5 Most Gorgeous Celeb Wedding Dresses of 2016

Whether you believe in true love or not, there's one thing we can all agree on: these wedding dresses are ah-may-zing.

Celebs pulled out all the stops this year to make sure that they not only had the perfect day but also the perfect gown, calling in big names like Victoria Beckham, Jenny Packham, and Vera Wang to make them stunning numbers for their nuptials.Though all of the looks were gorgeous in their own right, there was two clear themes to 2016's gowns: boho chic and luxe glam. In fact, quite a few ladies even combined the two, which meant miles of jaw-dropping lace and plenty of intricate beading and florals that beg for a closer look.

Take a look at our 5 favorite wedding gowns from this year:

1. Eva Longoria

It pays to have Victoria Beckham as your BFF! For her May 21 wedding to José Bastón in Mexico, Longoria walked down the aisle in a curve-hugging, custom-made silk crepe dress created by her good friend. "I asked Victoria to do my dress because I wanted it to be special and made with love, and I knew that Victoria would make it with love," the actress told Hello! magazine. "Victoria was one of my witnesses, too. She signed the paper that says I was here, so it was a Victoria Beckham weekend."

2. Italia Ricci

Hello, princess! The Designated Survivor star took our breathe away in this strapless James Clifford ball gown worthy of Cinderella for her Oct. 15 wedding to The Flash star Robbie Amell.

Ricci actually found her dress while filming scenes for her last TV show, Chasing Life. "It's funny, because when we were shooting the scene of April trying on wedding dresses, in between takes we were at a bridal shop, so I was looking around. I was like, 'This is convenient!' And I found my wedding dress," she told ET in January. "I bought my wedding dress from the place where April was trying hers on."

3. Audrina Partridge

When Patridge exchanged vows with love Corey Bohan in a picturesque, beachside Hawaiian ceremony on Nov. 5 -- which she described as"magical" -- her Pallas Couture gown perfectly fit the pair's low-key, hippie-adjacent aesthetic. Her custom-made spaghetti strap dress, created in Australia, featured lace detailing along the bodice, which seamlessly flowed into the delicate train.

"The vibe I was going for was Boho Glam -- I wanted it to feel beachy but also fancy and romantic, and they completely nailed it!" the former reality star wrote on her blog this week. "I felt like a princess!"

4. Nicole Johnson

With a dress this breathtaking, why would you want to keep your wedding quiet? Four months after the beauty queen secretly tied the knot with Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, the pair celebrated with a beautiful ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Oct. 30. Johnson wore a gorgeous, custom Julie Vino Bridal gown that featured an intricate lace cut-out bustier with a sweetheart neckline and a curve-hugging skirt with a thigh-high slit.

5. Kaitlin Doubleday

There's enough drama on Empire, so it's only fitting that Doubleday's wedding look was carefree and elegant. The actress walked down the aisle in a custom floral lace gown by Mark Zunino Atelier with cap sleeves and an open back for her outdoor ceremony to fiancé Devin Lucien in Big Sur, California on May 6. 



She later changed into a cocktail dress, also by Zunino, for the party. "I needed classic and beautiful, and then I need to wear something risque and fun, so I did both," she told ET. "Mark Zunino made it from beginning to end. It took months and meeting with him, and it was one of the most awesome processes of this wedding.”

Pretty in Pink Laguna Beach Wedding

Annie and Ryan’s whirlwind romance proves when you know, you know. Annie, a Midwest girl met Ryan, a California boy and just one week after meeting they knew it was forever. Five months later Ryan popped the question and they began planning a dream wedding in Laguna Beach. See how the day unfolded through the lens of Valentina Glidden.

From the Bride… My mom would always tell me not to settle… “I know there is someone just for you, somewhere in this country!” Sure enough, Midwest girl meets California boy- in Colorado. Neither of us were expecting to find the person we’d spend the rest of our lives with but God had orchestrated it in His perfect timing. Exactly a week after we met, Ryan told me he was going to marry me someday. Most girls would freak out but I was so giddy! He surprised me with a beautiful proposal just five months later on the cliffs of Del Mar. As a party stylist myself, I dreamed of a fairytale wedding that was light, soft, and romantic.

Nestled on the cliffs of Laguna Beach at the Montage, our wedding was truly magical! The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all took place across the beautiful lawn overlooking the ocean. Our colors were found in blush bridesmaids dresses, light grey suits, gold accents, and lush white and pink floral arrangements. Some of my favorite accents were our delicate ivory and taupe programs tied together with hand-dyed silk ribbon, designed by Written Word Calligraphy (who also designed our invitations). I loved how the romantic silk ribbon was also incorporated into our gorgeous bouquets by Bloomwell & Co. Both moms had their own bouquet, too!

What made our day so beautiful was not just this breathtaking location and all of the beautiful details, but the deep love and emotion for each other we were able to share through our hand written vows and the Gospel message given from our friend, Pastor David Choi, who emphasized the love of Jesus. “We must remember to cling to each other, cling to God, but most importantly, God will always cling to us.

