the fuck outta there
+5 for no metal grommets
TOTAL POINTS: 57
2. Downton Abbey (2015) – Rose’s Reception Gown
+100 for being a genuine vintage 1920s dress, unworn, in pristine condition
+10 for all that beading
+5 for glowy golden everything
-3 for being extremely high-waisted
+5 for great hair with a lovely flower / bead head ornament
-5 for not being able to wear this at the actual wedding, only at the reception
+10 for marrying a nice Jewish guy even though you’re not Jewish yourself
-20 for your mom trying to sabotage the wedding
TOTAL POINTS: 102
1. The Crown (2016) – Princess Elizabeth’s Wedding Dress
+100 for being an exact replica of the actual gown worn by Princess Elizabeth
+20 for all that beading & embroidery
+10 for the tiara
+3 for good hair
+5 for costing $37,000 to make this one gown, which is onscreen for 9 minutes
+5 for the king walking you down the aisle
+5 for marrying the guy you love
-3 for that guy being kind of drippy
TOTAL POINTS: 145
What frock flick wedding dresses would you rate highly?
Matt Smith “kind of drippy”??? WTF?!?
As for the real-life Philip Mountbatten, he was as un-drippy as a man can get: decorated WWII naval officer, top polo player, moderniser, famously blunt speaker, hellish good-looking and tough as old boots.
Have you watched the first 3 seasons of The Crown? Philip is an awful character, & I was being generous.
‘Drippy’? I’d have said ‘Salty’ or ‘******’, but almost certainly not ‘drippy’.
Those are all nice and stuff but … OMG! How could you miss Outlander Clare’s wedding dress. I could have skipped the entire episode for just an hour of looking at every detail.
I did consider that one, but somehow it didn’t make my cut ;)
Personally, I would have skipped this particular Jane Eyre and gone with the dress worn by Jane Seymour in “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (1982) – just stunning, as are all her costumes designed by Phyllis Dalton – OR – the wedding dress worn by Gemma Craven in “The Slipper and the Rose” (1976), designed by Julie Harris. According to my Theatrical Costuming professor, Harris had some of her students work on the costumes worn by the ensemble in the ball scene. What I wouldn’t have given to be in her costume design courses at that time! Both wedding dresses are 18th century gorgeousness.
+5 for making me crack up, especially at the “-20 for attempted bigamy/+50 for getting the fuck outta there” notes
I loves my Brontes ;)
I like unusual choices. The ‘20s dress from “Downton Abby” is so unusual for the 20s. It looks almost ‘60s… and I love the very high waist that’s not really a waist… just a line of beading and embroidery.
How about the Danilo Donati dress Juliet wears to her secret wedding in Zeff’s “Romeo and Juliet”. No “established” wedding dress look in the Italian Renaissance but it’s so perfect. A heavy nubbly oyster grey kirtle with a dark purple veil. It’s plain, modest, traditional for the time but also portends the trouble to come.
And I know it’s not period but that black bugle-beaded freaky wedding dress in “Flash Gordon” is the best! Danilo Donati again.
Great list! I can’t concentrate on Winona Ryder’s dress from The Age of Innocence because I’m swooning over Daniel Day-Lewis! I also really like the two wedding dresses at the end of Oscar (especially Marisa Tomei’s dress) and Edith’s first wedding dress in Downton Abbey.
Julie Andrews wedding gown in The Sound of Music.
Kendra talks about that in her list (linked above)!
I would include Rose’s white heavenly/wedding dress from Titanic.
I don’t like Rose’s Reception Gown from Downton Abbey at all. It absolutely does not fit into the late 1920s. More like the coronation dress of Josephine Bonaparte, which is a hundred years earlier in time. And the embroidery looks very cheap, like factory made Chinese lace fabric with sequins.
I also like the the dress Angelina Jolie wore to marry Antonio Banderas in Original Sin; Natural Form goodness, and that pink is gorgeous on her. :)