How Sofia Richie's exquisite wedding minted her as the 'it girl' of TikTok, with fans now calling her 'an uproblematic nepo baby'
TikTok;@sofiarichiegrainge
- Over the weekend, Sofia Richie wed music executive Elliot Grainge.
- She unexpectedly joined TikTok during her wedding week and shared a melange of behind-the-scenes footage.
- Viewers adored Richie's casual attitude and swooned over her exquisite, star-studded wedding.
If you're responsible for one of the 45.4 million total views Sofia Richie garnered from her TikToks, then you're well aware that the model and influencer wedded music executive Elliot Grainge in the south of France on Saturday.
You've seen the bouquet toss, the barefooted dance to Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" at the night-club themed after party, and you've probably received some variation of the comment, "I have become the biggest Sofia Richie fan in the span of one singular day" from someone in your group chat.
Richie's nuptials, nicknamed "the royal wedding" by TikTokers, took over the platform over the weekend. The hype began when Richie posted charmingly informal wedding week GRWMs as a TikTok debut. Treating it like a mini surprise reality TV show, viewers were delighted to have stumbled upon a celebrity wedding that they felt like they had a backstage pass to. ("I never expected her to let us into her wedding week," one commented, "I thought it would be super private.").
Millions of viewers tuned in to Richie's videos and began posting their own viral commentary on Richie's life, her wedding dresses, and the best-dressed guests. Almost overnight, she started to look like a new TikTok "it girl." ("You're my Alix Earle," wrote one viewer).
Richie's first post, a "get ready with me" (GRWM) video on April 20, opened with her standing in a fluffy hotel robe and damp hair. In typical GRWM fashion, she shared her plans for the night (a dinner), and solicited opinions from viewers for the final look she put together in real time.
Sure, Richie joining TikTok during her wedding week is great strategic timing — but what made her videos so captivating was Richie herself.
The model has been seen on the app before; she was recently featured in several viral videos from rising comedian Jake Shane, AKA @octopusslover8, who also attended the wedding. But, according to many top comments on her wedding videos, viewers realized they'd never heard Richie speak.
Until her TikTok entrance, Richie might have been better known for her ties to famous men: First, being the daughter of singer Lionel Richie, and then to a few high-profile men she's dated, including a three-year-long relationship with Scott Disick, which was scrutinized for their 15-year age gap, and a brief but highly public stint with Justin Bieber. Now, after posting wedding week videos mainly hinged instead on her personality, many commented they had become newly "obsessed" with her.
Their infatuation may be because Richie's videos appear genuine and, dare I say, familiar. Many of Richie's GRWMs were filmed alone in her hotel bathroom. In contrast to other highly visible celebrity events, its effect was relatively intimate — no "glam squad" triaging makeup, hair, and nails. (Though she did, of course, have a makeup artist do her wedding day look).
"I feel so lucky (selfishly) bc you haven't blown up yet and I feel like we're friends with these personal videos!! ???? and I'm so excited for you!!!!!" a viewer wrote underneath Richie's April 22 GRWM.
Despite the star-studded guest list, most of the footage captured of the wedding humanized Richie into a likable girl-next-door figure. When Richie's father walked her down the aisle, he proudly pointed at his daughter and said, "My kid," repeatedly. When the two later danced to "My Girl," low-quality footage showed friends and family watching adoringly. In practice for the big day, Richie is seen skipping down the aisle in sweatpants.
The TikTok-ification of the event almost made viewers forget that she is a wealthy nepo baby marrying another wealthy nepo baby at a notoriously exclusive Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in three custom Chanel wedding dresses. On Sophia Richie Wedding Tok, "nepo baby" could even be used positively. She seemed "over the moon" happy, and viewers couldn't help but enjoy it.
At the after party, a room of exuberant guests (many of whom are both rich and famous) screamed along to a performance of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" by the actual band Good Charlotte (singer Joel Madden is married to Richie's famous sister, Nicole Richie). Viewers have noted that they "can't believe we get to witness this."
While the content's draw may be its apparent authenticity, it still exists squarely in the distant stratosphere of aspirational — which, undercut by Richie's casualness, was a guilt-free part of the appeal. The unexpectedly sweet, feel-good moments, combined with the decadent glamour of an exclusive celebrity event, earned Richie the goodwill of millions of viewers as "the people's princess" and their new "fave unproblematic nepo baby."