Welcome to Royal Wedding Wednesday A History of Wedding Dresses. One of the most closely guarded secrets of the upcoming Royal Wedding is the dress that Meghan Markle will wear. Even who she has selected as her dress designer has remained a closely guarded secret. This is quite smart due to ever resourceful media sleuths. Because the dress should be a surprise to her groom (and the world) until the moment of the first glimpse of the bride. There are so few surprises left in this world and I for one am enjoying the suspense.
One design firm thought to be in the running is Ralph & Russo ran by Australian couple Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo. They are the same designers who created her sheer engagement dress that I shared HERE.
Royal Wedding Wednesday A History of Wedding Dresses
I imagine that Meghan will let Diana continue to hold the record for the longest train worn by a Royal bride.
It measured an amazing 25 feet in length.
Ah, Lady Diana’s dress. It was truly a dress fit for a princess. Diana selected her dress designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, based on a pale pink silk blouse she borrowed for her engagement portrait. It was taken by Lord Snowdon and appeared in Vogue.
She gave the Emanuel’s a trial run by wearing an evening gown of their design to her first official appearance after her engagement to Prince Charles. Her famous black taffeta dress had the press stating that she was “Shy Di no more.”
The dress was considered scandalous on several levels. There was the obvious reason that traditionally Royals only would wear black dresses to funerals. Not to mention the glimpse of Royal decolletage that was shown. The dress was sold on June 8, 2010, to a museum in Chile for £192,000 (approximately $276,900).
Lady Diana’s Wedding Gown
The ivory wedding dress took four months to create and was made of pure silk taffeta. The fitted bodice was boned and featured a wide ruffle around the curved neckline. Exquisitely embroidered lace panels were placed on the front bodice and back of the dress.
The voluminous sleeves were gathered at the elbow and held in place by a bow with a lovely flounce of lace underneath.
The plain, full skirt was worn over several layers of a crinoline petticoat made of ivory tulle, It was trimmed at the waist and hem with embroidered lace.
The Veil
Lady Diana wore a cathedral length veil with a full blusher over her face. Made of silk, the veil required over 100 yards of netting and measured eight meters (26.25 feet).
Lady Diana wore the Spencer tiara as her something borrowed. Her gorgeous diamond earrings were also borrowed from her mother.
Something old was a piece of lace from Queen Mary. The designer’s hand sewed a tiny blue bow into the back of the dress. For additional luck, the designers added a small golden horse-shoe made of 18-carat Welsh gold. It was studded with diamonds, and sewn onto the back of the label on the dress.
Lady Diana’s Wedding Slippers
Diana’s wedding slippers were created by Clive Shilton. They were made of silk Duchesse satin and trimmed with the same lace found on her dress. The shoes had 542 mother-of-pearl sequins on each shoe that were knotted by hand. The fluted heel was made of leather and wood and had the letters of “C” and “D” entwined with a heart. They featured a hand painted sole.
Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip on November 20, 1947, in Westminster Abbey. It was the first bright spot for a nation that had been ravaged by World War II. Like so many other wartime brides Queen Elizabeth saved up ration coupons to acquire the fabric needed for her ivory Duchesse satin gown.
The dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, featured exquisite embroidery. It included flowers representing the four lands of the United Kingdom as well as the countries of the British Commonwealth. They were shamrocks for Ireland, thistles for Scotland, maple leaves for Canada and English Tudor roses.
The train of the bridal gown was 15 feet long.
Because of the shortage of supplies brought on by the war, the 10,000 miniature pearls used to decorate the bodice and train were imported from the United States.
The silk fabric used for the dress was from the Scottish firm of Winterthur near Dunfermline. Problems arose when competitors began a rumor that the Scottish satin was made from ‘enemy silkworms’, either from Italy or possibly Japan. A telephone call to Dunfermline settled the scandal. Mr. Hartnell was assured that the silkworms were from Nationalist China. Sadly, the quality of the silk and the heaviness of the skirt have caused the dress to suffer damage over the years.
The Queen’s Veil and Necklace
The Queen’s silk tulle veil was held in place by the Fringe Tiara that was made for Queen Mary in 1919.
The Queen wore two separate necklaces. One containing forty-six Queen Anne pearls and the other fifty Queen Caroline pearls. They were given to Princess Elizabeth by her parents, the King and Queen, as a wedding present.
The Duchess of Teck earrings which Princess Elizabeth wore at her wedding originally belonged to Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (1776-1857). They were then bequeathed to her niece Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck. She then bestowed them to her daughter, the future Queen Mary, in 1897. The earrings were given by Queen Mary to her granddaughter Princess Elizabeth on January 31, 1947.
