Dress shopping can be one of the most exciting, eagerly anticipated parts of wedding planning. But months (ok, years) of dreaming about the perfect gown, ripping pages from magazines and pinning the heck out of lace, tulle and beaded confections on Pinterest can make finding “the one” a bit confusing. Your must-have ballgown may swallow you whole, while that “I’d-never-wear-Mermaid” silhouette may end up being your perfect match. Fortunately, you’re not alone. Even stars get a little starstruck by dreamy designers like Monique Lhuillier, and have a hard time narrowing the search down to just one gorgeous gown (#thestruggleisreal!). Which is why we jumped at the chance to tag along for a dress shopping day with actress Italia Ricci, who will marry her longtime love, fellow actor Robbie Amell (cousin of Arrow star Stephen Amell) this fall in Downtown Los Angeles. She tried on a bevy of stunning dresses—some hits, some misses—but did she find her walk-down-the-aisle style? Scroll through to see Ricci’s first impression of (almost) every look from our marathon day. She’s keeping her final choice to herself. You don’t think she’d risk her hubby-to-be seeing her actual gown do you? Some things are sacred.
Italia & Robbie's Story
After meeting on the set of a film in 2007 (they had a kissing scene together!), Amell wooed Ricci into dating him. “I refused to date him for about a year because I was like, ‘You’re too sweet, you’re too good looking, you’re too good. Something has to be wrong with you.’ After a year he finally locked me down over a game of mini golf,” Ricci said of her fiancé, best known for his roles on CW hits The Flash and Tomorrow People.
Wedding Planning
Now, nine years later, the couple live together in Los Angeles (though we caught Ricci just before heading to Toronto to film her new Kiefer Sutherland thriller, Designated Survivor, which premieres this September on ABC). Amell proposed with a ring he designed himself and the stunning sparkler reflects Ricci’s classic style. For their fall nuptials at a formal venue in Downtown L.A., Ricci was looking for a traditional gown with some panache, befitting her sweet-but-bold personality. The must-haves: something she could dance in (her parents are both ballroom dancers) and nothing too revealing for her Catholic family.
Our Shopping Day
To make sure our bases were covered, we hit two very different bridal boutiques on chic Melrose Place and Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood: For the ubiquitous and beloved bridal experience, Monique Lhuillier, and for a dash of flair, the new Loho Bride, which houses emerging designers with a slightly bohemian bend.
Monique Lhuillier “Beaumont” high-low gown with illusion neckline, $8,990.
“I love it, but it would be a second dress for me. I think I want something not-so-cool maybe. This is very cool. I usually tend to stay toward classic things,” Ricci said of the high-low design from Lhuillier’s spring 2017 collection, which will be available for September brides. “But I like where the waist sits because I have a really high natural waistline and I just love the shape of it. I like that I’m not going to trip over it.”
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com
Monique Lhuillier “Brooke” silk tulle sheath with hand painted flowers, $8,500.
“I can’t believe how regal I feel in this one,” Ricci said of the gown with matching veil. “The silhouette is really pretty but I feel like, for wanting to cut loose and dance it’s a little more sophisticated than I was originally planning,” she said, noting that all of Lhuillier’s dresses have “an understated femininity with oodles and oodles of class.”
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com
A Closer Look
Ricci quickly changed her hair to try on a few intricate combs, headbands, and veils at each store, which helped her imagine how she would style each gown on her big day. Here, a closer look at her Monique Lhuillier “Brooke” silk tulle dress with hand painted flowers, $8,500.
Shop similar headpieces at bhldmn.com and more Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com.
Monique Lhuillier “Star” two-piece cami and skirt with caplet (not pictured). $2,650 (top), $8,600 (skirt).
“I feel like a winter queen!” Ricci exclaimed as she walked out of the dressing room. “With the cape on it’s got a very 1920s vibe, but then you can take it off when you’re dancing. This one I think I would want my hair down. I like the embellishments. I think it’s so delicate. I feel like a ballerina.” The sheer dress can be customized with different types of linings, according to the sales consultant, but Ricci felt “it might be too revealing for a wedding dress. I was raised Catholic in a very religious family.”
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses and capes at shopbop.com.
