This Stylist Bride Wore 6 Avant-Garde Looks On Her Wedding Day – And Dressed Her Guests

Stylist Briana Andalore began buying dresses for her wedding to real estate developer Payam Panahi well before they ever got engaged. “I had been sort of collecting things throughout the years,” Briana says. “We never knew when it was going to happen exactly, but I think we just knew we were each other’s person.” That’s why, four years ago, she was up in the middle of the night to bid on an Alexander McQueen dress that she would later wear as her third wedding-day look. “I know that’s a little crazy, but I do like to collect things, and Payam does as well,” she adds.

In total, Briana would wear six different vintage and bespoke ensembles throughout her 5 September 2026 wedding day at Payam’s family’s estate in New Jersey. “We’ve been together for seven years and share so much love for each other,” she shares. “I think like that the passion that we have for each other got poured into like every part of the night – and we just kind of threw that passion into the clothing.” Payam, who used to design clothes and wore two looks himself throughout the day, says of their sprawling wedding wardrobes: “I think it just feels like us.”

While Briana had some pieces in her closet ready years in advance, her ceremony dress came together in a precariously short timeline for a bridal gown. “Basically, there was a day that I panicked because I have been getting everyone dressed the whole year and then I was like, ‘How do I not have my dress?’ Our first outreach was on 2 July,” she shares. Briana created ideation boards that she sent out to five different designers who returned sketches. The stylist’s approach to choosing the perfect style from those? “If I have a dress that I have notes on, then that’s not the right dress for me,” she says.

The winner was a gown by Viktor & Rolf that leaned into ruffles, volume, bows and Victorian-inspired romance. “This is a couture dress that is made for me,” says the bride. “We were obviously inspired by some of the greats, but even with that inspiration, it didn’t take away from Viktor & Rolf’s creation.” Her one note was focused on fabric. While the brand suggested creating the gown in taffeta, Briana insisted on a change. “I just felt like the dress had to be silk,” she says. “That’s what dresses are made out of.”

The base of the gown was a minidress with a large halo of ruffles attached that framed Briana’s head. Two additional tiers of skirt with layers of petticoats underneath for volume were worn for the ceremony. A long silk tulle veil adorned with mini bows was attached to the halo to create a dramatic train as she walked down the aisle.

Payam, meanwhile, had long been a fan of Bode, so he created a bespoke look with the brand that would fit with the aesthetic of Briana’s gown. “I wanted to do something similar – white, lace detailing and florals,” he says. A custom bow tie from James and AC, who would create another one of Briana’s dresses, completed the look.

The to-be-weds wouldn’t be the only ones with outfit changes that night. With a high-fashion dress code, many of her guests decided to swap their looks multiple times throughout the reception, too. “I feel like we all leaped into a new experience as a group,” shares Briana. Her client and best friend Julia Fox even had four different looks – including a few back-ups she picked up the morning of the wedding at an archive. “She arrived late and the trunk of her car – which is big – was filled to the brim with clothes,” adds Briana’s assistant Nikki Fina. Her first look, a custom design by Ilya Migmoon, served as the bride’s “something blue.”

Briana’s other best friend, model and photographer Richie Shazam, began the evening in a pink Erik Charlotte gown. “She was afraid to wear something so grand,” says Briana. “People were at first sending us things, trying to not outshine the vibe. I was like, ‘Well, nothing can outshine this dress, so please go bigger.’ I wanted everybody to live like it was all of our nights.”

Another of the bride’s clients, SZA – who arrived at the wedding just as she was about to walk down the aisle – wore a custom Niharika Vivek ensemble the stylist originally had made for her American Music Awards outfit. The Galliano-inspired piece didn’t arrive in time from India for the awards show, so she insisted SZA wear it to her nuptials. Briana adds, “It was so funny because she also said, ‘I can’t believe you’re gonna let me wear this loud-ass dress to your wedding.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, I want everybody’s personalities to shine.’”

