With news of a new royal baby this week, I’ve been reminiscing over Will and Kate’s wonderful wedding back in April 2011! It caused such excitement in the wedding world that the wedding industry is still being influenced today by the many beautiful elements that went into their wedding.
It’s clear to see the effect that royal weddings have on brides and weddings in general, remember Diana’s huge taffeta gown created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel? It inspired women across the globe to wear puffed sleeves and incredibly long trains for years afterwards. Kate’s dress was just as influential, but there were lots of other touches that have continued to inspire modern brides today too.
I’ve created mood boards for each trend that Kate and Will sparked with the hope that they can help you to create your own regal wedding with some modern touches. All the images used in this blog post can be found on our “Kate and Will’s Wedding Style” Pinterest board.
Kate’s Dress
Obviously, the most iconic part of the royal wedding had to be Kate’s Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress. Fans of Kate (including me) waited with baited breath to see what she would be wearing; she appeared out of the car wearing a gown that featured a deep v neck, long lace sleeves, a Victorian-style semi-bustle at the back and gentle ballgown shaped skirt. Design details featured on her dress are still being replicated and, as you can see from the images above, there are many options available that look very, very similar – and how many copycats have you seen at weddings you’ve attended over the last 6 years? If you’re looking to reference Kate’s dress rather than directly copy it, take a look at the mood board below…
I also wanted to include some gowns that subtly nodded at Kate’s dress, instead of looking exactly like hers. Her dress was feminine and a modern take on a traditional 1950’s princess style ballgown, two key features to follow if you love her style. I really like the shorter options seen above, they add a more playful vibe to a Kate style dress. If you want to pay homage to Kate, pick either the deep lacey v neck, the sleeves, or the embroidered ball gown skirt to keep things light.
The Flowers
Kate’s flowers were actually incredibly simple and made almost entirely from lily of the valley. Whilst choosing her flowers Kate referenced the “language of flowers”, a floral code made popular by Queen Victoria. The featured bloom, lily of the valley, is meant to mean trustworthiness. The hornbeams and maple trees that spectacularly lined the aisle signify resilience, humility and reserve. To recreate Kate’s simple white and green bouquet keep the arrangement small with a slight trail hanging down in front. If you don’t have a spare £50,000 like the royals did to bring in your own trees, use a couple of smaller specimens or lots of foliage instead. This whole floral look is very popular but also timeless, and is also a trend we saw Pippa adopt at her wedding this year.
The Big Entrance (or Exit!)
Kate, arrived with her dad in the Queen’s 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI. A classic car is the perfect nod to vintage weddings and make for some wonderful photo opportunities too. Don’t feel as though you need to opt for a dark Rolls like Kate did, choose a car that suits your personality as a couple, you could even match the paintwork to your wedding colour scheme. Have fun decorating the back or keep things simple like Kate did.
White Bridesmaid and Flower Girl Dresses
Traditionally, a very long time ago, the bridesmaids would wear the same colour as the bride to confuse the groom and guests when they were on their way to the church – so it wasn’t obvious who was the bride. This fell out of fashion as the bride increasingly took centre stage over the years. Kate has successfully brought this back, but there was definitely no confusion who the bride was! Kate dressed her adorable flower girls in white, plus, who could forget Pippa’s amazing cowl neck dress? With only one bridesmaid and a scattering of flower girls, Kate’s choice of white throughout looked elegant and chic. Having your wedding party wear white is a personal decision, just like any other wedding choice, so go with what feels right for you. White is a universally flattering colour and will work at almost any wedding, hence it being such a popular choice for brides! If you do decide to opt for white dresses for your ‘maids, I’d go for simple silhouettes so they don’t outshine you – as if!
Fascinating Fascinators
Who could forget Princess Beatrice’s Philip Treacy fascinator? It was probably the most talked about fashion statement of the day (except for Kate’s dress, of course!). So many guests at the royal wedding accessorised with fascinators and hats, and we loved it! There’s something so proper and British about fancy headpieces and although some say they’re no longer fashionable, we still love a fascinator to elevate any look. Just make sure that the dress code for the wedding errs on the side of formal if you’d like to don one. You won’t want to turn up to a relaxed boho barn wedding wearing a flamboyant couture hat! Imagine!
Follow some or all of these key styles to emulate Kate and Will’s regal wedding with some modern touches…
I hope you found this blog post useful and have fun planning!
All the images used in this blog post can be found on our “Kate and Will’s Wedding Style” Pinterest board.
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