Whether the Royal is down the line of succession, or in the case of Peter Phillips out of it, or higher up the Royal ladder such as Prince Charles everyone has a interest in what dress the Royal bride is going to wear.
From the time Royal weddings were photographed women all over the world would pour over the photographs and commented on the dress. But it's only been since the 198Os's when Royal weddings got really big the spotlight has anxiously been waiting to hover on the creation, the dress which is meant to be perfect not only for the bride, but also for the venue and the occasion.
The first big wedding, when publicity became almost feverish was the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday 29th July 1981. For months Diana had been trailed around London by photographers eager to catch a glimpse of the shy girlfriend of the Prince of Wales. But once the engagement was announced it go no easier and by the time the wedding day arrived people were eagerly taking bets on what the dress was going to be like.
Lady Diana commissioned husband and wife team, David and Elizabeth Emanuel to create her wedding dress. The two young designers, famous for designing for people such as Jerry Hall. Diana had fallen in love with a blouse that she had been photographed in for Vogue in 1980 and wasted no time in booking the Emanuel's for her big day. It was no easy task. St Paul's was a grand venue, and the wedding of the future King of England was going to be a grand event.
The dress was designed around a sample shape that was used in a dress in the Emanuel's 1980 bridal collection but it was modified hugely for Diana. The dress had puffball sleeves and was edged in the same material as the dress, then a further 'cuff' of lace was added making the sleeves 3/4 in length.. The neck line was a 'v' neck and was surrounded by antique lace that was dyed a cream colour to match the rest of the dress. The bodice was boned and had a lace panel that was embroidered with a basket of flowers motif. The skirt was full and edged with lace. A huge underskirt was worn to give the skirt shape and fullness. The train, as the dress, was made from English silk. The colour was cream. The Emanuel's designed the original train to be around seventeen foot, but Diana, as a eager youth wanted it to be longer so eventually it ended up being twenty five foot long. It was edged in the same lace as edged the neckline and sleeves. Down the sides of the train ran two very thin and almost invisible panels of lace. The veil was spotted with sequins and was also twenty five foot in length and ended with the train, the Spencer Family tiara held it in place.
Lady Diana's dress is famous for being creased badly when she arrived at St Paul's. However, these creases soon vanished and were not at all visible when she reached the altar.
The Princesses dress had it's fans and detractors, almost in equal measure. And now in 2008 actually has very few fans as it's considered rather too large and too over the top. I, for one, am a fan and it does say a lot for the dress as the shape and style influenced wedding dresses well into the mid 1990's. Now that really is something! Recently the dress was voted 9th in a poll of the top 20 most influential wedding dresses of recent times.
The next big Royal wedding was that of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The venue was the more traditional - and for a Royal Wedding - slightly more intimate Westminster Abbey. Andrew and Sarah also married on a Wednesday, but this was the 23rd July 1986.
During her engagement Sarah worked out and lost several stones to fit into her wedding gown. Her fluctuating weight was a topic of cruel discussion during the engagement but on the day of her wedding she was a slim UK size 10. Sarah's dress designer was Lindka Cireach who Sarah had met the previous year when the designer was making the wedding gown for Sarah's then flat mate Carolyn Cotterall.
Appropriately enough the dress was made from Italian Duchess satin (Sarah was to become a Duchess after her marriage). Ivory was the chosen colour which suited Sarah's pale skin and flame red hair. The choice of Italian satin was not controversial as the rule that Royal woman only wore English fabric had been eased off by 1986. Lindka said the fabric was chosen specially to hold all the beading that was required.
The sleeves were slightly puffed at the shoulders and where 3/4 in length coming down the arm to a point. On the shoulders sat a bow which led down to a rounded neckline which was simple. The bodice, like Diana's was boned and heavily embroidered with two 'S's - the brides initials. The skirt was A-line and fell to the floor. The underskirt was full and like the veil was edged in a motif of bows - Sarah's own 'trademark' In itself the skirt had a short train. At the back of the bodice sat a huge fan shaped bow and from under that a 17 1/2 foot train fell. On the train was a tableaux of embroidery and sequins. A huge 'A' and 'S' dominated the train. At the side of the train were bee's, thistles (from Sarah's coat of arms) and other flowers. The beads and sequins gave a crunchy almost 3-D look and certainly were of interest to those in the Abbey who could see it! The train was rounded at the end. Her veil, the same length of the train was made from silk and dotted with sequins. It was edged in a bow motif.