Anomalie cuts the insane markups out of custom wedding dresses

Wedding-dress shopping should be a fairy tale, but it’s usually a scam. You pay $5,000 for a dress that costs $200 to make. Bridal boutiques hide the brands on their dresses so you can’t comparison shop, and inflate lead times so you’re pressured to buy on the spot for fear the dress won’t be ready in time. And in the end, you get an overpriced cookie-cutter dress, all because the industry exploits sentimentality and tradition.

First, you submit any photos, Pinterest boards or ideas for what you want and do a phone consultation with one of Anomalie’s designers. Forty-eight hours later you get sketches of how your dress could look, with a chance to give feedback. You’re referred to a local tailor to get all your measurements, and they can also do any necessary alterations just before the wedding. Anomalie dresses typically cost between $800 and $1,500 depending on materials, paid up front.


The dress is guaranteed to arrive within three months. Along the way you receive a swatch of the material to review the color, fabric and feel, plus photo and video updates as the dress is cut and sewn. Worthy of an unboxing party with the bridesmaids, the dress arrives in a big beautiful package. Anomalie claims their dresses are just as high-quality at a fraction of the price, and you get to brag about how you helped design it. And if you don’t like the dress, Anomalie offers a 100 percent refund or they’ll rework the gown.

“Anomalie came out of my own frustrations with buying a wedding dress,” says co-founder Leslie Voorhees. “I got fed up and investigated.” Luckily, she knew just how to examine a supply chain.

Before going to Harvard Business School, she’d been possibly the youngest person running a whole factory for Nike over in Indonesia. Later she managed product operations for the Apple Watch in Shanghai. She soon discovered that “most dresses are not made by the brand but by third-party suppliers.”

It turned out there was no reason for the $3,000 to $5,000 markup on wedding dresses beyond that no one had undercut the greedy boutiques. “When you make the same product white and attach the word ‘bridal,’ it makes it cost 5X to 10X more. It’s offensive to a woman who understands how things are manufactured.” The New York Times recently reported how low information transparency in the wedding business has kept prices high.

So Voorhees sidestepped the boutiques and got her own wedding dress made directly. Within a week of showing it off, she had friends and friends of friends throwing money at her to make them a custom dress for less. Voorhees had discovered one of the last massive-markup businesses that hadn’t been redefined by startup methodology. She left Apple, and with her Stanford / Harvard / Edelman consultant husband Calley Means, founded Anomalie.

The fledgling startup has been doubling revenue each month since soft launching this summer, and is now raising a seed round from venture and strategic investors. It’s currently working with 500 potential customers, and buyers are frequently referring friends. While 500 might not sound like a lot, 800 dresses at $1,200 would equal a million in revenue. Wedding dresses in the U.S. are a $5 billion-a-year market. As for profit, Means says, “We’re making good money making them for $1,200.”

Voorhees admits that Anomalie won’t compete with the highest-end designers like Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang, which reportedly tried to charge brides $482 just to try on a dress. If price is no concern, Anomalie can’t offer the same flashy brand or boutique visit experience. And some brides may balk at not trying on their dress until later, despite the refund policy.

But the startup doesn’t mind customers going “show rooming,” where they visit a traditional boutique to gather inspiration for what they want Anomalie to make them. One customer told TechCrunch, “The Anomalie process is phenomenal! I gave Calley and Leslie a compilation of ideas and watched the gown come to life: approving fabric samples, reviewing the pattern, and seeing pictures of hand-beading.”

Thieves hit during weddings at Snohomish venue

Swanson and the guest walked through the venue’s parking lot. Two additional cars were broken into, including Swanson’s. Her front windshield was cracked and two windows were shattered. The leather seats and plastic cup holders were scratched.

“I always have my stuff in my car. It’s safer than in the wedding venue. We’ve had guests who steal people’s phones, gift cards,” she said.

Charges were made with Swanson’s credit card at Fred Meyer, Walmart, Safeway and a cigar store that night. After she cancelled her credit cards, they tried to change the address associated with her bank account. They wanted the new debit card she ordered.

Then, someone showed up at her home in Arlington. A car pulled into her driveway and parked beside her car. The driver was peering into her car windows, she said. She suspects the driver saw her through the window because the car pulled out and parked by the mailbox.

Swanson is uncertain whether the two incidents are related, but she is concerned. Her cul-de-sac is out of the way. Not many people besides her neighbors are seen driving around.

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said police see more break-ins when crooks know a car will be left for a long period of time, such as at a mall or in a residential driveway.

“Always lock your car, make sure the windows are locked and rolled up, and hide anything that is valuable, even if it’s change. It may not seem valuable to you, but it may be to someone else,” she said.

People can reduce their risk of these types of break-ins by limiting what they share publicly. For example, burglars can monitor the photos people post online to see when they’re away on vacation.