A dress fit for a royal wedding!

Irish student Daniella Timperley has the wedding invite of dreams. Fashion editor Grace Cahill helps her pick the perfect dress for Harry and Meghan’s big day...

LIKE most 18-yearolds, Daniella Timperley is staring exams season right in the face. Unlike most other students, however, Daniella has a pretty momentous appointment to keep right in the middle of them.

In March, the schoolgirl became one of the first members of the public to receive an invitation to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Around 1,200 members of the public have been invited to the royal nuptials thanks to their community or volunteer work, and in this respect Daniella has been working tirelessly. The week that she received the invite, she was named Ireland’s Top Youth Volunteer at the Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards in Dublin.

As though things weren’t surreal enough, her school announced the exciting news on Twitter, prompting a flurry of media requests from Australia, the US and Scandinavia.

‘My school were contacted by the council, who recognised me through the media for my volunteer work,’ recalls Daniella. ‘For a while they kept saying to me, “you have this big letter coming”. I didn’t even know that the royals invited the public to weddings.

‘I was really shocked and excited,’ she says. ‘I rang my mum, though she didn’t believe me either. My friends were really excited for me. They know about the charity work I do, though they didn’t think it would get this much recognition.’

Like Meghan herself, Daniella is fiercely vocal about women’s rights. ‘It’s something I really admire in her,’ says Daniella, who signed up to volunteer with domestic violence charity Women’s Aid in Northern Ireland at the age of 14.

‘I’m not sure exactly what’s happening, but the letter basically said, “make sure you’re comfortable”,’ explains Daniella of Saturday’s plans. ‘I think there will be a lot of standing.’ Her mum will be her plus one. ‘We’ve been told to be there at 8.30am and we’ll be there until about 3pm. After that, we get access to St George’s Chapel in the castle,’ she reveals.

Not only are the sartorial stakes pretty high for this one, but it’s also Daniella’s first ever wedding celebration. We’ve given some inspiration to help her look and feel great on Saturday...