Exclusive: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the 'Bridgerton' Wedding
The Bridgerton wedding was just one styling achievement from the show's costume department, tasked with assembling the wardrobe for the entire cast with just five months' time. The 230-plus employees of the costume department, under the direction of lead costumer designer Ellen Mirojnick, certainly rose to the occasion, creating 7,500 pieces in total for the period drama.
Based on Julia Quinn's book series and set in 19th-century England, Bridgerton has steadily maintained its top spot on Netflix ever since the Shonda Rhimes-produced original series debuted right before Christmas. "I'm so glad everybody loves the show so much," Mirojnick tells The Knot in an exclusive interview. "It just blows me away… I'm so happy for everyone." The costume designer and stylist, 71, whose illustrious career in Hollywood includes designing for films like Fatal Attraction, Wall Street and The Greatest Showman, reveals secrets about the Bridgerton wedding between (spoiler alert) bride Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and groom Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page).
One Must-Have Piece of Fabric Inspired the Entire Wedding Dress
Daphne's wedding dress design was designed singularly around one piece of fabric sourced in Madrid. "I fell in love with it," says Mirojnick. "It was the most beautiful piece of fabric, I hadn't found anything like that. It was so delicate, so perfect. As we started to move forward in creating Daphne's costumes, I knew specifically, that had to be her wedding dress."
It was fate. This particular silk, which featured an open weave and embroidery, was the only piece of fabric of its kind remaining in that Madrid location. "It ended up being the exact yardage to make the dress. Nothing extra," adds Mirojnick. "How it was constructed was the most important element. You saw the swirl of the pattern and we didn't have any seams on the bodice."
To create structure, especially since one layer of fabric wasn't enough for a wedding dress suitable for a duchess, the team layered solid silk fabric underneath. "It actually gave us the shape we needed," she adds, "and we were able to have the fabric fall perfectly on top."
The Duke of Hastings Was Dressed As "a Reluctant Groom"
To defend Daphne's honor amid a brewing scandal, Simon Basset—who's now sworn on his late father's deathbed that the Hastings name would flame out—reluctantly walks down the aisle. Despite his feelings for Daphne, Simon still wants to keep his word in being the last Duke of Hastings to ever exist.
The costume department pulled together a groom's look that reflected Simon's duty against his own personal wishes for vengeance. "[Simon's outfit] was part of his closet, but we asked ourselves: 'What would the Duke of Hastings do to get married on that day?'" Mirojnick notes. "Remember, he is a reluctant groom. We're not talking about a groom wanting to be overly adorned, decorated, or has too much. So his clothes were specifically put together in that way that would be the simplest, not over-the-top. Not anything outside of the man we knew before. He's still the same man."
The team selected pieces from Regé-Jean Page's existing wardrobe for Simon (the actor plays a wealthy duke, after all). "We placed it together in a way that would be respectful for the wedding," Mirojnick adds.
The Color White Is Symbolic Throughout the Series
Look closely and you'll see white roses sprinkled strategically in gardens, the regency era's lavish balls and even, the church where the wedding is held. The very first flower Simon picks for Daphne, in fact, is a singular white rose. The flower is symbolically representative of purity, an expectation for young noblewomen during "the season" of that time.
The colors for the set design eventually transform throughout the show, especially after the couple marries. For example: Daphne is resplendent in a white dress for her debutante opening for when she's presented to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel). She also wears a bridal-appropriate ballgown for the ball she attends with Prince Friedrich (Freddie Stroma).
"When she descends the stairs in white to dance with the prince, that was just beautiful," says Mirojnick. "The simplicity and fluidity is not over-embellished or adorned, and you see exactly who the woman is. You see the beauty of that girl. She is stunning. It's that ease is twinkling around her."
There Was a Veil Swap
Considering Daphne's background as nobility, diamonds and tiaras were must-have components as Bridgerton wedding day accessories. "Her tiara and diamonds were Swarovski—from their archives. It was perfect," says Mirojnick. "Everything we did for Daphne was organic… I wanted to try a veil that was used in a Chanel runway show a couple of years ago. We took some photos and it wasn't good: the front of the veil covered the eyes and came to the tip of the nose. It was a beautiful silk tulle… It might work in real life, but it didn't work in a film." So, the team swapped the Chanel piece for a traditional veil instead.
The Wedding Was Supposed to Be Intimate From the Beginning
"It was always to be a small wedding. It was always to be basically what you saw," says Mirojnick. The team knew the wedding would only be comprised of members of the immediate family, the Archbishop (with the blessing of Queen Charlotte after many workarounds), and the couple.
"What we did was designed [attire for] the whole scene so the director could do what she needed to do at that moment," Mirojnick explains. "We designed [the outfits] accordingly… There might have been a little bit more extravagance if it was a bigger wedding or a huge celebration like the size of the ball. But this wedding, under the circumstances that were dictated, was [a reflection of] the choices that we made and you saw."
Watch the Bridgerton wedding and more from 19th-century England on Netflix here.