In 2019, a mutual friend set Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey up on a blind date. When she walked into a San Diego hotel lobby to meet him for the first time, he was holding a bouquet of flowers, and as they talked, Olivia was quickly charmed by Christian’s kindness and humor. She had recently written in her journal a list of the qualities she was looking for in a partner and realized he checked every box. “After that night we were inseparable,” she says.
Four years later, Christian, a San Francisco 49ers running back, and Olivia, a model and former Miss Universe, got engaged during a road trip to Utah. “Christian should get an Oscar for his acting skills because I had absolutely no idea he was proposing,” Olivia says, laughing. “He was so good at convincing me that he wasn’t ready.” Secretly, he’d been planning a proposal for months: After driving an RV through the red-rock desert, the two arrived at the Amangiri hotel. That night, an employee brought Olivia into the middle of the desert for what she thought was a casual sunset cocktail with Christian. “When I walked up, there were the most beautiful flowers surrounding the area and a gorgeous sunset,” she says. “I’ll never forget Christian turning around and saying, ‘This is long overdue.’ He got down on one knee, and I started to cry.”
Olivia always knew she wanted a traditional wedding in her home state of Rhode Island. After deciding to marry on June 29 at Ocean House, a historic resort in Watch Hill, she asked Lisa Vorce to be her wedding planner. Vorce completely understood her vision and allowed her to be present, according to Olivia. “I tried to remind myself that this could very well be one of the last times Christian and I have every single one of our loved ones in one place,” she says of the planning process. “I tried to keep gratitude at the forefront.”
She then asked Dolce & Gabbana to design her wedding dresses. “I had a very clear idea of what I wanted for my ceremony dress,” Olivia explains. “I have worked with Dolce & Gabbana for years, so it was incredibly special to collaborate with Stefano [Gabbana], Domenico [Dolce], and the exceptional design and atelier team.”