Inside the Making of the 'Twilight' Wedding With the Artist Who Designed It
Few movie weddings are quite as prolific as the Twilight wedding. The highly-anticipated nuptials of vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan took place in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1, which was released in theaters on November 18, 2011. The film franchise, based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer, culminated in a two-part theatrical finale, with the first featuring an iconic whimsical forest wedding.
The Twilight wedding scene instantly became a pop culture phenomenon. Even today, over 10 years after its release, the wedding seems to go viral every fall during peak "Twilight season." The hashtag #TwilightWedding has nearly 50 million views on TikTok; Beyond social media, real couples continue to pull inspiration from the Twilight wedding.
So, how did the Twilight wedding scene become such a pivotal moment in the pop culture lexicon? We caught up with Tammy Carmona, the artist behind the Twilight movie wedding, to get the scoop on how she brought this scene to life and why it continues to resonate with viewers today.
Meet the Designer: Tammy (Polatsek) Carmona is an artist with over two decades of experience in the industry. In addition to specializing in large-scale floral design, she's also a published author. Today, she currently focuses on interior design projects. Her studio Carmona Design serves clients in New York, New Jersey, South Florida and around the world.
Inside the Twilight Wedding Scenery
Tammy Carmona was tapped to be the Twilight wedding planner after catching the attention of Hollywood executives when she won a floral design competition with her business at the time, Aristocratic Design. Upon joining the film, she was tasked to create something that was "wispy and airy"—a stark contrast from how the event was described in the book.
Although the wedding of Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) was such a pivotal moment in the Twilight story, readers may recall that it was a small detail in Stephenie Meyer's novel. Only a handful of details were included, like the fact that it was planned by Edward's sister, Alice, and that the decor included a few bows on trees in the forest. For Carmona, this provided a welcome challenge to push the boundaries with her design concept. "I thought, 'This is an opportunity to make something completely out of the ordinary," she tells The Knot. "There's no reason this should be just another typical wedding."
As such, the Twilight wedding you know and love today was born. "It took a couple of attempts until we found the design we liked," she explains, noting that the nature-driven wedding venue provided a naturally beautiful background to work with. "Being in the forest gave us half of the design aspect."
One of the biggest challenges Carmona faced was creating decor that could withstand the harsh weather of the Canadian set. "We were working in a forest for three to four weeks. It was raining 500 days a year—we don't even have 500 days a year," she says with a laugh. While she originally envisioned luxe fabric draped over the altar and aisle, she knew it would not withstand constant rain. "We needed something that was just as thick as fabric would be, but in floral form," she continues. "That's how we came up with the idea of a canopy of flowers above the seats."
If you watch the Twilight wedding scene now, you'll see that ethereal clusters of suspended wisteria provide a magical covering over the seats, which were made from actual tree trunks. The stark contrast of the luminous white florals against the deep, woodsy greenery creates a visual experience that's otherworldly.
To create a cohesive look, Carmona also designed the wedding cake and the serveware you during the reception scene—and she was so committed to the aesthetic that she traveled overseas to design the accent pieces. "I flew to China to make my own line of dishes to match the setting," she explains. That careful attention to detail is part of the reason the Twilight wedding scene is still so memorable to viewers. And if you're wondering how much the Twilight wedding would cost today, Carmona estimates it's well above the average price of a wedding: "$400,000, easy," she estimates.
Looking back, Carmona still considers the Twilight wedding to be one of the most rewarding projects of her career. "When the movie came out and I went to see it in theaters, it took my breath away," she recalls. "I was like, 'Oh my god, I did this?!'"
Details About the Twilight Wedding Dress
With such a whimsical setting, the Twilight wedding dress needed to be just as romantic as the clusters of wisteria hanging from the forest trees. Bella Swan's wedding dress was designed by Carolina Herrera, one of the most prolific fashion designers in the bridal industry. In an interview with Vogue UK, Herrera revealed that the form-fitting long-sleeve gown was custom-made for Kristen Stewart over the course of six months. "I was of course inspired by Stephenie's description of the gown in the book, but I added the touch of Herrera and also took into consideration the personality and the style of the bride," she told the publication.
That "touch of Herrera" included a Bardot neckline, 152 buttons down the back and 17 dotting the sleeves, and delicate French chantilly lace on the cuffs and framing the sheer open back. "A wedding dress is both intimate and personal for a woman—it must reflect the personality and style of the bride," Herrera continued, noting that the design carried significant meaning to Bella's development over the course of the franchise. "Bella's dress is romantic and filled with timeless sophistication, very similar to the character. In a way, this dress served as a symbol of the character's coming of age and introduction into womanhood."
The Twilight Wedding Song
Another defining element of the Twilight wedding scene was the score. Today, the film series is synonymous with songs like "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine and "Roslyn" by Bon Iver and St. Vincent. The wedding was no different. One of the most popular Twilight wedding songs is "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri, which was written specifically for the movie. The song's official music video features clips from Edward and Bella's wedding, which is why you most likely associate this song with the movie. Today, it remains a popular first dance song for couples around the world.
Another quintessential Twilight wedding song is "Turning Page" by Sleeping at Last, which played when Bella walked down the aisle to Edward. (We guarantee the opening piano notes will transport you right back to the time you first saw this movie.)
Of course, we can't talk about theTwilight wedding songs without mentioning the final tune that plays during the ceremony. As Edward and Bella share their first kiss as husband and wife, you can faintly hear "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" in the background. It was an incredibly fitting song choice, as this was the exact song Bella and Edward danced to at the end of the first movie during the prom scene. It doesn't get more meaningful than that.