While Briana admits she didn’t want to change too quickly, the weight and volume of the skirt meant she would need to transition out of her grand petticoats as cocktail hour began. “It was really funny. It was literally a step and repeat,” she says. Instead of heading back indoors to remove her tiers of petticoats, she got a helping hand from friends around her to reveal the minidress beneath.

Cocktail hour featured a performance by the G Strings, a dance group the bride styled to perform throughout the night. Briana curated seven Marie Antoinette-influenced looks by Selkie for the group to wear as they danced to “Wind It Up” by Gwen Stefani. “They were my girls for the night,” she says. Later in the evening, looks got spicier for a second performance in lingerie designed by Fleur de Mal. Having worked frequently with the two brands in the past, the bride loved being able to collaborate with them again on these special projects.

Some looks the stylist curated for the day were worn just to be photographed. “I mean, I literally do quick changes for a living,” laughs Briana. One such gown was a 2014 Franck Sorbier dress she found at the Paris Flea Market while shopping with Fox in January. Originally, the owners refused to let Briana put on the collectable piece. She did anyway and purchased the garment. “I was just like, ‘This is my dress,’” says the bride. Placing her hair in a wig made the photo moment an easy transition in a packed schedule.

Afterwards, Briana changed into the McQueen look she bought at auction years prior. The bride worked with Sideara to create a customised headpiece to coordinate with the dress. The look carried her into the dinner portion of the evening. As guests were seated, speeches from her assistants, Shazam and Fox all gave them opportunities to show off new looks styled by the bride.

The bride’s next dress was a mini puff originally imagined as a grander ceremony gown for the bride by costume designers James and AC, who frequently design looks for Chappell Roan. While the Viktor & Rolf sketch ended up being the choice for the ceremony dress, Briana wanted to find a way to work with them. “We came to realise their office was on our block and the dress was made in the same building as my first designer internship,” says the stylist. “There was just an energy of having to work with them. Bringing the Garment District into the story was really important to me.” The design featured a corseted bodice, plenty of floral appliqués and detailing and small touches of pink throughout.

While the bride considered wearing contacts for the day, the glasses wearer decided to go with her signature eyewear choice to accessorise. “At the end of the day, this is who I am. This is my identity,” she says. Briana admits that she bought seven pairs before deciding on a pair of Miu Miu frames for the first half of the day and a pearl-like pair of Prada glasses. When James and AC let her know they customise glasses, she quickly replied, “Yes, I need to have that.”

Even though he had been on the hunt for quite a while, Payam’s second look by Elena Dawson was chosen at the last minute. “I was finding these pieces and just buying them piece by piece and trying to make them all fit with one another,” he explains. “A week before we were scrambling and running around. I walked into a store and found this set, put it on and it just fit perfectly, looked great, and was comfortable.” It was the ideal ensemble to wear as the couple, and their guests – some in new looks of their own – hit the dancefloor on the warm summer night.

A final photo-only outfit came from a strong desire for a bridal umbrella. “I had seen the Ashi Studios runway, and I was like, I will just die if I don’t have an umbrella,” Briana laughs. Her friend Rila Rusa was able to help it come to life with extra bejewelled adornments, found by chance at a sample sale in New York City’s Meatpacking District. “I was trying things on, and I noticed that they had this curtain,” says Briana. “I went in, obviously.” There, she found a black and white Maison Margiela bodysuit that would perfectly complete her ensemble.

As the party continued late into the night, Briana decided to change into a Selkie minidress. “This was a little bit more comfortable as I was throwing it back on the dancefloor at one point,” she says. The bride and groom describe the rest of the evening as truly special – they remained unplugged, let loose with their guests and basked in their love. When asked if they are going to miss finding new wedding looks, the couple notes they could continue picking up pieces for years. Says Briana, “Don’t people renew their vows? I feel like it would be so cute if we’re wearing crazy wedding looks at age 80.”