In 1998, photographer Bruce Weber created for Vogue a scene that seemed straight out of a fairy tale: two dogs dressed as bride and groom, she wearing a veil and crown, he wearing a bow tie and holding a rose between his teeth.
The editorial was called “Puppy Love”, and the fashion editor was none other than Grace Coddington. Each dog had its own character, conceived with the same care used to dress a human model. The result remained stored for decades in the Vogue Archive, that repository preserving more than 450,000 pages of the magazine dating back to 1892.
The shoot turned the wedding into a true family story: there were ring bearers, a maid of honor, a reverend, a great-aunt, a country band, a society photographer, guests, the groom’s son, and even the protagonists’ ex-partners. In one of the final photographs, the couple appears walking away into the sunset, while another image shows the banquet table set for the celebration.
It is not difficult to understand why these photographs continue to draw attention. There is something deeply tender about seeing two dogs “getting married” with complete seriousness, as if they knew exactly what they represented.
See all the photos here: From the Archives: A Look Back at Bruce Weber’s June 1998 Puppy Wedding Portraits