Blake Lively had an unforgettable wedding to Ryan Reynolds in 2012 – and naturally, she wore an exquisite gown.
However, her custom-made Marchesa wedding dress with gold embroidery looked very different at the end of the night after falling victim to a sparkler.
Blake recalled the "heartbreaking" moment she saw her beautiful gown had been burned during the reception following their South Carolina nuptials.
"I get really frustrated when something goes wrong," she previously told Vogue.
"For example, my wedding dress. Florence Welch was singing at the reception, and they brought out these sparklers, and I'm watching her sing.
"I look down and my wedding dress has a big burn mark from one of the sparklers. Right on the front! And it was just so heartbreaking to me."
Despite her sadness, Blake changed her opinion about the disaster after a reassuring message from her husband.
She added: "And later, my dress was hanging up and Ryan said, 'Isn't that beautiful?' I said, 'What?' And he pointed to the burn.
© Getty Images"My heart just stopped, because it was such a sensitive little subject. And he said, 'You'll always remember that moment with Florence singing and the sparklers. You have that forever, right there, preserved.'"
She added: "Now that's my favorite part of the dress."
Blake and Ryan exchanged vows at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on September 9, 2012.
© Getty ImagesThe couple shared their wedding day exclusively with Martha Stewart Weddings, and photos from the intimate nuptials showcased elaborate details including a dessert table filled with sweet treats, a glimpse of Blake's stunning gown, and their Lorraine Schwartz wedding bands.
Ryan later admitted that the one regret he has about their wedding day is their venue.
Ryan called marrying at the plantation "a giant mistake" after he and Blake came under scrutiny for glamourizing a site where violence against Black slaves once took place.
© Getty Images"It's something we'll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for," Ryan said in Fast Company's September 2020 issue.
"It's impossible to reconcile. What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy."
Pinterest even responded to the controversy by banning pictures of all plantation weddings on its platform, including Ryan's and Blake's.
© Getty Images"Weddings should be a symbol of love and unity. Plantations represent none of those things," a spokesperson for Pinterest said at the time.
"We are working to limit the distribution of this content and accounts across our platform and continue to not accept advertisements for them."
In the same interview, Ryan shared that he and Blake held a secret second wedding at their home years later, although he did not divulge any specific details about their special day.
© Getty Images"Years ago, we got married again at home — but shame works in weird ways. A giant [expletive] mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action," he explained.
"It doesn't mean you won't [expletive] up again. But repatterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn't end."
