Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ plantation wedding scandal resurfaces amid Justin Baldoni defamation lawsuit
Amid their ugly court battle with It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ relationship is being put under the microscope.
The Hollywood couple — who have a combined net worth of $380million — are facing renewed backlash over their controversial 2012 plantation wedding.
Lively and Reynolds famously tied the knot on September 9, 2012 during an intimate ceremony attended by several celebrity pals at Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens in South Carolina.
The stunning backdrop to the couple’s nuptials has a dark history of slavery, with ‘preserved’ slave cabins and fields of cotton serving as a constant reminder of the horrors that once took place there.
Lively and Reynolds were widely criticized for seemingly glamorizing the former plantation where Black slaves suffered and died.
Years later, the Deadpool actor branded the wedding ‘a giant f***ing mistake’ in a 2020 interview.
The ‘shame’ felt by the couple was so strong that Reynolds and Lively decided to wed for a second time at their New York home.
They’ve also gone on to donate millions to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and have been vocal about their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Despite their efforts to right their wrongs, the scandal surrounding Lively and Reynold’s wedding has resurfaced in recent weeks as their legal war with Baldoni continues to play out in the court of public opinion.
The venue, located in the historic district of Charleston, famously appeared in Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling’s 2004 movie, The Notebook — which is considered one of the greatest romance films of all time.
Lively’s self-confessed ‘idol’ Martha Stewart — who recently got into an award back-and-forth with Reynolds — helped to create the big day, alongside local wedding planner Tara Guérard.
Months before their September nupitials, Lively gushed to Marie Claire about planning her ‘dream wedding’ and made it clear that she was most focused on what designer pieced she’d be wearing during her walk down the aisle.
‘Every girl has her dream. But what I planned before I got into the business has changed,’ she admitted.
‘It used to be that my mom or I would make my dress. Now I’m like, ‘Hmm, I wonder what shoes Christian [Louboutin] is going to make me. And which couture house should I go to?”
The couple’s ceremony was held in a ‘rustic barn’ and the reception was held in a white tent at the plantation, while Lively’s good friend, British singer Florence Welch serenaded the newlyweds with three songs.
Bette Midler was one of a number of high profile guests who attended, as well as Lively’s The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel.
The private couple have only released a handful of images of their wedding via their planner Martha Stewart’s magazine.
Lively wore a couture Marchesa ballgown and Reynolds was dressed in a Burberry suit with one of the pictures giving a glimpse of their attire as the couple stood hand in hand.
The ballgown featured hand-draped silk tulle bodice which was tripped with crystal and rose gold embroidery.
Her bridesmaids also wore blush silk chiffon confections with crystal detailing by the same label.
