All dolled up, with big heels and borrowed jewels
It was supposed to be the wedding of the decade -- the one that would rival Princess Diana’s as a fashion fairy tale for the ages. When Trista Rehn married her “Bachelorette” fiance Ryan Sutter, every designer, colorist, manicurist and jeweler from Hollywood to Hoboken wanted a piece of the action. And yet, after enlisting the top people in the primping trade (Laura Mercier for makeup, Louis Licari for color, Mindy Weiss as a planner), Rehn still managed to look like Malibu Barbie in borrowed jewels. At least Diana’s belonged to England.
The former Miami Heat cheerleader walked down the Pepto-Bismol pink-swathed aisle in a white strapless satin princess gown that was pleated at the decolletage in such a way that it looked as if she might have just emerged from the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. The dress was designed by Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who are favorites with the red carpet crowd.
Thankfully, they had the sense to rein in her passion for pink, limiting the color to a bit of beading and threadwork on a border around the skirt and on the bodice, which “33 artisans spent a week creating,” according to press materials. People watching at home -- 17 million of them -- probably could not appreciate those fine details from their couches.
The bridesmaids wore dresses by the bridal fashion company Amsale -- pink satin bustiers and matching long skirts with trampy boudoir-like black lace peeking out from underneath the skirts. Not that the bridesmaids mattered much in this production.
Rehn teetered on 4 1/2-inch heels -- probably a bit too high in retrospect, don’t you think? Stuart Weitzman created the shoes for the occasion -- each one adorned with $40,000 worth of round-cut diamonds set in platinum. Most girls would have put the brakes on the rocks at that point, especially after selecting not one but two wedding bands for themselves.
The rings were made by Glendale-based jeweler Tacori, and Rehn also wore a Tacori necklace with pave diamond medallions the size of oyster crackers. (The necklaces go back; the rings she keeps.)
Obviously not one to pass up the chance for a free frock, or anything else, Rehn had Badgley and Mischka make her a second dress for the reception: a slinky, slutty, hourglass-shaped gown in Chantilly lace covered in clear crystals and paillette sequins. There was pink ribbon threaded through the silk embroidered satin bodice here too. Together, the gowns cost $100,000.
All poor Ryan Sutter got to wear was a $595 Kenneth Cole tux.
