All the Details on Lauren Bushnell’s 'Elegant and Classic' Wedding Dress: 'I Had My Mind Set on an Extravagant Train'
When it came to bringing her dream wedding dress design to life, Lauren Bushnell, who married country star Chris Lane, 34, last Friday, turned to Nashville designer Olia Zavozina.
The Bachelor alum admits she couldn’t clearly envision all the details of the dress, with a single exception.
“The one thing I did have my mind set on was having a very extravagant train,” Bushnell, 29, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
Watch the full episode of People Weddings: Lauren Bushnell and Chris Lane streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.
Bushnell says she initially was in a “kind of indecision paralysis” between a store-bought and custom-designed dress. Eventually, the couple’s wedding planner, Josiah Carr of Ninth & Everett, suggested Bushnell meet with Zavozina. And she was so happy she did.
“I know nothing about sewing or design when it comes to wedding gowns, so she really walked me through it,” Bushnell says about working with Zavozina. “She even sketched out what she felt like I was communicating what I wanted, and it was pretty spot-on as to what I had in my head.”
Once Bushnell laid eyes on the simple yet elegant white silk gown, she experienced that “wow moment.”
Bushnell completed the bridal look with a lace veil (even longer than the train!) that was handmade by Zavozina’s mother and Sarah Flint heels with the wedding date stamped into the soles. For sentimental reasons, buttons from Bushnell’s mother’s wedding dress were incorporated into the back of the sleeveless gown.
“I felt so good in it,” Bushnell says. “The dress is such a statement in itself, but it just fit me so well, and I was so comfortable. I felt like I was wearing a slip dress. I feel elegant, classic. It feels like myself. It’s perfect, and I seriously could not be happier.”
Bushnell finally revealed the gown to Lane during a first-look photo session before the ceremony.
“The suspense was killing me,” recalls Lane, who wore a classic black tux, also designed by Zavozina. “Lauren had kept her dress a secret the whole time, so I never had a chance to see anything. Just seeing her in it was even better than I thought it would be.”
This was the first time for Lane to wear a bow tie, and he embraced the formal style. “I actually really liked the bow tie,” he says. “I’m going to start using that look a lot more.”
While many brides nowadays opt to change into a second dress (or even more!) for the reception, Bushnell decided not to.
“I am so obsessed with my dress I don’t want to change out of it,” she says. Zavozina was on site to bustle the train after the wedding so Bushnell could move around more easily during the party.
RELATED: They’re Married! Chris Lane and Lauren Bushnell Wed After Whirlwind Engagement — All the Details
Bushnell and Lane wed in front of 160 family members and friends in an indoor “secret garden” ceremony in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, PEOPLE confirmed exclusively. The couple exchanged wedding bands by Happy Jewelers — simple gold for him, and pavé diamond-studded for her.
RELATED: Lauren Bushnell and Chris Lane Celebrate Engagement Party: ‘Wish We Were Getting Married Tonight’
The guest list included country singer-actor Jana Kramer and her husband, former NFL player Mike Caussin, Abby Smyers, wife of Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers, Lane’s labelmate ERNEST and four of Bushnell’s fellow alums from The Bachelor Season 20, Amanda Stanton, Jen Saviano, and twins Haley Ferguson and Emily Ferguson.
The couple first went public with their relationship one year ago, moved in together in March and got engaged in June.
“We have a lot to look forward to,” Lane says. “I’m praying for a long career in music. It’s something I’m very passionate about. To get to have somebody like Lauren as a best friend, just in life, is going to make it a million times better. There’s just so many firsts that we’ll experience — hopefully kids. Just the whole nine yards. I want all of that with her.”
For more on Lauren Bushnell and Chris Lane’s wedding day, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
