Christina Mourad in her Elie Saab couture gown ahead of her wedding to Elie Saab Junior. Photo by Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
Christina Mourad in her Elie Saab couture gown ahead of her wedding to Elie Saab Junior. Photo by Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
At the Church of Bkerke in Lebanon today, Elie Saab Junior was married to Christina Mourad in a service celebrated by the Maronite Patriarch. They were surrounded by 1000 of their closest friends and family, including Vogue Arabia editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut, Chantal Thomass, Dita Von Teese, Toni Garrn, Sara Sampaio, Alina Baikova, Karolina Kurkuva, and Lily Donaldson. The atmosphere reflected a garden, with trees and leaves playing on reflections with mirrors and candles.
The happy couple met through Celio, Saab’s brother, during a gathering. Celio knew Christina for many years but Elie had never met her before the evening. He proposed on June 19th, 2018, at home with the engagement officially lasting one year and one month. While the renowned Lebanese couturier Elie Saab has dressed many brides, his future daughter-in-law’s gown garnered his particular attention.
Christina Mourad at a final fitting in her Elie Saab bridal dress. Photo by Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
Elie Saab inspects the bodice of Christina Mourad’s dress. Photo Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
For the religious wedding ceremony, the bride wore a dress featuring a sleeveless, high-neck bodice, with a voluminous skirt and a train of 4.5m in length. The veil along with the headpiece and the tulle are embroidered with silk thread and champagne-hued lurex thread. Dazzling with sequins, the veil and the headpiece alone boast 50,000 pieces while the tulle is embroidered with 50,000 pieces. The work of three pattern makers, six tailors, and ten petites mains went into creating the wedding dress.
It took a combined total of 80 hours for three artwork designers to first make the layout of the embroidery, which was then perfected by 12 embroiders for a total of 450 hours.
The spectacular heart-shaped bodice on Christina Mourad’s Elie Saab bridal gown. Photo by Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
The gown’s train is examined to perfection. Photo by Rabee Younes for Vogue Arabia
Afterwards, for tonight’s wedding party, the bride will change into another Elie Saab creation. It too will feature a heart-shaped corset and a skirt tail reaching 3.5 meters. The veil will be embroidered with 100,000 gold sequins. The tulle will be embroidered with lurex gold thread, beige rose silk thread, and 650,000 gold sequins. In total, there are 150,000 Swarovski strass pieces. No less than three pattern makers, six tailors, and ten petites mains, 12 embroidery persons, and three artwork designers for the layout of the embroidery worked on this second dress. It consisted of 330 hours of embroidery, 100 hours for the moulage and volume creations, 80 hours of embroidery layout design, and 180 hours of tailoring. A labor of love. The bride, groom, and their guests will enjoy live performances by Nancy Ajram, Elissa, Assi Hellani, Michel Fadel, DJ Jamie Jomes, Djette, and Caline with a spectacular display of fireworks being set off at midnight.
