Emma Roberts's Final Wedding Dress Fitting: A Custom "Tea-Stained" Gown Built Around Ghosts, Dolls, and Antique Books

Starting From Scratch With a Vintage Brief

Roberts explains that she began planning without a clear picture of what she wanted. She knew only that the dress should feel "very vintage inspired." She connects this to her personal interests: she describes herself as obsessed with antique books and "treasure hunting," and says she loves collecting old ephemera. She wanted that sensibility to show in the gown.

For her, the defining question was the color rather than the cut. Lhuillier created a custom shade that Roberts describes as an antique, tea-stained color. She says she chose it because she realized she wanted to look like a small antique ghost doll on the day.

The Stylists Who Are Also Bridesmaids

Roberts introduces her two stylists, who are also close friends and bridesmaids. They introduce themselves as Britt and Cara and say they are sisters. Roberts calls one of them "Cake." They joke that they are doing "double duty," which Roberts upgrades to "quadruple duty."

The sisters say that when Roberts told them she was engaged, they immediately started a mood board and looked forward to building "the most like inspiring creative fantasy world." They describe vintage as the backbone of their work with her since they first met. What connected them from the start, they say, was a shared love of dolls, books, furniture, clothes, and "anything like old world." They add that the result has never been simply Roberts's own style. They describe it as a three-way collaboration, like three friends sitting together, brainstorming, and making something as a group.

On why they chose Lhuillier, the stylists say that Roberts is both very into vintage and very modern, and that the designer "bridges that gap." One marvels that Lhuillier keeps reinventing the wedding dress, saying she saw a gown in the store window that morning that she had never seen before. Someone else in the room, who says they have been crying so much they haven't actually seen the dress yet, adds, "If you want it done right, you got to go to Monique."

The Designer's Account: Silk Chiffon, Nine Months, About 1,000 Hours

Monique Lhuillier introduces the gown. The team chose silk chiffon to create an "ethereal, romantic, and vintage-inspired" dress. The designer says the gown uses more than 25 yards of chiffon in the custom color. It took nine months to make and, by Lhuillier's estimate, close to 1,000 hours of work.

At the reveal, Lhuillier explains how the color came about. She started with the blush pink from her signature collection. Because Roberts wanted a vintage feeling, she then dipped it in ecru to create a new shade just for her. Lhuillier says the color is called "vintage rose," named after Roberts.

Lace, a Removable Cape, the Corset, and a Slit

Roberts credits Lhuillier with adding the lace. She recalls that they had tried the dress without lace, and then at the last fitting Lhuillier proposed adding it, with lace also worked into the back. Lhuillier explains the reasoning: Roberts kept asking for an asymmetric top that covered a sleeve, but not entirely. The lace, Lhuillier says, was a way to do that while adding something unique to her, and it proved flattering.

That lace section is also a cape that can be removed, giving Roberts two looks over the night. Lhuillier also wanted the corset Roberts had asked for to stay visible inside the dress. That way the boning details show, and the dress fits "like second skin." Finally there is a slit for "a little leg action," which Roberts says was a must.

Roberts notes that she has been married in a movie before and tried on wedding dresses for that role, which she says always felt strange. This time, she says, it is the real thing.

The Second Dress: A 2003 Design From Lhuillier's Archive

Lhuillier then presents the after-party dress. She calls it nostalgic for her because the design comes from her archive: she first designed this gown in 2003. Roberts says it looks like it could be vintage from 100 years ago or something made today. She plans to wear it at the after-party in Idaho and jokes that she'll end up dancing on the bar.

Lhuillier points to its freedom of movement and texture. She describes the change as a shift from a romantic, ethereal look to "something with a little more edge." Like the main gown, it has a corset custom-built for Roberts. Roberts says she likes carrying the corset theme through, and that she, Cake, and Britt love the idea of wearing black for the after-party because they enjoy doing something "a little unexpected."

The Reveal and the Room's Reaction

Roberts steps out in the wedding gown before her mother, sister, cousins, bridesmaids, and stylists. She names them as Grace, Charlotte, Daphne, Ali, Cake, Lilly, Britt, and Kelly. Several people cry, and the train draws immediate reactions.

The guests' comments return to the themes Roberts set out at the start. One says her first thought was that Roberts looked like a doll, which suits her because she is "obsessed with dolls." Another praises the custom color and calls the dress classic. Ali, described as the most fun person at the wedding, admits she called the dress "yummy" without knowing why, and says Roberts is "all of our dolls." Lilly, one of her best friends, says she feels emotional and expects to cry again on the wedding day. Roberts's mother jokes that her daughter has been doing fashion shows since she was two or three ("non-professional," someone adds) and calls the tea-stained color perfect. When Roberts repeats that she wanted to look like a ghost, the response is that the team delivered: "It's ghost in a dress."

A Gown That Transforms: Bustle, Floor Length, Strapless, Five Looks

Lhuillier then shows how the main gown changes over the evening. So that Roberts can dance and nobody steps on her train at the reception, the team created a bustle. Lhuillier says it took two months to figure out how it would work. Once the train is bustled, the dress becomes floor-length and Roberts can walk around freely. The group reacts to the bustled back; one person calls it "a painting back there," and Roberts tells Lhuillier, "you're an architect."

Removing a further element turns the gown strapless, which Lhuillier calls the convertible version. In total, according to the group, the dress offers five looks. Roberts says her fiancé, Cody, will cry nonstop. She adds that he loves anything she loves and wouldn't care if she wore jeans, but that he's "going to definitely die for this."

Trying On the After-Party Look

Roberts then changes into the black 2003 archive dress, jokingly calling it "the saloon boudoir." When Roberts asks how Lhuillier knew to pull it from the archive, the designer says it came from Roberts's own vision: she had sent many early-2000s inspiration images like it. Lhuillier explains that the dress is made of cut silk organza strips that create movement with "just the right amount of frame," and that the shoes will be black on the day. The group urges Roberts to twirl and make three wishes.

Roberts describes the mood she is after as a little lacy, old 1930s mountain town. One of the group ties it to the 2003–2004 era they love. Lhuillier adds that the dress is a two-piece, so Roberts can wear it again. One of the stylists asks to borrow it afterward, and the answer is yes.

Closing

The fitting ends with the group looking ahead to the wedding and the party. Roberts thanks Vogue for coming to the final fitting, says she can't believe she gets to say that, and signs off: "I will see you at the wedding."