Photo: Getty Images
Don’t get us wrong, we’re swooning over Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s genuinely adorable romance — and the many engagement rumors surrounding it — but Gwen’s 2002 wedding to Gavin Rossdale was right out of our ’90s alt rock dreams! While the couple has very publicly gone their separate ways, we’re still dying over the details of their September 14, 2002 wedding — mostly THAT wedding dress. Time to break out that No Doubt and Bush mix CD and look back on Gwen and Gavin’s iconic wedding day.
Like other fabulous ’90s music couples before them (we’re looking at you Jessica and Nick), Gwen and Gavin met while her band No Doubt was opening for his band’s 1995 tour. Six years, and many a world tour, later Gwen said “Yes!” to a New Year’s Day proposal from the Bush frontman. “She did tell me to say it again, but then she said yes,” he told People after the wedding. Gavin presented Gwen with a very punk rock (of course) engagement ring — a thick black band with diamonds running down the middle.
Photo: Getty Images
The couple set a date for September 14, 2002 at St. Paul’s Covent Garden in London. Gwen pulled up to the church about an hour late in a 1970 Rolls-Royce, escorted by her dad. One of rock’s most famous couples said their “I dos” in front of 150 guests amid gasps and tears of joy. “Gwen was visibly choked with emotion. She cried, he cried — and so did the dog!” John Galliano told People. The dog, Gavin’s Hungarian sheepdog Winston, was by his side at the altar naturally.
Guests were shuttled to the nearby reception at Home House, in true London fashion — double-decker buses! — for a six course Italian dinner and dancing into the wee hours.
See more: Celebrities Who Didn’t Wear White Down the Aisle
The Dress
It doesn’t get more iconic than Gwen’s custom Christian Dior gown designed by John Galliano. Classic wedding dress elements combined with show-stopping volume and that incredible dip-dyed hand-painted hot pink bottom half — a nod to her early hair look perhaps? — made Gwen’s choice for the big day an instant hit! She was one of the first to really rock the colored wedding dress look, and it turned out to be the perfect mix of English tradition and her own individual personality. She topped off the gorgeous creation with an antique lace veil: feel free to begin swooning.
Photo: Pinterest
The Second Wedding
Not content to say “I do” just one time, the rocking couple hosted a vow-renewal ceremony for their L.A. based friends two weeks after the big London affair. Guests, including a still-married Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, were told to “dress romantic” for the Mindy Weiss-planned nuptials. And in case you were wondering, Gwen wore the same dress all over again for the second ceremony — wouldn’t you?