Princess Madeleine of Sweden married Mr. Christopher O’Neill in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Stockholm today, and it was an event packed with gowns and tiaras and adorableness. With more posts to come, we begin with the star of the day: the bride (with appearances, of course, by her dashing groom!).
Video: The bride's entrance
Princess Madeleine’s wedding gown was designed by Valentino, and it was a summer confection in delicate lace. The official description, courtesy of the Royal Court:
“The wedding dress is made from pleated silk organza with appliquéd ivory-coloured Chantilly lace. The upper section of the bodice is lace with a deep-cut back. Narrow vertical pleats open up from the accentuated waist, above the wide skirt, which ends with a four-metre-long train. The veil is also silk organza, and is edged with tulle scatted with point d'esprit dots and small Chantilly lace orange blossom. The Princess's shoes are ivory white organdy with woven point d'esprit dots.”
In shape – with a wide neckline, short sleeves, and emphasized waist – it reminded me of
Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding gown, though the material makes it completely different. The 6 meter long veil extended past the train in the back and made a lovely picture sweeping up the aisle.
She walked down the aisle to meet her groom, who was nervously fighting back tears dressed in white tie. Though he has declined a royal title, he did receive a royal order: around his neck, the Swedish Order of the Polar Star, which is a lower honor than the Order of the Seraphim which we're used to seeing the royal family wear. (Fitting, obviously, given his current plans to continue on his own path.)
In advance of the wedding, we wondered if Princess Madeleine would stick to any of the family bridal traditions, including wearing the
Cameo Tiara and
the family veil. But Madeleine went her own direction and didn’t following either, in a new veil and
the Modern Fringe Tiara accented with sprigs of orange blossom. To her diamond tiara, she added large diamond drop earrings from the Bernadotte collection and a diamond bracelet.
She did follow one tradition: she used myrtle from a bush brought to Sweden by Princess Margaret of Connaught following her 1905 wedding. Myrtle was included in her bouquet along with a selection of white garden roses and lilies of the valley.
I don’t know what I was expecting Princess Madeleine to wear, but this gown surprised me. I think I was expecting
more, somehow, for whatever reason. I was surprised by her tiara selection, as I thought (and hoped) she would opt for something that we haven’t seen her in so very many times, and a little disappointed by the lack of either traditional veil or tiara, just because I find traditions like these so precious. But it was Madeleine’s look and hers alone, and in hindsight, it’s not surprising she chose to do her own thing. Final verdict: completely lovely and perfect for a summer wedding, though perhaps not something that will stick in my memory.
What did you think of Madeleine’s wedding gown?
Photos: Pool/Scanpix/Getty Images
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