So the big Royal Wedding day has finally arrived and we have the low-down hot off the presses on the details everyone has long been waiting for - Kate Middleton's wedding dress. Unveiled just a few minutes ago, Kate opted for a classically romantic look which is both in keeping with her personal elegant style and the standards and protocols attached to a royal wedding dress. A beautiful lace gown fit for a princess...
The Princess bride looked absolutely gorgeous, so relaxed and happy throughout the journey to the church and the ceremony. Her poise and grace are perfect for her new job as Duchess of Cambridge...
The royal wedding dress with its long lace sleeves and sweet heart bodice with lace applique and full ivory skirt of satin gazar and 2.7 m train was designed by Sarah Burton, of Alexander McQueen. An exciting choice for the usually un-fashiony bride, Sarah created a dream princess wedding dress for Kate drawing on British heritage for inspiration.
According to official sources at Clarence House "the dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration."
The lace was handcrafted at the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. Individual flowers were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock - all symbols of the kingdoms of Great Britain & Ireland.
The romantic dress is very reminiscent of another beautiful royal wedding - when Grace Kelly married Prince Albert of Monaco and became theiconic Princess Grace.
A Royal Bride's Accessories
Her choice of bridal hairstyle is sure to set the trend for brides over the next months and years. Eschewing an upstyle she remained true to her natural hairstyle and opted to wear her hair down around her shoulders, adorned of course, in royal tradition with a tiara and veil.
No ordinary tiara though but the Queen's Cartier "Halo" tiara was lent to Kate for the wedding. It is a very sentimental family heirloom - made in1936 for King George VI as a gift for his wife later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to the present Queen by her mother for her 18th birthday.
In true Princess tradition Kate wore a veil, which should see traditional veils coming back into vogue for 2012 brides after a couple of years of fun vintage-style birdcage veils. Her pretty mid-lenght veil was made of ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers.
Kate's only other accessories were her Robinson Pelham diamond earrings- stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre, given to the bride as a gift from her parents Michael & Carole Middleton.
The royal wedding bouquet was a combination of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth, made by Shane Connolly a reknowned London florist.
Bridesmaids & Flowergirls
Kate's sister Pippa wore an off-white column gown with capped sleeves and a cowl neckline also by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
Four flowergirls wore simple and classic off-white silk dresses with sashes but with a full pleated skirt and were too cute being held by the hand by Pippa walking up the aisle.
And what about the guests?
Carole Middleton set the classically elegant tone with a sky blue and ivory coat and dress from Catherine Walker, a well-publicised
The Queen was right on this season's colour-blocking trend in her warm primrose yellow ensemble by Angela Kelly, her personal designer.
The Duchess of Cornwall opted for a cream and peach outfit by Anna Valentine topped off by a Philip Treacy hat while her shoes were by Jimmy Choo.
A personal favourite was Samantha Cameron's jade green dress by Burberry, and by not wearing a hat she flouted royal tradition. Fair play to her. She looked fab! Victoria Beckham was looking very high fashion, and her 6 month pregnancy didn't stop her from wearing 6 in Yves Saint Laurent platform heels.
And the last word has to go to the happy couple. Here's to William & Kate - the new Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. Long Life & Happiness!
