volume 2 | chapter 40
like my mom said, i think we all need a fairytale to believe in now and again and i think the fairytale of prince william marrying his college sweetheart, kate middleton, (now the duke and duchess of cambridge) is just right. i think, maybe, it's even perfect. (and i'm still daydreaming over it...)
images courtesy of citified.blogspot.com, nymag.com, dailymail.co.uk, beautifuldisastr.tumblr.com
here are some interesting tidbits behind the significance of certain details (via this is glamorous):
details of the exquisite wedding gown (created by sarah burton for alexander mcqueen) by include a bodice of ivory satin made of hand-cut english lace and french chantilly lace over ivory and white satin gazar; individual flowers were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineering onto the ivory silk tulle to create the design, which features rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrocks, the national flowers of england, scotland, wales, and ireland (respectively); 58 gazar and organza covered buttons ran up the back.
the eight-tiered royal wedding cake was decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers, including 17 different blooms and foliage for their meaning and symbolism, known as the language of flowers.
the veil was made of layers of ivory silk tulle and trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers, sewn on by the royal school of needlework at hampton court palace.
the bridal bouquet included myrtle, lily of the valley, hyacinth, and sweet william blooms; in keeping with royal tradition, stems from a myrtle planed by queen victoria in 1845 were also added; according to tradition, the bouquet of a royal bride will be left on the tomb of the unknown soldier in westminster abbey; the late queen mother began the ritual by leaving her wedding bouquet at the grave in 1923 in memory of her brother, fergus, who was killed in the first world war.
the bride's "something borrowed" was the cartier halo tiara, made in 1936 and purchased by king george vi for his wife, queen elizabeth (the queen mother), three weeks before he succeeded his brother as king; the tiara was presented to princess elizabeth, now the queen, by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.see more pictures here and here and here.
