If you had a wedding planned for 2020, good luck with that. Social distancing has upended bridal season, causing changes to the scope, destination, and date of countless marriages. Like many brides-to-be, Micaela Erlanger found herself faced with a slew of difficult choices once the pandemic made her Miami nuptials to fiancé Mac Osborne, co-founder of Comparti Catering, which was due to take place in October, an impossibility. “My heart goes out to people who have been deeply impacted by this,” says Erlanger on the phone from Bal Harbour. “I’m fortunate in that I can adjust my plans pretty seamlessly, but it’s a crazy time. Everyone is in crisis mode, and what is supposed to be a joyful once in a lifetime moment for couples has been [altered by] sadness.”
Thankfully, there’s a silver lining to Erlanger’s unfortunate predicament. As a stylist to the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, and Meryl Streep, she regularly creates show-stopping red carpet looks advising celebrities on all aspects of their biggest moments. Stars count on Erlanger’s eye, and now brides can, too. Starting this month, Erlanger is booking one-on-one sessions with brides via FaceTime. On hand to help elevate their wedding style and share her knowledge, Erlanger hopes to bring a bit of fun back into the process. “Once this crisis happened, I wanted to see how I could connect with my community and give back,” she says. “Unlike a designer, I don’t have a product to sell. My greatest asset is that I have expertise and advice to give, so I wanted to use that in a way that could help people.”
After expanding her business last year to include luxury bridal styling the move into wedding one-on-ones felt like a logical next step. In her discussions with designers like Brandon Maxwell and Oscar de la Renta’s Fernando Garcia on her IG Live series Engage with Micaela, she was struck by the connection between planning for significant events and creating an awards season gameplan. “Dressing for these events and stepping onto a red carpet is so similar,” she says. “You have hair and makeup to worry about, you’re going to be photographed, and the pictures circulate on social media for a lifetime—it’s like the paparazzi.” The internet plays a crucial role in the process—brides can contact Erlanger via Instagram DM—and the consultations are done in exchange for a donation to the Vogue / CFDA A Common Thread initiative.
Before the coronavirus crisis, Erlanger did a wedding day test run with her first client, model and philanthropist Amanda Hearst, who married filmmaker Joachim Rønning last summer. Held at the Hearst Castle, the ceremony looked like something from a storybook. With Hearst in bespoke Oscar de La Renta at one of Los Angeles’s iconic monuments, it was bound to be picturesque. What’s more, Erlanger saw that the proceedings were environmentally friendly too. “Everything was sustainably focused, that was her ethos and mission,” she says. “I styled Amanda for her whole wedding weekend, she wore Oscar, Giambattista Valli, Galvan—we did her, her mother, the bridesmaids, it was beautiful.”