Plus-Size Model Sparks Renewed Backlash Over Her Wedding Dress After She Lands Vogue Magazine

No influencer wedding is complete without a panel of online judges giving them unsolicited comments. The case of Riley Hemson’s wedding was no different.

The nuptials of the Australian plus-size influencer were officially covered as a Vogue Australia wedding, a dream come true for most brides.

But for Riley, it came with unexpected backlash over her dress.

Netizens turned Riley Hemson’s “Vogue wedding” into a roast session for her dress

Image credits: vogueaustralia/Instagram

Riley, who built a fan following for her unapologetic approach to fashion and body image, recently tied the knot with her longtime partner and fitness coach, Vita Tomoana.

“It never felt like just a wedding,” Riley told Vogue Australia about her special day, held on April 18. “It felt like an extension of our life together.”

“It was exactly what it needed to be. Nothing more, nothing less,” her longtime partner and now-husband added.

Image credits: vogueaustralia/Instagram

For the ceremony, Riley wore a Lillian Khallouf gown with a dramatic corset and princess-like skirt. Her intention was to celebrate Australian female designers with her wedding outfits.

“It felt like the most elevated version of what I had always imagined,” she said about her wedding dress. “Strong, but still feminine.”

When Riley said “I do,” she was wearing a pair of earrings that belonged to her great-grandmother, whose wedding anniversary fell a day before her ceremony. It was the most meaningful piece she wore on her special day, she said.

“She passed away a few years ago,” said the influencer. “Wearing them felt like carrying her with me.”

The body positive influencer spoke about the one item of her look that meant the most to her

Image credits: vogueaustralia/Instagram

Image credits: HeatMoon

The newlywed bride seemed ecstatic to start a brand-new chapter in her life, but netizens tsk-tsked over her wedding gown and claimed, “It’s awful.”

“She looks beautiful but the top of the dress isn’t it,” one said.

Another wrote, “It’s so bad that it almost seems intentional because how did nobody pick up on it?”

“How on earth is she a Vogue bride? This is not what I expect from our fashion bible,” one critic commented online 

Image credits: riley.hemson/TikTok

Image credits: KierSuzanne

“Why would you want your b**bs to look like this?” one questioned.

Another asked, “Why would you intentionally want a mini third b**b on the side? It’s just a terrible cut for her shape.”

“I use to grab old curtains pretending it was a wedding dress. Guess I’m not the only one,” quipped another.

“Sorry, this wedding shouldn’t be in Vogue,” said another critic.

Fans praised her wedding dress and called her “The most beautiful bride in the world”

Image credits: rileyj/Instagram

Others were mesmerized by the gown, saying, “Ok this dress wins.”

“That dress was made for you!! Breathtaking!!!” one said.

Another wrote, “This dress is quite literally perfect i don’t think ill move on from this.”

Riley, who said she had dreamed of her special day for about 30 years, met Vita in June 2017, while they were studying in Wellington, New Zealand.

For his proposal in 2022, Vita managed to get a Tiffany & Co. ring and hid it from her throughout their travels.

He didn’t have any grand plan or overly romantic gesture orchestrated to pop the question. He just waited patiently until the moment felt right. And that moment was in the Tuscan countryside, where they were sitting in a small vineyard, sipping on red wine.

Image credits: riley.hemson/TikTok

“It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t grand,” Riley recalled. “It was calm, intimate, and completely us.”

Against a hilly backdrop, Vita asked Riley to spend the rest of her life with him, and she said yes.

The influencer recalled how, in that very moment, a cat that looked like her childhood pet appeared from nowhere, almost like the universe saying it was meant to be.

“In that moment,” Vita told the outlet, “there was nothing else to wait for.”

The couple spoke about their proposal that wasn’t “planned” or “grand,” but still perfect

Image credits: rileyj/Instagram

Riley and Vita both said their vow exchange was the most memorable moment from their special day.

They hadn’t shown their vows to each other beforehand. But somehow, “they ended up mirroring each other in ways we didn’t expect,” Riley said.

“It felt completely still,” Vita added. “Like everything aligned for a moment.”

Netizens had plenty to say about the influencer’s wedding choices

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