William and Catherine- The Big Day!

Written by Guest Blogger: TrinidadWeddings-United Kingdom Correspondent, Shalini Maharaj McGregor


I've just returned from being on-location in London to bring to you more details from the much anticipated wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton! The day began with an announcement from Buckingham Palace that Prince William had been made Duke of Cambridge prior to the wedding. This meant that on being married to William, Catherine became Duchess of Cambridge.

The Bride and Bridesmaids:

The dress was a crowd pleaser! Sarah Burton, Head Designer for the Alexander McQueen label was finally revealed as the designer, confirming earlier reports from Trinidad Weddings.com that we thought this would be the case!

Catherine’s dress was very demure and elegant. English and Chantilly lace was used to cover the shoulders and the bodice fit very close on the body which looked amazing on the bride’s slender figure. The train was two meters by seventy centimetres. As is typical for McQueen designs, emphasis is placed on the back as well as the front of the dress, therefore organza-covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops and a bustle effect were used.

Interesting fact: Workers embroidering the train and tulle of the dress washed their hands every thirty minutes and changed the needles every three hours to keep it in pristine condition!

It is reported that the bride’s sister Phillipa Middleton also wore a dress designed by Sarah Burton. The young bridesmaids' dresses were handmade by bespoke children's wear designer Nicki McFarlane and featured large box pleats and sashes which were tied into bows at the back. They wore ivy and lily of the valley hair wreaths which were inspired by the headdress worn by the bride’s mother at her wedding in 1981.

All bouquets including Kate's, were simple and included lily-of-the valley, sweet William and hyacinth. Each bridesmaid had her name embroidered onto the lining of her dress as a memento.

Notable outfits

Princes William and Harry looked dashing in their uniforms. William wore a scarlet uniform and blue sash while Harry was dressed predominantly in navy with gold piping. The Queen looked lovely in a primrose yellow outfit.

Both she and the bride’s mother wore morning coats over dresses and it is believed that the coats will be removed once inside the palace for the reception. Carole Middleton paid a tribute to Princess Diana by wearing a Catherine Walker creation which was touching as Catherine Walker has been one of the late Princess Diana’s designers.

Victoria Beckham wore a navy dress from her own collection which camouflaged her pregnancy. Phillip Treacy designed many of the hats and fascinators worn including those worn by Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Cornwall. Wife of the Prime Minister Samantha Cameron rounded off the notables who wore British labels, by wearing a sea-green Burberry dress and jewelled hairband.

Trends:

Many of the women wore nude coloured shoes to balance off their dramatic hats and outfits which were in vivid colours. This also had the effect of elongating their legs – examples are the Duchess of Cornwall, Carole Middleton and the Queen.

Most female guests wore chic ensembles which were on the knee or slightly below the knee. Where hats were worn, they were firmly anchored, yet in most cases did not obstruct the view of the wearer's face.

The most notable trend was the wearing of the fascinators which in most cases were anchored from the centre of the wearer’s head and not on the side. Examples include Victoria Beckham, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Tamara Palmer Tomkinson.

The men all looked elegant in morning coats, with medals being displayed if the wearer had merited such an honour on a previous occasion.

To get a feel as to the crowds and the experience on the streets of London- check out my Royal Wedding Album on Trinidad Weddings: https://picasaweb.google.com/talk2lini/WilliamCatherineSWedding?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnVloL5nO2NUw&feat=email#