A Blogger's Royally Sponsored Wedding
Over this long Labor Day weekend, it seemed like the only thing showing up on everyone’s Instagram feed was fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni's over-the-top wedding.
Chiara Ferragni, founder of the popular blog The Blond Salad, wed Italian rapper/socialite Federico Leonardo, aka “Fedez” Lucia, who proposed to the blogger during one of his concerts last year. The ceremony took place outdoors at a 19th-century palazzo in Noto called the Dimora delle balze.
The social media-made celebrities took every opportunity to use their wedding to make money. The wedding was absolutely outrageous. Not one part was intimate. Everything was broadcasted from start to finish. If you didn’t know who they were before, you definitely do now.
The weekend kicked off with the couple flying out their family and friends in a private plane catered by Alitalia airlines. Everyone who attended was encouraged to use their hashtag #TheFerragnez.
Upon arrival, guests were greeted by life-size mascots of the bride and groom, which of course wore their Instagram handles. The couple had a live TV crew on hand, as well as their team working nonstop, to put out live content as the events unfolded.
Chiara wore a custom Prada cocktail dress that glittered every time the light touched it. But that wasn’t the only couturier she had made for her spectacular weekend. Not one, not two, but three custom Dior dresses were made for her special day, which broke the internet.
The bride wore, as Vogue called it, a "classic, high-necked Grace Kelly-inspired long-sleeved dress with a modern twist—it actually had a crocheted lace romper as the base layer with a wraparound tulle semi sheer skirt on the top." Chiara told Vogue that she "originally wanted more of an evening dress but after meeting with Dior designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri, changed her mind to something more 'modern yet classical.'"
For her reception look, Chiara wore one of Chiuri's debut Dior dresses but had some of Fedez's song lyrics from "Favorisca I Sentimenti," the song he wrote to propose to Chiara. Other things that represented their relationship, such as inside jokes and symbols they shared, were embroidered into her dress. According to the Launch metrics, this dress received greater engagement than her actual wedding dress, receiving over 2 million likes when she shared it to her social media page.
Post dinner and dancing, Chiara changed one last time into her third and final look. This time her dress was short and flirty, ballet inspired for their custom-made amusement park.
According to Rosanna Ryan from the Launch Metrix, "Their wedding, a 3-day event dubbed #TheFerragnez, generated a total audience-driven Media Impact Value of $36 million across online and social, and sparked over 67 million interactions (a.k.a engagement)." Humbly, Chiara later shared this on her Instagram stories.
Chiara's wedding garnered more buzz from #TheFerragnez for Dior than Givenchy did during the royal wedding! According to Fashionista, "At their festival-themed after-party, the couple gave out commemorative merch mimicking that of the royal wedding, which turned out to be quite fitting." Their wedding caused "Dior to obtain 15% of global MIV of the wedding, meanwhile Meghan Markle generated 7% of global MIV for Givenchy during the royal wedding."
In a conversation via Instagram, LIM student Emma Trivunovic shared what so many others have felt.
"She's all over my feed!!! This girls life is all about just making money off every event and moment in her life." Emma went on. "It's cute and all and I'm happy for them but it just puts a weird taste in my mouth, how far can they go out of their way to share their personal lives like everything's a show. When they came out with the mascots of them in the costumes, I was like OMG this is too much."
The hashtag should have been #TheFerragnezRoyalWedding.