Monique Lhuillier “Coralie” gown with ombre sash and layered Spanish tulle skirt, $7,855.
“For my rehearsal dinner?” Ricci asked friends as she admired the tiered skirt. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to pull it off, but it’s really cute. It’s so soft, I feel like I would just float in it. I like the color for the rehearsal because it’s bridal, but it also doesn’t need to be if it’s just a long maxi dress with a little something blue,” Ricci said, noting she would bring the length up slightly, to ankle or tea length, to make the dress more appropriate for a pre-wedding event.
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com
Monique Lhuillier “Nicola” silk charmeuse V-neck sheath dress. $3,680.
“I really like it. I don’t know that I would wear it for my wedding because, again the mobility is very important to me, but I love it as a dress,” Ricci said of the form-fitting sheath, joking that she’d have to take into consideration her love for McDonald’s Big Macs. “It’s something that I never thought I’d be able to pull off.”
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com.
Monique Lhuillier “Winslet” backless A-line with lace organza skirt, $8,400.
“This is exactly what I had in mind for my wedding dress. It’s very Grace Kelly. Oh my god! I love it. I love the open back. I feel like a queen. Not even princess, better than that. It just feels like royalty. When she noticed the button detailing down the skirt, Ricci exclaimed, “It’s like my mom’s dress! My mom had buttons all the way down the back. The back of this dress is absolutely bananas. This is my favorite.”
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com.
Monique Lhuillier “Blossom” high-low tulle gown hand painted flowers, $7,300.
"This one is a little too cool for me. It’s cute, but a little too cool for me," Ricci said of a high-low design embellished with colorful handpainted flowers—but it was fun to dance in!
Shop similar Monique Lhuillier dresses at shopbop.com.
Unbridaled by Dan Jones “Brandy” gown at Loho Bride, $3,100.
“I feel like a wedding cake,” Ricci laughed. “I love the top of it. I like the column and I just love the lace. It feels kind of like it could be vintage.” The $3,100, scalloped-edge dress also featured built-in caging (like the boning of a corset), which Ricci’s sales consultant noted would keep the strapless top secure. “It’s so, so delicate and beautiful,” said Ricci, who appreciated the reverse neckline, but was hoping for added embellishment and questioned how a belt or headpiece would work with the gown.
Shop similar dresses at shopbop.com.
Unbridaled by Dan Jones “Angelica” gown at Loho Bride, $3,250
“This is gorgeous. Holy moly. I feel like it would be a runaway hit if it had a little bit more of a fuller skirt,” Ricci said, while sipping a glass of champagne at Loho Bride. “This is startlingly similar to my mom’s dress, but she had a massive hat a huge 15-foot train and buttons all the way down. I wore it for Halloween in high school and ruined it. My mom is going to lose her mind. She’ll be like, ‘You used to tell me I had the ugliest dress ever!’”
Shop similar dresses at shopbop.com.
Bo & Luca “Manhattan”gown at Loho Bride, $6,650.
“I would wear this on a red carpet, or for my rehearsal dinner,” Ricci said of the hand-beaded gown from Australian designer Bo & Luca. While she didn’t think it was the right fit for her wedding day she noted: “It feels really good. It’s not like the itchy kind of material. It’s comfortable. And it’s classic and current at the same time, which is important to me.”
Shop similar dresses at shopbop.com.
Houghton “Gamila” gown at Loho Bride, $3,275.
“This is another red carpet dress and not a wedding dress for me, but I would wear this on a carpet any day of the week. It’s so elegant and cool,” Ricci said of the flirty, off-shoulder creation, which she playfully twirled in to fan out the sleeves. “It’s edgy-cool. Classy, but still super current. I would wear this to the Golden Globes.”
Shop similar dresses at shopbop.com.
Houghton “Cheyne” gown at Loho Bride, $2,475.
“This is not a wedding dress for me,” Ricci said of this more conservative style, which her friends felt would be better suited for a City Hall-style wedding. Loho Bride’s sales consultant noted that the gown is available with a train in lieu of the high slit in the back as well. “For another event I would definitely wear this with a nice beautiful necklace, or gorgeous earrings or something,” Ricci said. So what did she finally go with? Wait and see after her nuptials this fall!
Shop similar dresses at shopbop.com.
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