Thursday, April 28, 2011

Stay in the know: Royal Wedding Plans

Between 0815 and 0945: The vast majority of the 1,900 guests will arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey ahead of the 11am service.
From 0950: Governors-general and prime ministers of realm countries, the Diplomatic Corps, and other distinguished guests arrive at the Abbey.

1010: Prince William and his best man Prince Harry leave Clarence House in a Bentley for Westminster Abbey, arriving five minutes later. The route between Buckingham Palace and the Abbey goes by The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, through Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Square (the south side) and Broad Sanctuary.
 
Photo: Eddie Mulholland
 
1020: Members of foreign royal families arrive at the Abbey from Buckingham Palace.
 
1020: Kate Middleton's mother Carole Middleton and brother James Middleton leave the Goring Hotel for the Abbey. They arrive at the Abbey at 1027. 
 
1025: Members of the Royal Family (except those listed below) leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey, arriving at 1030. 
 
1035: The following members of the Royal Family leave Buckingham Palace for the Abbey, arriving at 1040: The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence.

1038: The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House, arriving at the Abbey at 1042.
 
1040: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace, arriving at the Abbey at 1045.
(Photo: PA)
 
1048: The bridesmaids and pages leave the Goring Hotel, arriving at the Abbey at 1055. 
 
1051: The bride and her father Michael Middleton leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey in a Rolls Royce
 
1100: The marriage service begins and is relayed by speakers along the route. There will also be big screens in Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. 
 
1215: The carriage procession of the bride and groom with a Captain's Escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen's procession with a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves the Abbey for Buckingham Palace. The bride and groom will be in the 1902 State Landau, or the Glass Coach if it is raining.
 
1230: The bride's carriage procession arrives at Buckingham Palace.
 
1240: Members of the Royal Family and members of foreign royal families arrive at Buckingham Palace.
 
From 1240: Other guests for the reception arrive at Buckingham Palace.
 
1325: The Queen and the bride and groom, together with their families, appear on the balcony.
 
1330: Fly Past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
 
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Photo: Steve Havelock)
The Queen will give a lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace, which will be a private gathering for guests drawn from the congregation who will represent the couple’s official and private lives. During the reception, the couple will appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with other members of the Royal family. The Reception is expected to finish mid-afternoon and guests will be served with canapés.
At some point in the afternoon, the bride and groom will leave Buckingham Palace for some downtime at St James's Palace.
In the evening, the Prince of Wales will give a private dinner, followed by dancing, at Buckingham Palace for the couple and their close friends and family.
 
The service:
The Dean of Westminster will conduct the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury will marry Prince William and Miss Middleton, and the Bishop of London - a personal friend of the Prince of Wales who has known Prince William for many years - will give the address
 
The dress:
The design is a secret but Miss Middleton's wedding gown is expected to be modest, with little flesh on show.
 
Bridesmaid and pageboys:
The couple have chosen four bridesmaids and two page boys who are a mixture of relations and the children of friends.  Prince Harry is best man and Miss Middleton's sister Philippa is her maid of honour
The venue:
For 1,000 years the 11th century Westminster Abbey has been a backdrop to royal weddings, coronations, and funerals.

Westminster Abbey (Photo: Alamy)
 
Flowers:
Tradition dictates that a royal bride's bouquet contains a sprig of myrtle from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet. Royal brides send their bouquet back to the abbey to be placed on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
 
Music:
Westminster Abbey's choir and the Chapel Royal Choir will perform, with the London Chamber Orchestra, the Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry also taking part. Claire Jones, the Prince of Wales's official harpist, will perform at the Buckingham Palace reception. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Queen's composer, was commissioned to write a piece which he revealed will have a "Scottish feel".
 
The ring:
Prince William will not wear a wedding ring, but his new wife's will be made from gold given to the prince by the Queen. According to tradition, the Welsh gold for royal rings comes from the Clogau St David's mine at Bontddu in North Wales.
 
The receptions:
Buckingham Palace, with its opulent State Rooms, is the focal point for the Queen's reception for 600 guests in the afternoon, followed by the Prince of Wales's dinner for 300 close family and friends in the evening.
 
Buckingham Palace Photo: PA
 
The cake:
A traditional multi-tiered iced fruit cake featuring the "language of flowers" made by Leicestershire baker Fiona Cairns will be the centrepiece. A chocolate biscuit cake is also being made especially for Prince William by McVitie's.
 
Wedding planning:
The man behind the big day is Prince William's private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton.
Working closely with the Prince's personal private secretary Helen Asprey, Mr Lowther-Pinkerton is in overall charge of the wedding - although the royal couple themselves are "calling the shots".
 
The gift list:
No saucepans or towels for these newlyweds. The couple has requested donations to 26 charities instead. Close family are, however, likely to give personal gifts.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

How the Royal Wedding will Inspire Bridal Trends

                                 Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Wedding and event planner Brian Worley, who recently starred in the CW's Shedding for the Wedding, which royally-inspired bridal trends will pop up after Prince William and Kate Middleton say "I do" on April 29:

The royal wedding has become the behemoth bridal event of 2011. With over two billion pairs of eyes expected to watch the special day, it will mark the beginning of many bridal trends.

When I produce and design a wedding, I always try to impress upon my clients that their wedding is "their" wedding, not their mom's or their grandmother's. But as royalty, Prince William and Kate have a much harder time making it their own. Their wedding will bring a return to more traditional elements -- things that have become less important over the years, like classic attire and engraved invitations.



Of course, the wedding dress will set the bar for the rest of the year, and will become the defining look for 2011. Princess Diana's dress was, and still is, a topic of conversation 30 years later. Her iconic gown was very much the style of the 80's. Wedding, prom and bridesmaid dresses of that time were all influenced by the design. It ushered in a decade of taffeta, puffed sleeves and layers of crinoline tulle under a full skirt, and helped make Diana one of the leading fashion icons of her day.

Kate will do the exact same thing. Her dress will certainly be replicated, much like celebrities' Oscar dresses, allowing any bride to feel like a real princess on her wedding day.


And like the dress, Diana's gigantic cascading bouquet became the quintessential representation of the 80's bride. Thankfully, we've progressed past that, but Kate's bouquet will have the same effect, setting the standard in bridal bouquets for the next few years.

Plus, with a wedding reception in a venue like Buckingham Palace, formality and grandeur will come back into fashion -- think lots of crystals for extra sparkle and large, lush centerpieces at receptions.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Fun Ideas to throw your own Royal Wedding Viewing Party!!

 
Creating Royal wedding cupcakes for street parties is all the rage in Britain right now...
 
Anything looks good in a martini glass....

and more deserts, sugar always keeps your guests happy....

Whether you received the Royal Invitation or not, everyone can feel like a Princess on Friday!!!

Monday, April 25, 2011