Princess Elizabeth’s high heel shoes were made of ivory Duchesse satin and embellished with silver and pearl buckles.
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
The beloved Queen mum, also known as Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, married the Duke of York, Prince Albert on April 26, 1923. The couple, who would later become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, said their vows in Westminster Abbey. In a break with tradition, it was the first Royal wedding to be a public affair.
Lady Elizabeth’s dress was very much of the flapper fashion. It was created by dressmaker Madame Handley Seymour. At the time of the wedding, it was not expected that the Duke would take the throne. His brother, Prince David, was to be King. Until David abdicated the throne for Wallis Simpson, making the new Duchess of York a queen.
Perhaps because the Duke was second in line to the throne this was the reason that Lady Elizabeth’s gown was not as elaborate as some of the Royal brides before her.
The gown was made of an ivory chiffon moiré. The loose bodice was enhanced with pearls and silver embroidery. It featured a dropped waist, a traditional full-length skirt which also had pearl and embroidery accents, and a court train.
Her lace veil was lent to her by the groom’s mother, Queen Mary. It was held in place by a wreath of myrtle, white roses and white heather on either side. Sadly, the veil has been lost.
Princess Victoria May of Teck
Princess Victoria May (Later Queen Mary) of Teck wed Prince George, Duke of York, on July 6, 1893, in the Chapel Royal of St. James Palace. She had previously been engaged to Prince Albert Victor, George’s elder brother. He sadly died in the great influenza epidemic of 1891-92.
The wedding gown was made of white silk satin brocade. It featured a silver threaded design intertwining roses, shamrocks, thistles, lilies of the valley, and orange blossoms. Three tiers of Honiton lace, which had originally been worn by her mother, were arranged at the front of the skirt.
The back of the dress laced up like a corset and the train of the dress was long and unembellished.
She wore her mother’s Honiton lace veil which was held in place by several diamond pins and accented with orange blossoms.
Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Princess Alexandra of Denmark, married Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Edward (later King Edward VII) on March 10, 1863, in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The gown originally featured several tiers of Honiton lace. It was decorated with swags of artificial orange blossoms and foliage to match the floral wreath upon her head.
Her silver moiré train was so long it had to be carried by eight bridesmaids. Princess Alexandra was quite frugal and recycled the lace on her wedding dress several times which is why it is not shown on the skirt now.
Queen Victoria
The traditional “white wedding” came into vogue entirely because of one bride: Queen Victoria of England. At the time that she married Prince Albert on February 10, 1840, at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, it was common for brides to wear colorful dresses. The idea of creating a white gown worn for just one day was thought to be very extravagant.
The gown was made of a creamy white Spitalfields silk. The bodice was made up of eight pieces, consisting of a low, wide neckline. The bodice seams were boned. The pointed waist rests on the natural waistline and featured full double puffed sleeves. There was a separate skirt captured in wide pleats.
Exquisite Lace
The dress was trimmed in Honiton lace created in the village of Beer. The cotton net lace which formed the flounce of the dress measured four yards and was three-quarters of a yard in depth. It took more than two hundred persons employed from March until November to create the lace.
The lace pattern was truly lovely and is said to have surpassed anything that had ever been executed either in England or Brussels. The manufacturer, upon completion of the lace, destroyed all the pattern designs so that the Queen would have a unique dress.
The only spots of color on Victoria’s wedding ensemble included a beautiful sapphire brooch Prince Albert had given her as a wedding present. As well as an armlet having the motto of the Order of the Garter: “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” and the star of the Order. As seen in the movie “The Young Victoria”.
Her headpiece consisted of the same lace as her dress. It took six weeks to create and measured a yard and a half square. It was topped by a crown of orange blossoms.
Given the cost of the handmade lace and that Queen Victoria was quite sentimental, she removed most of the lace from her wedding dress. She wore it on state occasions and at the weddings of all but one of her children, Princess Beatrice, who wore the lace herself.
The Queen also wore her wedding lace in several official portraits.
Next Week will be Part II of A History of Royal Wedding Dresses.
Did you wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue?
Laura
My favorite RWW post so far! I can't WAIT to see Kat's dress (that's right, we're tight, so I can still call her Kate). I didn't realize how very slim she is though. Someone needs to feed that girl.
I did have something old, new, borrowed and blue at my wedding. My old was a handkerchief, my new was my shoes, borrowed was the layers and layers of petticoats it took to hold my dress up (borrowed from my MOH who got married a few months before me) and my blue was my garter.
