Royal Wedding - The Bridesmaids

Pippa Middleton may have become an internet sensation due to a certain 'asset' but surely part of the credit for her meteoric rise to fame must surely go to Sarah Burton for creating such a beautiful maid of honour dress that showcased her fantastic figure. Her dress was made of a heavy ivory satin-based crepe with a perfectly draped cowl front and with the same ace trim and gazar and organza covered buttons as the bride's dress.

He hair was beautifully styled by a hairdresser from the Richard Ward salon in Sloane Square into a half up style and perfectly finished off at the back by a cascade of lily-of-the-valley to match the bride's bouquet.

If you are looking for the same delicate look but with a hair adornment that can be treasured for years to come and not thrown away, try our freshwater pearl Lucinda comb.

Pippa, like her sister, wore some specially designed drop diamond earrings made by Robinson Pelham.

The Duchess of Cambridge's smaller bridesmaids were dressed in beautiful satin gazar ballerina length dresses created by Nicki MacFarlane. Nicki is a fellow exhibitor at the Designer Wedding Show and so we have known her exquisite designs for many years. Nicki and her daughter made the dresses to echo the bride's dress by using the same fabrics and lace but with crisp box pleat skirts, generous petticoats and wild silk gold sashes.

The two page boys were impeccably turned out in scarlet & gold uniforms in the style of that worn by a Foot Guards officer at the time of the Regency (the 1820s) with insignia from the Irish Guards, whose Colonel is Prince William.

Royal Wedding - The Tiara & Jewellery

Catherine Middleton's "Something Borrowed" was HM The Queen's Halo Scroll Tiara.

This tiara is one of the lightest of Her Majesty's tiaras and has somewhat of a reputation as a starter tiara within the royal family and so was a perfect introductory piece to be lent by the Queen to the newest royal.

The Cartier-made Scroll Tiara was purchased in 1936 by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), three weeks before he ascended to the throne following his brother's famous abdication. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday in 1944.

The Queen has never worn the tiara in public but has loaned it to her sister Princess Margaret and her daughter Princess Anne who both wore it as young princesses.

Kate's wedding earrings were a gift from her parents who commissioned them from Robinson Pelham. They are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design came from the Middleton family's new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were also made to echo the tiara.

(next...bridesmaids)

Royal Wedding - The Veil

Although Catherine Middleton's wedding dress has already entered iconic status, one of the most exciting parts of Kate's outfit for us here at Kelly Spence was THE VEIL.

And it seems we are in good company! Karl Lagerfeld, broadcasting live on France 2 television said, " She is very elegant...The lace is very pretty. I like the veil a lot!" (via WWD)

So what was so special about the veil? It was no surprise that Kate's veil was made of pure silk but what set it apart from past royal veils was that she and Sarah Burton firstly chose not to use the traditional voluminous crisp silk tulle but in line with her own pared down elegant style opted for one of our particular favourite veil fabrics, a very soft fluid silk tulle. To show this exquisite fabric off to its diaphenous best the veil was also made in a completely flat style with no gather. We have long been an exponent of flat combed veils and Kate showed off the wonderfully ethereal quality that such a style creates beautifully, especially when combined with this most delicate of silk fabrics.

Kate is of course a history of art graduate and may have even drawn inspiration from the famous veiled statues of the 19th century Italian sculptors Strazza & Monti when choosing the fabric and style of her veil.

The blusher was extended to elbow level to again accentuate her tiny waist and the edge was trimmed with the same hand embroidered lace flowers as on her dress.

The veil was firmly anchored in her hair just behind her tiara, possibly with an extra wide comb and/or hairpins at the sides to ensure that when lifted back by her father after the long walk down the aisle, it did not fall in a narrow column as is the tendency of this fabric but fell delicately over her shoulders to reveal her sparkling, princess-worthy 'something borrowed'.

{We are one of the only veil specialists in the UK to offer a full range of veils made to order in this most exquisite of luxury fabrics, at last given the royal seal of approval by the elegant Duchess of Cambridge}

(next...tiara, jewellery & bridesmaids)

Royal Wedding - The Dress

When Catherine Middleton married HRH Prince William on Friday, months of speculation about her dress finally ended as she stepped out of the Phantom Rolls Royce VI onto the red carpet of Westminster Abbey in a breathtakingly elegant gown designed, as hotly tipped, by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

The Official Royal Wedding Website tells us "Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress."

It is surely no accident that the dress bore more than a passing resemblance to that of another fairytale princess in waiting, Grace Kelly.

Who can blame Kate for using as her inspiration one of the most famously elegant and certainly the most timeless of wedding dresses? Even her bouquet echoed Grace Kelly's modestly sized posy, also of lily of the valley.

The lace for her dress was worked by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace incorporating symbolic Rose, Thistle, Daffodil & Shamrock motifs. Hands were washed every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine; needles were renewed every 3 hours and only short lengths of thread were used, each no longer than 30 cm. Also, to maintain an even appearance, no securing knots were used as it was important that the back of the work looked as neat as the front.

Sarah Burton added subtle signature McQueen touches to the design of the dress such as victorian style corsetry with padded hips to emphasise Kate's tiny waist and a beautiful folded bustle detail along with a modern v neckline, pleated skirt and 2.7m train to perfectly blend the traditional and the contemporary and so create an iconic and inspirational gown that will undoubtedly stand the test of time as much as that worn by her muse 55 years earlier.

(next...veil, tiara & jewellery)