When Sarah arrived at the Abbey Sarah wore a coronet of cream and yellow flowers in her hair. After the service, when emerging from the vestry she wore a tiara that had been brought for Sarah by her family. Sarah's dress was already being compared to Diana's even before the wedding day. However, it won universal praise though in recent surveys it seems to have been long forgotten. It was, however, popular with both spectators and the media.
The next of the Queen's children to marry was Prince Edward. His marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999 was a simpler affair. The ceremony was still televised though this time it was held in the chapel of St George in Windsor.
Sophie's dress was designed by Samantha Shaw, a friend of Sophie's who married only two weeks before the Royal couple and who interrupted her honeymoon to be at Sophie's wedding. The dress was made from silk and was, like Diana's a cream colour.
Sophie was a older bride then Diana and Sarah and her dress was very simple and came in two parts. There was a dress, which sadly we didn't get to see and a 'over coat' which the public did see. The coat was very simple and fell to the ground. The sleeves were long and edged with pearls, the neck was a 'v' style which was also edged in pearls. The dress and coat had a small train and Sophie wore a long silk veil that was as long as the train and which was held in place by a tiara from the Royal collection.
Although simple and pretty Sophie had lost weight in the run up to the wedding and coat was too big at the shoulders and slipped down. The dress also was very thin and when the wind caught it clung to Sophie's legs and in some pictures it did look as though she was wearing trousers. However, with this aside, the dress was popular though it failed to influence brides at the time unlike Diana's did.
During the 1990's we had several smaller wedding's that were easily as pretty. In June 1992 Lady Helen Windsor, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent married Tim Taylor at St George's in Windsor.
Lady Helen commissioned Diana's favourite designer, Catherine Walker to make her dress. It was a very simple gown but beautiful none the less. It was made from very heavy satin. The colour was oyster. The dress had small cap sleeves which were decorated with beads and sequins. The neckline was a 'V' neck again decorated with beads and sequins. The skirt was full and train was substantial. The veil was made from a very soft silk. Lady Helen wore her hair up in a chignon and held in place with a tiara from the Royal collection.
In 1993 in Westminster Cathedral Viscount Linley, son of Princess Margaret married Serena Stanhope. Sadly I do not know the designer but the dress was made from silk tulle and a heavy satin. The dress was largely inspired by Princess Margaret's. The top part of the dress was plain without decoration. It was made from heavy white silk and had padded shoulders and long sleeves with a row of buttons on the sleeve. The collar stood up at the back and came down to a point. The waist was tightly hemmed in and the silk continued down half way to the skit. Then the material - for want of a better word - split, and we could see the skirt which was made from tulle. The skirt was very full. The train was quite short. The veil was made from soft tulle and held in place by a tiara also borrowed from the Royal Collection. Serena wore her hair piled up high on top of her head.
Diana's chief bridesmaid, and David's sister, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones married Daniel Chatto in London in 1994. Her dress was very plain. It was made from chiffon. The sleeves were slightly sheer. The neckline was square which led down to a heavily corseted bodice. The skirt was straight, made from chiffon and was slightly flared. The colour appears to be ivory. There was no decoration at all on it.No pearls, lace or bows. Very modern for the 1990's bride. Sarah wore a veil of fine silk mesh which was scattered with sequins. It fell to the floor but there was no train so therefore the veil ended at the hem of the dress. Sarah wore her hair up and the veil was held in place by a tiara loaned to her by her mother, Princess Margaret.
In 1988, Princess Alexandra's son, James Ogilvy married Julia Rawlinson in a small church in Essex, England. This dress is worth mentioning because it was most unusual. For a 1980's wedding it was plain. It had NO decoration. Not a single piece of lace, sequin, or decorated button went near it! It was made from white, raw silk. The sleeves were slightly padded and were wrist length. The neckline was 'V' neck the skirt was full. The veil was made from silk and was held in place by a floral coronet. That was it! Like I said, simple and elegant. Particularly since the late 1980's were the years for lace, froth, and all things frou-frou!
I end this post with the most unusual Royal Wedding dress. In 1990, Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy's only daughter, Marina married a artist, Paul Mowatt. She was already pregnant. Scandalous in Royal terms. The wedding can kindly be described as 'hastily arranged' cruelly it could be described as 'shot gun'.
Not to be conventional, Marina wore a Lycra calf-length black dress topped with a bright vivid orange bolero, which was edged with gold tassels. In her hair she were a floppy, felt wide brimmed hat!
So no matter how regal the wedding is Royal brides make surprising and quite often wonderful choices for their wedding attire. We can never be sure what they will wear. All I can say is roll on the next Royal wedding, whether it be Kate and William, Chelsy and Harry, Zara and Mike or Beatrice and Dave........
......just remember the world and it's press will be watching ever so closely!
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