I have been saying that we would cover the wee members of royal bridal parties since we talked about the adult bridesmaids, and it's finally time for me to make that good on that promise. This is a huge category, so consider this Part 1: The School that Kate Borrowed From.
Left to Right: the bridal party at the wedding of Diana and Charles, Princess Margaret with Antony Armstrong-Jones and their attendants
Kate's bridesmaids reminded me heavily of Diana's little girls, with their big skirts and yellow sashes. Princess Margaret also went the girlish route with her pack of bridesmaids.It's a very common British royal thing, you see.
L to R, members of the bridal parties of the weddings of: Lady Helen Windsor and Tim Taylor, Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly, Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman, Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman.
There are more young British bridesmaids in white, too, but we'll get to those next week. For now, we'll just have to share a collective awww for that little thing from Peter and Autumn's wedding. On to the other countries:
L to R, members of bridal parties at the weddings of: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Silvia Sommerlath, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby
I loved Crown Princess Victoria's bridesmaids - so modern, yet still adorable! For once I wasn't wondering if the older members of the party secretly wanted to shoot themselves for being forced into little girl party dresses. Plus, they sort of seemed to be a nod to the simplicity of her mother's wedding gown.
Bridesmaids at the wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark and Tatiana Blatnik
Now, Tatiana's bridesmaids, I sort of liked. I mean, they were a bit of a mish-mash with the different styles and ranges of children, but they fit the island theme. And hey, this is a lot better than the adult bridesmaids.
L to R, members of bridal parties at the weddings of: Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark and Carlos Morales
I prefer Princess Alexia's take: can't go wrong with the simple white dress and a coordinating sash. Even when the rest of your bridal party members look like members of a traveling Shakespeare review (hello, Astrid).Even more in white, just to finish us out:
L to R, members of the bridal parties at the weddings of: Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, Prince Laurent of Belgium and Claire Coombs, Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau and Aimée Söhngen, Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Claus von Amsberg
The one downside of going the classic route and dressing your party in white: it's rarely memorable. Do you have a favorite here, or have they all started to blend together?
Until next time, when we cover everyone else...
