THE WEDDING OF THE MILLENNIUM
Despite the 1980s extravagance—the gigantic meringue of a dress, Diana’s outrageously smoky eye makeup, the ornate glass coach that delivered her to St. Paul’s Cathedral—news clips of the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to Charles, Prince of Wales on July 29, 1981, have a timeless quality. Perhaps this is because, looking back, we possess the sorrowful knowledge that her marriage to Charles was unhappy and her life was cut short when she was killed in a car crash at age 36.
Still, we can’t help but share in that 20-year-old’s hope and optimism as we re-watch her emerging from the carriage in that dress.
About 3,500 guests attended the ceremony itself, with first lady Nancy Reagan representing the United States.
The Dress: David and Elizabeth Emanuel designed the famous gown with the huge puffed sleeves, 25-foot train (which got badly crushed in the carriage) and 10,000 handstitched pearls accenting the ivory silk taffeta and antique Carrickmacross lace that had belonged to Queen Mary.
The Tiara: The diamondencrusted Spencer heirloom was so heavy it gave Diana a headache.
The celebration of Catherine Middleton and Prince William’s marriage on April 29, 2011, is impossible to forget—from the revelation of the top-secret dress to the aisle of Westminster Abbey lined with 20-foot trees.
Queen Elizabeth II wore the brightest shade of primrose yellow, and maid of honor Pippa Middleton wore an ivory dress that caused a sensation with its figure-hugging form. In 2014, Pippa admitted that the dress may “have fitted a little too well,” joking, “As I have found out, recognition has its upside, its downside and—you may say—its backside.” The Dress: A closely guarded secret right up until the moment Kate got out of her car at Westminster Abbey, the Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen–designed gown incorporated both traditional and modern elements. Notably similar in style to Princess Grace’s gown, with its Victorian-style lace bodice, long sleeves and a princess-y skirt of ivory satin gazar, one difference was the train, which at nine feet was relatively short compared to the trains on Grace’s and Diana’s gowns. The Tiara: The Cartier Halo Scroll diamond-and-platinum tiara was loaned by the queen for the occasion.