James Bond and I will be married 16 years on Friday the 18th! I can't believe it's been that long. If you'd like to see some photos of a ridiculously young and skinny me, you can see them on this post (from 2 years ago):
http://myheelsarehigherthanyours.blogspot.com/2009/03/you-send-me.html
Another fascinating post, Laura! I, too, would rather be held in suspense as to what Kate will wear…all the more reason to watch the wedding!
What a beautiful bride you were! I love your dress! You look like a true princess!
XO,
Jane
Oh My. You could turn no a Monarchic the hardest Republican, My Dear :).
I must say I Love Princess Diana and Queen Victoria's wedding gowns the best. Both women decided they were the Princesses of the Day and went for it and the result was – and is every time I see their pictures – WOW!!!!
I Love the Sexy look chosen for your wedding day – you had the poise and the body to go for it. I also had a coin of my year of birth, it was stiched inside my bodice inside a small poach, had something blue that was my and future hubby embroidered monogram poach used to held the coin, wore my grandmother gold bracelet and new the (very 80's) wedding dress… going to see if I can find a picture of it so I can share with you.
Thank you for one more lovely post… one is almost sorry the day is arriving as I can get used in coming and enjoying your Royal Wednesdays.
Love,
Teresa
I'm back 😀
I thought you'd like to watch the below video. It was made on the occasion of Princess Diana's wedding dress arriving in Kansas City and is, for me, one of the most detailed and close look of the dress.
http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=67594811
Enjoy,
Teresa
Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed this post. The dresses, headpieces and veils were just stunning. Thank you so much for the effort you put into Royal Wedding Wednesdays.
Laura this is such a wonderful post. I love seeing all the Royal wedding gowns. And adding yours at the end, was an added treat. I had a new wedding gown, a borrowed veil, an old hanky, and a blue garter 🙂 Love the traditions.
Jocelyn
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com
Yes! I had something old (pearls) new (dress) borrowed (antique handkerchief) blue (garter)
We will be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary on Saturday 😀
You are a lovely bride! Nice picture!
Oh! and I LOVE this post! I will show it to my girls later today 😀 Thanks so much for your research in putting it together!!! I know it took a ling time.
Another completely lovely post. Thank you!
WOW…..what a post. That was wonderfully intertaining. I loved it:)
Thank you again for such a lovely post! I certainly did have something old, new, borrowed & blue! The old were pearls that I removed from my Mom's veil & dress & sewed onto a veil I made for myself.
I did have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue! I ordered the lace from my gown from a dressmaker in France. My seamstress was wonderful and did a beautiful job.
I am going to see Princess Diana's dress on Thursday in Kansas City. I am so excited! I am going to have a post on it for sure!
Laura,
Delightful post!
You outdid yourself on this one.
Beautiful BEAUTIFUL wedding dresses. Truly an artform and celebration.
You look beautiful in your wedding gown!!!
I hope to be able to go back to Kansas City and see Princess Diana's wedding dress in person. The Exhibit runs until June 12th.
Have a sweet day and God bless,
d from homehaven nestled in the Kansas Flint Hills
Love, love, LOVE this post! Thanks for sharing all of this. Hearing about weddings and royalty in the same blog makes me a happy girl. 🙂
I decided to share my wedding dress on my blog today. Feel free to check it out!
http://sweetmay2007.blogspot.com/2011/03/wedding-wednesday.html
I can't wait to see Catherine's dress!! And I absolutely loveeeeeeee your dress! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Wonderful post!! I love Dianna's gown,the current Queen's and Victoria's gowns the best. I'm such a “big dress” girl.
I did wear the traditional “somethings” for my wedding. I had a coin in my shoe, a blue garter, new earrings and a borrowed pearl necklace from my aunt.
You were just lovely, I must add!
Really enjoyed this look back at the royal wedding dresses. When I was little, I remember my mother waking me up to watch Princess Diana walk down the aisle. Seeing the rest of the wedding pictures is fascinating. I think my favorite is Victoria's. =)
Thanks Laura for researching your posts. They are a joy for any Royal enthusiast!
Ruth
I love all your research you put into these articles! This was so intriguing to read. I love your wedding picture, too.
My something old was a lace handkerchief my mom-in-law gave me that she had with her on her wedding day, the new was a pearl earring and neckalce set my mom purchased for me, I borrowed my underskirt from a friend, and the blue was my flowers.
Beautiful post, Laura! I so appreciate all your hard work and research in bringing this fabulous series to us. Thanks!!!!!
Beautiful and interesting post!
