Toronto tastemaker becomes big part of bride-to-be’s retinue
HOW JESSICA MULRONEY MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN ROYAL WEDDING
Amid the flurry of prewedding excitement for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials, an unexpected coronation has taken place — that of Toronto tastemaker Jessica Mulroney.
The Montreal-bred socialite and brand strategist has been a frequent mention in a swath of international gossip stories musing on every breathless detail of the royal union.
Mulroney’s been widely dubbed Markle’s secret wedding planner, is considered “one of the most influential women in fashion” by ABC’s Good Morning America, and is the favourite to be Markle’s matron of honour, according to various royal watchers.
It’s been a dramatic ascendance for the quasi-celebrity, also known for her marriage to TV personality Ben Mulroney, the son of a former prime minister.
“She’s really put herself out there,” says fashion journalist Jeanne Beker, who credits Mulroney with crafting a broad image that includes homemaker, style guru and brand influencer. “She obviously is very eager to be in the game.”
Those plugged into the style scene already know Mulroney as a fashion fan and prolific Instagrammer who projects a fairy tale life. Her account is rife with cute photos of her daughter and twin boys, often at their meticulously appointed home.
The varied snaps have also detailed a years-long friendship with Markle herself, before the romance with Prince Harry took off. They’ve since been removed from Mulroney’s page, and Markle deleted her Instagram account after they announced the engagement, but the images survive online.
British royalty expert Katie Nicholl says the two become tight after Markle moved to Toronto to shoot her sevenseason run on the Bravo/USA Network series Suits, bonding over a shared love of fitness, travel and fashion.
“Jessica has been very important to Meghan, she’s been very important behind the scenes in the run-up to the royal wedding,” says Nicholl, author of the biography Harry: Life, Loss and Love.
“Apparently she flew over for one of the early fittings of the dress. She’s probably one of just two, or maybe even three, people who know who is designing Meghan’s dress so she’s holding a state secret close to her heart. And she’s on the phone to Meghan all the time; she is the unofficial wedding planner.”
Nicholl’s book traces a close bond that made Mulroney among the few friends entrusted with knowledge of Markle’s budding romance with the people’s prince.
So much so that when the paparazzi caught wind of their Toronto love affair, she says Prince Harry and Markle took refuge in the Mulroneys’ home.
By all accounts, Jessica Mulroney would certainly be well-positioned to offer wedding tips.
The style maven is a marketing consultant for the Toronto outpost of Kleinfeld Bridal, the New York-based designer boutique made famous by Say Yes to the Dress, and appears regularly on City TV’s Cityline to outline style trends.
She’s also a contributing editor at Wedding Vacations magazine from the travel company Sunwing, where she’s styled various celebrity spreads.
When it comes to Markle, Mulroney is credited with injecting serious CanCon into several of her key looks, including the engagement announcement in which the California actress was photographed in a white wool wrap coat by the Toronto fashion brand Line the Label.
Still, Beker notes that Mulroney has shunned any description of herself as a stylist. Beker describes Mulroney as a fashion “strategist” and expects that’s the role she’s playing now for Markle.
And while Mulroney has undoubtedly benefited from a privileged background, that advantage only goes so far.
“You know the Mulroney name helped everybody. Obviously, it’s an attention-grabber (and) it opens the door. But then you’ve got to walk through it and you’ve got to prove that you’ve got your area of expertise,” says Beker.