Whether ostrich or maribou, feathers of all varieties are a particular favorite of Vogue brides—and the results are just as chic as you’d imagine. With the right styling (see Julie Arnhold’s superb use of a pink Prada bolero, or Harley Viera-Newton's vintage feathered coat), feathers can add a festive touch to your wedding day look—especially if you’re searching for the perfect after-party ensemble. Most brides opt for shimmer and shine in the form of sequins and diamantés for the after-party, so we’d argue that feathers offer a more unexpected take.
That said, they need not be limited to your wedding’s dancefloor. For her walk down the aisle in Seville, bride Alexandra Dorda wore a Monique Lhullier ostrich-feather skirt—and the drama of the look perfectly matched the historic venue at which she said her “I dos.”
See the best feather bridal looks from the Vogue archive ahead.
1/14For her pandemic-era civil wedding in Portugal, Natalie Salmon wore a mid-length white dress with feather detailing by 16Arlington. See the full wedding here.
2/14“I only ordered it about a week before the wedding as I was so scared about the legal ceremony being canceled due to COVID,” Natalie revealed. “The dress was perfect because it was timeless and the feathers added a bit of glamour without being too over the top.”
Photo: Amanda Jasnowski Pascual3/14For her 2017 West Village wedding, Harley Viera-Newton wore three Valentino dresses. For the final, after-party look, she topped her Valentino mini dress with a vintage feathered white coat. See the full wedding here.
Photo: Amanda Jasnowski Pascual4/14“For the party, I knew I wanted an outfit that I will really be comfortable in,” says Harley. “I picked a white lace Valentino minidress with slightly belled sleeves and beaded white butterflies across the chest. I added a bit of drama with a vintage white faux-feather coat I found at Happy Isles in Los Angeles that just happened to be the exact same length as the dress.”
Photo: Corbin Gurkin5/14For her wedding in Seville, bride Alexandra Dorda wore a Monique Lhullier ostrich-feather ball skirt. See the full wedding here.
Photo: Corbin Gurkin6/14Dorda paired the skirt with a strapless corset, as well as a rhinestone-and-pearl veil.
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Photo: Moesia Davis7/14For her wedding in Santa Barbara, Alessandra Knight wore a pant and feathered cape set from Sarah Abbasi, designer of the bridal brand Sahroo. See the full wedding here.
Photo: Moesia Davis8/14Knight chose something she knew she’d be able to wear again, as a memory of her big day.
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Photo: Lucy Cuneo9/14During her wedding reception in Antigua, bride Janie McGraw slipped out of her Vera Wang gown and into a feathered mini by Cult Gaia. See the full wedding here.
Photo: Lucy Cuneo10/14“When picking out my wedding gown, I knew I wanted a Carolyn Bessette look. I went with a timeless Vera Wang dress and wanted a fun, feathered party dress for dancing after dinner,” says McGraw.
Photo: Nancy Ebert11/14For her civil ceremony in Tuscany, Luisa Krogmann wore a feathered dress by Henriette von Grünberg, which was designed to a complete outfit around the idea of the feathers. See the full wedding here.
Photo: Nancy Ebert12/14Krogmann, who is the founder of the shoe brand, created a custom pair of Aeyde shoes with feathers to match the look.
Photo: Donna Newman13/14For her wedding in Roxbury Farm, in Upstate New York, bride Julie Arnhold wore a custom satin Carolina Herrera dress (designed by her brother-in-law Wes Gordon.) She topped the look with a pink feathered bolero by Prada.
Photo: Donna Newman14/14“I worked with the team at Manolo Blahnik to design these custom shoes made from the satin of my wedding dress. They lined the insides in blue,” says Arnhold.
