How Billie Lourd’s wedding honored mom Carrie Fisher and grandma Debbie Reynolds
Billie Lourd’s wedding to fellow actor Austen Rydell was officiated by two important figures in her life: Gavin DeBecker and Bruce Wagner, best friends of late movie star Carrie Fisher.
Their key role in Lourd and Rydell’s nuptials — which took place over the weekend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — was just one of several ways the “Booksmart” star paid tribute to her mother, Fisher, and grandmother, silver screen icon Debbie Reynolds.
For the record:
11:03 a.m. March 16, 2022Billie Lourd’s father is Bryan Lourd. This story mistakenly referred to her grandfather, Eddie Fisher, as her father.
“Star Wars” legend Fisher died at age 60 on Dec. 27, 2016, immediately followed by the death of “Singin’ in the Rain” star Reynolds on Dec. 28 at age 84.
“It was the most hysterically brilliant and touching officiating in the history of officiating,” Lourd recently told Vogue magazine.
“And in true Carrie fashion, we threw glitter in the air at the end of the ceremony. It was magical. I could not have dreamed up a more perfect wedding.”
According to Vogue, Lourd also honored Fisher by wearing something old, her engagement ring — which contains a diamond from her mother’s engagement ring; something borrowed, a different ring Fisher gave to a friend; and something blue, Fisher’s favorite fire opal ring.
Even the “American Horror Story” player’s wedding dress — a custom white, off-the-shoulder Rodarte gown — was designed by two people Lourd found through her mother: Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy.
Under clear blue skies, hundreds of fans made the pilgrimage Saturday to Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills’ Hall of Liberty to pay tribute to actress Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds.
“I discovered Kate and Laura after they interviewed my mom for an article in 2014 and immediately fell in love,” Lourd told Vogue.
To complete her look, the bride also paid homage to Fisher with her custom René Mancini shoes, which her father, agent Bryan Lourd, spotted while out shopping. “They reminded [my dad] of the shoes my mom used to wear in the ’90s,” the bride told Vogue. By then, however, the wedding was only a month away, and she was told the footwear would take four months to make.
Luckily, the manager of the store was able to make an exception for the family with a special connection to the shoe.
“When he came to pick up the shoes, it turned out my dad’s hunch about my mom was right,” Billie Lourd told Vogue. Store manager “Mohamad told him that my mom used to shop at their store in New York City in the ’90s. The perfect shoe turned out to literally be the perfect shoe. It was serendipity!”
The 1973 revival of the musical comedy “Irene” barely registers as a blip in the history of Broadway theater, but the death Wednesday of star Debbie Reynolds means the production does gain a most unfortunate distinction: Three of its cast members have died within the span of three days.
During the reception, Lourd saluted Reynolds with a sparkly, fringe-tastic mini-dress — also from Rodarte — that the newlywed vowed to turn “into an art piece ... because it’s way too legendary to just hang on a hanger in a closet.”
“It was inspired by my glam-ma Debbie Reynolds’ iconic dance outfits that she used to wear in all of her shows and is probably the most fun party outfit of all time,” Lourd told the magazine.
In 2020, Rydell proposed to Lourd after they had dated on and off since 2016. According to Vogue, their intimate wedding ceremony was attended only by relatives and close friends.
“We wrote our own vows and sobbed the entire time,” Lourd said. “Word to the wise — always wear waterproof everything!”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
