Why Vogue Italia’s Francesca Ragazzi Wore Her Mother’s Wedding Dress for Her Own Big Day

Thus began the journey that transformed the 1980s creation into the wedding dress of Ragazzi’s dreams. “Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve had all the pictures of mom in that dress on my phone, and my biggest wish was to wear it on my big day,” says Ragazzi. “Of course, I wanted to give it my own personal touch by using styling makeup to cover the stains that had formed since it had been stored away. It had passed in more than 30 years since then.”

Lorenzo Riva’s vintage wedding dress as a couture meadow

The design of the Lorenzo Riva wedding dress still felt current, but it also bore some signs of aging: the silk in some places appeared to have faded to different colors. The size was also on the larger side, as Francesca’s mother was pregnant at the time. As a result, it needed a makeover. “I decided to add fabric flowers in a palette of pinks and browns,” Ragazzi explains.

The bride chose to turn to a seamstress to bring her vision to life, finding in Eleonora Costenaro exactly what she was looking for. “We started by adapting the bodice to Francesca’s measurements, then we did some tests by creating belts with silks in contrasting colors—green, burgundy, and even tone-on-tone—but then we shelved the idea,” says Costenaro. “We needed to cover the small signs of wear and tear and went ahead making new trials.”

“The idea of bridal fabric flowers was perfect,” Costenaro continues. “I had been making paper flowers with my mom for a few years, or rather watching her make them. Although working with fabric was a little different, the skills were already there. Francesca suggested experimenting with voile and feathers. For the voile ones, I used the techniques I had learned from my mom, then I put my own spin on them: I ironed each petal with a curling iron to give it movement. I followed tutorials to assemble the pistils, and a furrier friend taught me how to make them with feathers and hot glue.”

The fabric flowers served as a magical bond between the bride, the seamstress, and their mothers

Between the bride and Costenaro, there was instant chemistry. “When I have a bond with the person I’m working with, my creativity is ignited,” says the seamstress. “With her smile and enthusiasm, Francesca motivated me to give it my best. It was an incredible, therapeutic experience, and it helped me deal with a very difficult time, because I was losing my mom. When I saw the flowers, they were so beautiful that I understood why my mother spent whole days making new ones all the time. It was a challenge creating the dress: it was already an honor to work with the base of a great designer, so I was already proud of that, even if I was a little tense initially. The most important thing for me was seeing Francesca happy and satisfied—and with the dress being so beautiful, I think we were both excited.”

The gloves were a gift from designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Two days before the wedding, Francesca was in Florence for a shoot with Monica Bellucci. The star wore a couture floral dress by Dolce & Gabbana. “The designers knew I would be on set with them just before the big day, so they gave me nude long gloves, with which I completed the look,” Ragazzi remembers. “I had seen them in their last fashion show and fell in love with them.”

A wedding dress from the past worn with the shoes of the future

For Ragazzi, her work in the fashion world—and more specifically, at Vogue—influenced many of her choices, especially when it came to accessories. For her shoes, Francesca turned to an up-and-coming designer of the moment for her footwear. “I asked Nicolò Beretta for advice and he kindly proposed to make a unique pair for me, with a starting point of his ‘Infinity’ style—the name is so cute!—but with a new color, the color of my dress,” Ragazzi explains. “Nicolò is a very young and brilliant designer—he is a gentleman, a creative, and a businessman at the same time. We are big fans of his work at Vogue!”

The custom veil and beauty look was made by her mom’s friend

For her veil, Ragazzi went for a design by Giorgia Rapezzi. “We chose tulle from Sophie Hallette,” Rapezzi says. “With this dress, it was perfect—short and very simple. The veil was initially white, but I dyed it in this flash color equal to the base of the dress.” For her beauty look, Francesca went for something natural, courtesy of a close friend of her mother’s, Isabella Guizzardi. “She used to model with her, and she always did the makeup for the group when they were traveling for work,” says Ragazzi. Hairstyling, on the other hand, was done by Silvano of Vittorio Parrucchieri, who also works with the singer-songwriter Cesare Cremonini. “Before leaving the house to go to church, I decided to wear mom’s flower crown,” says Ragazzi. “I think this is the moment when I started to understand the importance of the day.”

The wedding day in Bologna

Francesca Ragazzi and Francesco Zucchini are both from Bologna—yet while they first met in high school, their romance was sparked after they met again later as adults. The wedding was initially planned for July 18, 2020, in the Riviera Romagnola; specifically at the groom’s family home in Gabicce Monte, a hilltop village overlooking nearby Rimini (Federico Fellini’s hometown) and the Riviera. “We had to move the date because of COVID,” says Ragazzi. “After living abroad for many years, we could never imagine celebrating without some of our closest friends who live far away.” Toward the end of June, when there was an air of optimism in Italy for the months ahead, the newlyweds finally decided to plan for the earliest possible date: September 12, 2020. “The only way to do this was to keep the celebration small and intimate,” she says. “We did everything in our neighborhood in Bologna.”

The arrival at the church and the reception in the courtyard of the bride and groom’s apartment

As per tradition, Ragazzi arrived at the church starting from her parents’ house, where she had spent the previous night. “I was with my father driving a white Pagoda,” she recalls. “He reminded me of Richard Gere in American Gigolo. The same car! We had a great time. He told me to enjoy every moment and follow my instincts. When we got to the church there was a group of friends and some strangers waiting for us to watch the entrance.” Both Ragazzi and Zucchini could not stop smiling.

The reception was then held in the courtyard of their home; everything was decorated with flowers in different shades of pink and red, with some touches of blue and purple, as part of an arrangement made by Fleur d’Ame. The floral centerpieces were placed on crystal bowls, which were in turn placed on glass bases lit by small lights and decorated with pomegranates. Standing between them were tall gold candles. (Gold could also be seen along the borders of the glass plates.) The catering was by Tiziano Zirondelli’s La Terrazza, and at the end of the evening, the bride changed in to a very simple vintage midi-dress with lace inserts and ruffles.

“In the end, we were so happy to get married and how things turned out, even though we missed so many dear friends,” says Ragazzi. “Mom and dad’s love story is my absolute favorite. That’s why this dress was always my only choice. My parents are still so in love today that I knew that dress had good vibes and could bring me good luck!”

Credits:

Photo: Giacomo Maestri
Dress: Lorenzo Riva
Dressmaker: Eleonora Costenaro - Sartory Lab
Shoes: Nicolò Beretta
Gloves: Dolce & Gabbana
Makeup: Isabella Guizzardi
Hairstyling: Silvano Dottori of Vittorio Parrucchieri
Florals: Fleur d'Ame
Catering and cake: La Terrazza di Tiziano Zirondelli
Wedding band pillow: Manabì - Creative Haberdashery