Another Bachelor bride! Celebrity wedding dress designer Hayley Paige is creating a custom gown for Lauren Burnham as her special day with Arie Luyendyk Jr. nears.
“Her dress is kind of about happenstance and just really playing into a lot of the colors and the representations of what she’s been through emotionally,” Paige exclusively told Stylish on Wednesday, July 25. “I want to play with a lot of textures and colors and do a little bit of flashy details that do add to the happenstance of her personality. It definitely is a lot of fun to have a lot to work with and know that she’s not just expecting one element or something like that.”
The bridal expert, who has collaborated with Bachelor Nation fan favorites Kaitlyn Bristowe and Andi Dorfman, is excited to weave Burnham’s personality into the dress.
“I think what’s great about Lauren is she kind of has this beauty about her that people are like, ‘Oh, she’s this bombshell, she has such a great figure and gorgeous hair.’ There’s a tendency for people to think that she’s this idealized person of perfection and that kind of leads, for me, into this temptation of balance,” Paige explained. “With design, I feel like it’s not so much about balance as it is about happenstance. It’s not about perfection, and I think with Lauren, meeting her and getting to know this warmhearted side of her, I want to really highlight the joy and just her personal style in this particular moment of her life.”
Burnham, 26, won Luyendyk Jr.’s heart during The Bachelor season 22. Although he proposed to winner Becca Kufrin, he later made headlines for ending their engagement in a televised breakup and rekindling his romance with Burnham. He popped the question in March on the After the Final Rose special.
Paige revealed that Burnham’s controversial experience on the ABC show was heavy on her heart during their recent bridal brainstorming session. “She actually teared up a bit, so I think that it’s a really special connection and moment where you’re so vulnerable and stripped down and there’s something very visceral about the wedding process,” Paige noted. “It all comes to life when you have the dress on and it becomes very real.”
Burnham and the race car driver, 36, are tying the knot in January 2019 in Hawaii. They are “so in love,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month. “Their relationship is stronger than it’s ever been and they’ve proved that Arie made the right choice.”
While the nuptials may be six months away, Paige has already started designing Burnham’s dream dress. “What I really like is to not let her feel like I have full control. I think part of this process and doing something so custom is about listening to her as well,” Paige said of collaborating with the reality TV star. “I’m not really the kind of designer that’s, like, ‘I’ve got this. I’m gonna make it happen the way that I see fit.’ I think it is so important to be a really good listener. To be a good designer is to really be a good listener as well. Then, of course, trusting is part of the craft, putting the dress together and layering and things like that.”
As for Paige? The bridal guru recently launched her label’s size-inclusive line, a flower girl line and an app, Holy Matrimoji, to help women prepare to walk down the aisle.