Dear Laura,
Thank you so much for all the information you share with us on Royal Traditions. I have enjoyed all the topics. I have always found Queen Elizabeth most facinating and have never seen her in her wedding gown. This has been a treat. Your dress was beautiful and you are simple gourgeous in it!
I just love weddings!
~Shirley
From the first word of this post to the very very end I was totally captivated. Laura, wonderful history. And you were definitely the most beautiful bride.
Yvonne
This post is fabulous! It's evident you put a lot of work into sharing the history with us…thank you so much!
Abby
really enjoyed the dress tour! I have never seen the Queens dress up close before..wonderful!
I wore my mothers pearls and carried a handkerchief made of my Great Grandmothers wedding dress, do not remember what I had that was blue? You were a beautiful bride!!!
That was so interesting-thank you for such a wonderfully informative post. It must have taken you ages to put this together!
Hope you enjoy the rest of the week and Happy St Patrick's day!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
So enjoyed this post Laura on the royal wedding dresses through the ages! You looked like royalty yourself in your beautiful gown!
Enjoy you time with your children!
bee blessed
mary
Oh, my, Laura… This is a fantastic post! It doesn't get much better than wedding dresses of royalty — and their beautiful handmade laces, jewels, and history! You obviously put a lot of work into this, and I appreciate your commitment. I think Queen Victoria's ensemble is my favorite although I was very intrigued by Princess Di's shoes!
hi laura Just found your lovely blog so ive subscribed and become a follower
Enjoyed this very muchand gives me aanother taste of England
fay x
Thank you for all this HISTORY! We are studying the Victorian era right now, and there's nothing to get three early teen girls excited about history like WEDDINGS! 🙂
I too had old, new, borrowed and blue in my wedding–the happiest day of my life to that point. I have been SO BLESSED to have many even happier days since then.
I can see why Victoria would have dismantled her dress to keep those memories with her during special occasions–embuing the lace with even more special thoughts over the years.
🙂
VERY interesting post!
Laura, this was just fascinating to read and look at. At your suggestion I finally managed to watch “Young Victoria” while recooping from my surgery. What a wonderful portrayal of a remarkable young woman. Hope your spring breakers are having fun! Ann
What a gorgeous, gorgeous post!! I can't imagine the hours that went into all of those beautiful dresses! I am just in awe of that lace!!
This is the coolest post I have ever read! Thank you so much for sharing all this amazing knowledge! HPS!!
Hi, Laura,
I thoroughly enjoyed this post on all the weddings and gowns. When Princes Diana got married, I watched every bit of it. She was so pretty.
And you were a lovely bride, too.
D
You, my dear, were and still are I am sure, simply gorgeous on your wedding day!! And this post is totally amazing. Really appreciate all your effort in this post. I never cared for Diana's dress….don't hate me but too foo foo for me. But her shoes…are to die for! I wore a blue garter for the blue part but can't remember the rest without looking in my wedding book. We will be married 42 years in August. Hope that's a good excuse for not being able to remember everything. LOL…xoxo
Fascinating post. I am really enjoying this series.
I will miss your royals series — maybe they can back off the royal wedding a few months to give us more time! I don’t think Meghan will be over the top, being down the line of succession and St. George’s. I think it will be elegant, beautiful but not too glitzy! We shall see.
What a wonderful post! I can remember watching Diana marry Charles, if only life was a fairy tale and they lived happily ever after. Beautiful dresses. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post, it is filled with history and is like reading a book.
I do love this! My favorites are Kate’s and the Queen Mum’s. I prefer less frou frou, more simplistic styling and tailoring. Even though the Flapper silhouette was far from tailored, the simplicity of the veil and dress win this Flapper girl’s approval! I love Queen Elizabeth’s shoes from 1947, and Queen Victoria’s sentiment about her lace also wins a place in my fashion heart.
I do remember fulfilling all the somethings in my 1st wedding attire, but can’t recall them all now. Just as well…
Poor Diana…the horseshoe sewn into the back of her dress must’ve been turned upside down.
Looking forward to Pt 2! Thank you for your research, Laura!
Thank you for this fabulous post. I love royal wedding dresses and mine was a simple version of Princess Diana. What a great idea to put all of them together.
I so enjoyed reading this post, Laura. It’s always lovely to learn more about Royal Brides. I’ve see Princess Diana’s, The Duchess of Cambridge’s and Queen Victoria’s dresses in real life so it was especially cool to learn more about them. Thank you so much for sharing this post, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. I hope you have a lovely week!
So interesting! Really enjoyed all the photos. I clearly remember watching The wedding of Diana and Charles, and I’m so anxious to see Meghan’s dress this week!