From Britney Spears in 2004 to Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner three months ago, the Little Chapel in Las Vegas has seen its fair share of A-list weddings over the years. So when news broke last week that model/actor Cara Delevingne had married her girlfriend, actor Ashley Benson, in a spontaneous ceremony there, it didn’t seem too far- fetched an idea.
However, things weren’t as they seemed. While the reports detailed what sounded like a kitsch A-list Vegas wedding (they were supposedly married by an Elvis impersonator, did post ‘nuptials’ photos in a pink Cadillac and were cheered on by Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas), public records show no sign of a marriage.
Grazia can now reveal that while the details of the ceremony were indeed true it wasn’t a wedding. Rather, the couple had actually undertaken a symbolic ‘commitment ceremony’ or ‘friendship ceremony’. The £275 package offers the services of a ‘wedding’ coordinator, silk bouquet and a certificate of commitment to take home, and gives Las Vegas visitors the chance to enjoy the famous venue and its gimmicks – the Elvis impersonator sings two hits of your choice – without doing anything legally binding.
A source close to Cara confirmed to Grazia that none of the Delevingne family were aware of the supposed marriage, and that Cara would never have tied the knot legitimately without her sisters, with whom she is extremely close, being present. That’s perhaps why Cara was, another source in LA says, quick to call her family back in the UK when news of the ceremony slipped out ‘to reassure them that this was more of a wild thing they decided to do at the last minute’.
That’s not to say that the commitment ceremony was without significance. ‘You could see that they were serious about what they were doing, but having the most fun,’ Michael Kelly, owner of The Little Chapel, said last week. And since the ceremony, Cara and Ashley have been wearing matching wedding bands on their ring fingers – another sign they are both genuinely serious about their relationship and their future together. Indeed, a wedding – an actual one this time – is very much a real probability.
The first item on the agenda, though, is leaving Cara’s LA home, which she shares with her sister Poppy, in order to build their life together. ‘They want somewhere that has their stamp on it as a couple and somewhere where they can eventually start raising a family together, which is absolutely on the cards between them,’ the source says. ‘They’ve met one another’s families and everyone is thrilled for them.’ A friend of Cara’s reiterates that the relationship is serious. ‘Ashley’s been the best thing for her all round, and she’s very happy.’
This makes a marked change from previous relationships. In a frank interview printed in 2015, Cara said that women inspired her but ‘they have also been my downfall. I have only been hurt by women’. At the time, she was dating musician St Vincent but they split in 2016. She had previously been linked with Michelle Rodriguez, the Fast & Furious actress 14 years her senior.
Her year with Ashley, though, seems to have brought her peace. They met on the set of music drama Her Smell, in which they played members of a rock band. Initially the pair kept their relationship private, avoiding posting photographs of each other on social media or discussing each other in the press. But this changed in June, when Cara gave an acceptance speech at an awards gala in New York and thanked Ashley for ‘showing me what real love is and how to accept it’. Since then it’s been clear to friends that the pair are committed to one another – with or without a wedding.