NEED TO KNOW
- Audrey Hepburn married Mel Ferrer on Sept. 25, 1954
- During her wedding, she wore a tea-length gown that was designed by Pierre Balmain
- Decades after her nuptials, Hepburn’s wedding dress was put on display for the “Intimate Audrey” exhibit, which was launched by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer
Audrey Hepburn wore a lot of iconic outfits over the years, but her first wedding dress remains one of her most memorable looks today.
The Roman Holiday actress met her first husband, Mel Ferrer, during her stint on Broadway when they costarred in Ondine. On Sept. 25, 1954, they said “I do” in an intimate ceremony in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. While the groom wore a simple black tux for the occasion, Hepburn donned a tea-length dress — one that still inspires brides today.
In a series of handwritten letters that were put up for auction in June 2016, Hepburn revealed that she went to great lengths to keep her nuptials to Ferrer a secret from the press. She wrote to her acting coach and friend, Sir Felix Aylmer, that the couple planned to transport close friends and family to their secret wedding.
“How dearly we would love you to be with us on our wedding day,” she said in the letter. “We will have the car take you up to our mountain peak, Friday, for a gathering in our chalet of our nearest and dearest! … Saturday will be the wedding … We want to keep it a dark secret in order to have it without the ‘press.’ ”
While her nuptials remained under wraps at the time, her wedding dress has become one of the most well-known celebrity bridal looks. Here’s everything to know about Audrey Hepburn’s wedding dress.
Hepburn’s wedding dress was designed by Pierre Balmain
Pierre Balmain, who launched his fashion house in 1945, designed the tea-length frock that Hepburn wore for her first trip down the aisle. The now-iconic dress featured a flared skirt, puff sleeves, a high collar and a satin sash fashioned into an oversized bow in the back.
Speaking with Vanity Fair in February 2023, Hepburn’s son Sean Hepburn Ferrer told the outlet that his mother didn’t feel the need to stick to tradition.
“She was her own woman,” he said. “If you think about what wedding dresses still are today — with all the froufrou and the long trains and all of that — she chose something modern for her first [wedding].”
Her bridal gown may have been off the rack
Despite turning to a couture designer for her wedding look, it’s possible that Hepburn’s dress was not a custom design. Sean told Vanity Fair that “knowing how quickly” his parents’ wedding was put together, the actress’ dress “was probably something off the rack.”
He added, “She was kind of quick to make decisions.”
She accessorized with a flower crown and gloves
Hepburn’s bridal accessories were a mix of traditional and modern. While she paired her puff-sleeve dress with elegant elbow-length gloves, a popular accessory at the time, she decided to forego the tradition of wearing a veil and instead donned a flower crown.
The actress also chose not to have a bouquet, carrying a missal down the aisle instead. This was a common accessory for religious brides at the time, as Grace Kelly also carried one for her 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier III.
Hepburn’s wedding dress was put on display for the ‘Intimate Audrey’ exhibit
In May 2019, Sean launched an exhibit called “Intimate Audrey” in Brussels to celebrate his mother’s posthumous 90th birthday. The exhibit has since traveled to other locations, including Italy and the Philippines, and features her iconic wedding dress.
The display is meant to show who Hepburn was as a person and not just a cultural icon. Speaking with Tatler Asia in July 2023, Sean said that upon seeing the exhibit, fans would realize she was just a “normal person.”
“When you see her wedding dress, you will see it’s a simple little white dress,” he said. “You can become permanently viral, which she is today everywhere in the world. On Instagram, on any kind of platform. She’s everywhere. And yet, you can be a normal person.”
Her look inspired other brides to wear short wedding dresses
Short wedding dresses, while still unconventional, were becoming more common in the 1950s. Hepburn’s Balmain number was a modern choice that paved the way for other brides of the time and even today to shy away from traditional floor-length gowns. Celebrity brides — including Julie Andrews, Sharon Tate and Kourtney Kardashian — have all worn short wedding dresses on their big days.
Zoë Kravitz even donned an Alexander Wang dress that closely resembled Hepburn’s wedding gown from Funny Face for her 2019 wedding to ex-husband Karl Glusman, opting for a tea-length dress with a drop waist.
Hepburn’s iconic tea-length dress wasn’t her only short wedding look either. She also donned a blush mini dress, designed by Givenchy, for her 1969 nuptials to Andrea Dotti, which also aided in the trend of short and colorful wedding dresses.
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