When the first Lily Collins wedding photos hit Instagram back in September 2021, the collective internet basically gasped. It wasn’t just the fact that the Emily in Paris star had finally tied the knot with director Charlie McDowell. It was the vibe.
Most celebrity weddings feel like high-production corporate events. They’re held in sterile Italian villas or overpriced Los Angeles ballrooms where everything is white, polished, and—honestly—a little boring. Lily went the other way. She went into the woods. Specifically, the Colorado woods.
What Really Happened at Dunton Hot Springs
The couple chose Dunton Hot Springs, a restored 1800s ghost town nestled in an alpine valley. If you’ve never seen pictures of this place, it’s rugged. We’re talking log cabins, mineral springs, and jagged mountain peaks. It’s not where you expect a high-fashion icon to wear a custom Ralph Lauren gown, but that’s exactly why the photos worked.
They didn't just rent a tent. They leaned into the "Western Americana meets British Victorian" aesthetic.
Lily’s choice of venue was actually a bit of a gamble. She admitted in interviews that they hadn't even visited the location until right before the wedding. That’s bold. Most brides have a 50-page binder and three site visits before they commit to a florist, let alone a remote mining town in the Rockies. But the gamble paid off. The photography duo Cedar & Pines (Nate and Megan Kantor) captured something that looked less like a celebrity wedding and more like a moody, high-budget indie film.
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The Ralph Lauren Gown: It Wasn't Just Lace
You can't talk about Lily Collins wedding photos without obsessing over that dress. Ralph Lauren doesn't do many wedding dresses. In fact, Lily was one of only a handful of brides—including Priyanka Chopra—to get a custom bridal look from the American legend.
The dress was a masterpiece of French Calais-Caudry lace. It featured:
- A high mock neck (very Audrey Hepburn).
- Long, delicate sleeves.
- Intricate Swarovski beaded flowers.
- Silk organza petals that took over 200 hours of handwork to complete.
But the real "main character" of the outfit? The hooded lace cape.
Most people wear a veil. Lily wore a cathedral-length hooded cloak. It gave off major Snow White vibes—a nice nod to her 2012 film Mirror Mirror—but it also felt grounded in the forest setting. It turned her into a sort of "high-fashion wood nymph."
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The Tiny Details You Might Have Missed
While everyone was staring at the lace, a few things slipped under the radar.
- The Guest List: It was tiny. We’re talking fewer than 40 people. In an era of 300-person influencer weddings, this was practically an elopement. Her Emily in Paris co-star and real-life bestie Ashley Park was there, and she even sang during the weekend.
- The Boots: You can’t walk on Colorado dirt in 5-inch stilettos. While the main photos show her looking ethereal, she actually wore "mountain-chic" footwear for parts of the weekend.
- The Cake: It wasn't a 10-tier monstrosity. It was a rustic, white-iced cake by Kelly Gray, decorated with sugar flowers in muted autumnal tones—oranges, reds, and pinks.
- The Jewelry: She kept it simple with Irene Neuwirth pieces, letting the lace do the heavy lifting.
Why These Photos Are Still the "Gold Standard"
Honestly, the reason these images are still being pinned to every mood board in 2026 is because they feel authentic. There’s a photo of them kissing in front of a waterfall (the Cascades at Dunton) that looks so otherworldly it almost looks fake. It’s not.
The wedding wasn't just a photoshoot. It was a weekend filled with fishing, hiking, and bluegrass music (provided by the band Birds of Play). It was "intentional," a word that gets thrown around a lot, but here it actually applied.
A Note on the "Stolen" Rings
It’s worth mentioning that not everything stayed a fairytale. In 2023, Lily’s engagement and wedding rings were actually stolen while she was at a hotel spa in West Hollywood. It was a huge bummer for fans who had come to recognize the unique rose-cut diamond ring Charlie had designed with Irene Neuwirth. But even that hasn't dimmed the legacy of the wedding itself.
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Since then, the couple has moved into a new chapter, welcoming their daughter, Tove Jane, via surrogate in early 2025.
How to Recreate the Vibe (Without the Ralph Lauren Budget)
If you're looking at Lily Collins wedding photos for your own inspiration, you don't need a custom cape to get the look.
- Go for "Texture" over "Bling": Look for all-over lace rather than heavy sequins.
- The High Neck is Back: It’s timeless. It frames the face and works perfectly with a sleek bun.
- Location is the Decor: If you pick a place as beautiful as the Rockies, you don't need to spend $20k on imported peonies. Wildflowers and vintage rugs are enough.
- The Hooded Alternative: If a cape is too much, look for a veil with heavy lace trim to mimic that "cloaked" feeling.
The beauty of Lily’s wedding was that it honored her heritage—mixing that very "proper" British lace with the raw, untamed landscape of the American West. It was a collision of two worlds that shouldn't have worked, but absolutely did.
To dig deeper into the specific vendors who made this happen, you can look up the work of Heirlooms Design, the planning team that managed to turn a 19th-century ghost town into a luxury retreat. Checking out the portfolio of Cedar & Pines is also a must if you want to see how to use natural light to make a wedding feel like a cinematic event rather than just a party.