Adrienne Bailon Houghton Rewears Unaltered Wedding Dress 3 Years Later: 'It Fit the Exact Same'
Adrienne Bailon Houghton is not letting her wedding dress go to waste!
The Real co-host, 36, just slipped into the custom mermaid gown designed by Ryan Patros and Walter Mendez from Ryan and Walter Bridal, which she wore to marry Israel Houghton in 2016 in celebration of the 11th launch from her jewelry brand XIXI.
Timed to Bailon Houghton’s third wedding anniversary with the singer-songwriter on Nov. 11, the Happily Ever Wedding collection includes a replica her square-cut engagement ring and rose gold wedding band.
“I was shocked when I got my engagement ring. It was just so beautiful,” the talk show host tells PEOPLE exclusively. “After three years of marriage, I still get asked all the time if people can see my ring and I love the idea of being able to share it with my customers.”
The Happily Ever Wedding set features recreations of other significant pieces in Bailon Houghton’s life as well, such as a praying hands necklace gifted to her by her grandmother, a Jesus necklace from her aunt, a diamond choker her husband gave her for her first wedding anniversary.
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“My wedding anniversary and the anniversary of XIXI are both on 11/11 and in celebration of this huge milestone for my brand I knew I wanted to do something special,” Bailon Houghton says. “My wedding and my marriage signify a new chapter in my story so there was a natural progression in deciding to recreate my wedding band and engagement ring.”
The actress made plans to re-wear her strapless sequined gown in July — thinking ahead to the one-year anniversary of XIXI — which meant she had a few months to prepare. Still, Bailon Houghton admits she was “so nervous” it wouldn’t fit.
“My weight has fluctuated over the past three years,” she explains. “The thought of putting the dress back on was daunting but also motivating. I’d been trying to get in shape to help my body through family planning but I always need a goal, this gave me a deadline.”
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Thanks to three months of hard work, Bailon’s gown fit like a glove so she didn’t have to alter it! And it didn’t need any restorations either: “I had it professionally preserved right after the wedding and it was stored in a box in my glam room,” Bailon Houghton tells PEOPLE. “It was the exact same as it was on my wedding day.”
Her husband wasn’t on set for the XIXI photo shoot, but Bailon Houghton says she FaceTimed him as she was putting on the lace-embellished gown. “He joked ‘Someone should put you on a plate and sop you up with a biscuit’,” she says. “And continued ‘You look incredible’.”
“My mom was on the set of the shoot and she was emotional seeing me in the dress,” Bailon Houghton reveals. “I think it brought us all back to [my wedding day] in Paris. It was magical.”
