Exclusive Interview
Every Detail of Mel’s ‘Virgin River’ Wedding Dress Explained by the Costume Designer
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Virgin River Season 6.]
Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) have finally said “I do.” Virgin River Season 6 built up to the couple’s long-awaited nuptials, and the day was full of romance, love, and a little drama. Mel walked down the aisle in a gorgeous wedding gown fit for Virgin River royalty. As with any wedding dress, there’s a story behind her stunning bridal look.
Swooon spoke with costume designer Candace Cruikshank about the evolution of Mel’s wedding gown. Discussions about Mel’s wedding dress began back in Season 5. The original version of the gown was designed by Cruikshank, which she revealed was “an all lace gown but a softer version, and it was going to be a higher neck, and then a huge, plunging no back, and long sleeves. I wanted the dress to be soft and flowy because there’s a horse in Episode 9.”
Ricardo Hubbs / Netflix
However, the costume designer had to “redirect” during the season, and her original design went “out the window.” The wedding dress that Mel wears in Season 6 was designed by Monique Lhuillier. “The script that started in Season 6 was it was going to be a dress that the sewing circle had made Mel,” Cruikshank explained. “We ended up re-shooting the very beginning of Season 6 on the very last day of Season 6. We went from a more modest dress that we were building in shop to a more designer dress that came in from New York, and then they altered the storyline to accommodate that.”
The Monique Lhuillier gown was slightly changed for the show. “We made it have a more romantic sleeve,” the costume designer revealed. Underneath the floral lace design is a nude blush hue. “My dress was actually going to be champagne pink, which is her signature color, I believe,” Cruikshank revealed. “It’s funny how my original design and the final one was quite similar in theory.”
Ricardo Hubbs / Netflix
Mel also wears a fur jacket during the reception to keep warm. Turns out, that part of Mel’s wedding ensemble is from Breckenridge’s wardrobe! “It’s actually Alex’s own that she wore at her own wedding. Her husband dived through the attic, and he shipped it up to us, and it kept her really cozy,” the costume designer told Swooon.
The rest of Mel’s wedding look included metallic rose gold flats by Chloé and heartfelt nods to Mel’s past and present. She wore the earrings Jack gave her for Christmas in Season 5. She added her dad’s cufflinks to her bouquet, which were tied by a navy ribbon – her something blue! Mel’s veil was chosen to coincide with Mel and Jack’s horseback ride.
As for Jack, he started out the wedding day dressed in a simple tuxedo. When Mel walked down the aisle, he was in his dress blues. “When Martin put on that suit, the dress blues, it was actually a really powerful moment,” Cruikshank said before noting that Henderson wanted to be “authentic” in his dress blues as he paid “homage to the Marines, so we had his medals.”
Virgin River, Season 6, Streaming Now, Netflix
