The wedding planner’s guide to what Meghan needs to do now
There are just four months to go until Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tie the knot. So what still needs to be done?
It would be enough to give any couple conniptions: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have just four months left to plan the wedding of the year, where the pews will be peppered with as many Hollywood royals as European ones. Most brides organising an event of this size (though St George’s Chapel, Windsor, has a capacity of “only” 800, compared to the 1,900 guests who attended the Cambridges’ wedding in Westminster Abbey) would leave at least a year before the big day.
But then, Meghan is not “most brides”, the Royal family have the best party planners in the world at their fingertips – state banquets being their bread and butter – and Prince Harry and his bride are under slightly less pressure to bow to protocol for their “semi-state” occasion.
“This wedding follows the slightly low-key wedding of Prince Edward, also in St George’s Chapel,” says Hugo Vickers, the royal biographer and expert. “Weddings at Windsor do not have the Mall procession or [Buckingham Palace] balcony appearance. It is more intimate.”
Nevertheless, one can safely assume that there is still a lot to be done. If the last royal wedding is anything to go by, some 300 million people will be watching worldwide on May 19. So, with 18 weeks to go before the most anticipated event of 2018, let the countdown begin...
Four months to go
By this point, most brides will have completed stage one of wedding planning – picking the venue, finalising the guest list, booking the caterer – and be on to their second dress fitting of several, while the wedding diet is in full swing.
Sarah Haywood, wedding “producer” to the high profile and high net-worth, explains stage two “is about contracting the key suppliers: the designers, the caterers, the entertainment”.
Festooning lights, wild flowers and jam jars filled with candles – all hallmarks of a modern wedding – won’t cut it in the historic environs of St George’s Chapel, where 10 monarchs are entombed, however much Meghan might claim to lust after a “whimsical, subtly romantic” affair.
The dress will, at least, have started to take shape. Speculation has centred around Inbal Dror, the Israeli designer known for her racy gowns, since a spokesman revealed they had been asked to submit preliminary sketches.
Suzanne Neville, the luxury wedding dress designer, certainly believes a British designer is far from a given. “The dress will have traditional elements,” she says. “Meghan will need to wear a sleeve of some kind in the chapel to fit royal protocol, but she will put her own twist on it.”
Where Meghan will let loose is the evening, likely opting for a gown that’s “a bit more slinky and sexy,” suggests Haywood. The Duchess of Cambridge changed from her Sarah Burton-designed Mcqueen wedding dress into an ivory satin number with a plunging neckline for the Buckingham Palace dinner hosted by Prince Charles. Pippa Middleton, Meghan’s soon to be sister-in-law by marriage, meanwhile, swapped her high-necked Giles Deacon gown for a figure-hugging Provonios frock before her adults-only evening reception in May (and asked female guests to bring a second outfit, too).
Three months to go
“Stage three is about getting down to the detail,” says Haywood. “What is each part of the event going to look like, what is the invitation going to say, what is everyone going to wear?”
Traditionally, the Palace releases photos of the couple’s invitations as they are being prepared for postage.
The real question is, who will they invite? Harry was put on the spot on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme when he was asked if his friend Barack Obama would be present. “We haven’t put the invites or the guest list together yet, so who knows,” he sidestepped, no doubt cognisant of the thin-skinned current president. But a royal wedding should be above politics – the Obamas weren’t invited to William and Kate’s wedding when they were in the White House.
Besides European royalty, commonwealth and religious leaders, and the cast of Suits, the Armed Forces will undoubtedly play a large part in both the pageantry and the party. Top military personnel, as well as members of Prince William’s RAF squadron at Anglesey, were invited to the Cambridges’ wedding, so it’s a safe bet some of Harry’s desert squad will be on the dance floor.
Two months
“By eight weeks out, everything should be completely planned,” says Haywood. It is thought that a champagne reception will follow the traditional ceremony, before a break in the afternoon to allow guests to watch the FA
Cup final, then change for the evening reception at Windsor Castle.
Meghan and Harry were said to have hoped to hold the reception at nearby Frogmore Hall, which has a rather more fashionable, Twenties feel, but royal aides felt St George’s Hall more suitable. The 180-ft long room, traditionally used for state banquets, seats up to 162 people and was redesigned in a modern Gothic style – with walls lined with suits of armour – following the fire at the castle in 1992.
Having chosen the menu – both Kate and Pippa went for high-end catering company Table Talk – most couples are now fine-tuning the evening’s entertainment. But while the Cambridges were serenaded by Ellie Goulding, and Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room was transformed into a nightclub for the 300 guests, Meghan is known to favour little known American singer-songwriters and a festival-type atmosphere.
One month
A month to go, and it’s time for the hen and stag dos. In 2011, Harry acted as de facto best man (never an official title at royal nuptials) for his brother, arranging a relatively restrained stag, two weeks before the big day, at a private Norfolk country house for 20-odd close friends. But William revealed that Harry has not yet asked him to return the favour. Perhaps he’ll opt for Guy Pelly, a longtime wingman who co-owns Tonteria, a boutique nightclub in Sloane Square – arguably the perfect stag venue, with drinks served in skulls, and tequila shots delivered by toy trains to partygoers reclining in hammocks.
The Duchess of Cambridge had a quiet hen do, three weeks before her wedding, arranged by Pippa at a friend’s house. Meghan is rumoured to have selected close friend Jessica Mulroney, a Canadian stylist, as her maid of honour and two “dos” may be on the cards – a Californian leg involving Doria, her mother, followed by a British “bachelorette” closer to the wedding date, when her American friends will be in London.
The final fortnight
At this point, guests are usually anxious for a gift list. It is expected that the royal couple will invite guests to make a charitable donation, instead. “The charity gift list is a big thing, it’s right on trend,” says Haywood, who anticipates the couple may choose to send a discreet message, via the Palace, requesting that guests refrain from posting pictures on social media.
The last week
Time for the pre-moon? A growing trend, which sees young couples ensure they are relaxed and tanned for the big day, by heading off for a few days in the sun. I hear Mustique is nice in spring…