Cricket’s Young and the Restless Wedding Dress Has a Selena Gomez Twist

File this under TV weddings I did not expect to be this fun: The Young and the Restless is walking Cricket and Danny back down the aisle nearly three decades after their original big day, and the road to the dress turned into a whole behind-the-scenes detour featuring Selena Gomez, a Carrie Bradshaw nod, and an L.A. field trip.

The 90s, fan voting, and why the new gown needed a rethink

Lauralee Bell, who has been playing Christine 'Cricket' Blair since 1983, reminded Variety that fans actually chose her dress the first time around. Viewers voted, the winning gown went on air, end of story.

Cut to now: as the new wedding got rolling, the initial gown picked for filming looked great but was a headache for long shoot days — lots of standing, lots of retakes, not exactly practical. Current costume designer Mandi Line pitched a smart fix: split the looks. Keep a ceremony dress, add a separate reception dress that Cricket could actually move in.

Enter Selena Gomez and a lightbulb moment

While spitballing ideas, Bell and Line landed on Selena Gomez’s wedding playbook — she wore three custom Ralph Lauren gowns in one day. That sparked it: multiple looks equals less stress and more style. Line also remembered a fourth dress they had considered earlier. It was too relaxed for the vows but perfect once the party starts. She told Bell to sleep on it, and by morning Bell was all in.

"As a woman who’s never gotten married, I needed a Carrie Bradshaw moment."

The downtown dash and a Carrie flourish

With that vibe in mind, Line asked if they could channel a little Carrie Bradshaw swagger. So she and Bell headed to downtown L.A., bouncing between bridal shops and eventually teaming up with designers at Q Bridal. The cool part: the Q Bridal crew are longtime Y&R viewers, and they were so excited to help that they basically rolled out the red carpet for the show.

Meanwhile, Danny kept it simple

Michael Damian did not overthink it. He clocked a Tom Ford tux, said yep, and called it a day. He also joked that he had six layers of Spanx on under the suit, which is either commitment to the bit or the most relatable thing you will hear about soap weddings this year.

• Then vs. now: Fans picked Cricket’s original 90s wedding dress; this time, practicality won out and they added a reception look.
• The inspo: Selena Gomez’s three-gown strategy set the tone for multiple outfits.
• The tweak: A previously 'too casual' dress got promoted to reception-ready status after a sleep-on-it moment.
• The flourish: A 'Carrie Bradshaw' spark led Bell and costume designer Mandi Line to Q Bridal in downtown L.A., where designers who watch the show pitched in.
• The groom: Michael Damian went straight for Tom Ford and cracked a Spanx joke. Icon behavior.

Bottom line: for a soap wedding nearly 30 years in the making, the dress saga turned out to be a smart, stylish remix — nostalgic at the altar, comfortable on the dance floor, and just theatrical enough to feel worthy of Genoa City lore.