Royal Pre-Wedding Event of the Day: May 18

Yesterday, a service was held for the marriage banns of Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist, followed by a reception. Similar services were held prior to the weddings of Carl Philip's sisters, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine, and they each yielded some interesting looks.
Group photo, with Sofia's family / Kungahuset.se
This time, around...we seem to be stuck in a sea of blergh, alas. (At least as far as the bride and ladies on the groom's side are concerned, that is.)

The bride and groom received gifts at the reception. Although I do like the thought of them just randomly posing with props.
This is a perfectly princess appropriate outfit on Sofia, which may just be my problem with it. It's appropriate-d itself (you know what I mean) all the way out of any sort of personality. But I'm also still a card-carrying member of Team Sofia, so I also kind of just want to pat her on the head for trying. (By the way, the court made it official: she'll be Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland after the wedding.)

Here are the King and Queen. Looking like they usually do. Silvia's outfit could be interchangeable with Sofia's, honestly.

I originally thought Victoria must have been wrangling Estelle at some point, resulting in a severely disheveled skirt and waist, but nope - the dress is indeed designed with that two level hem and loose pleats at the waist. Still, I'll take the dress any day if we could get rid of the forehead bolted Philip Treacy hat.
Dress by Filippa K
Also, Princess Estelle was in Marie-Chantal Children, the children's clothing line by Marie-Chantal of Greece. And Prince Daniel was in a suit.

Finally, Princess Madeleine (carrying Princess Leonore, also clad in Marie-Chantal). Not only does her Treacy hat mimic the curls of her hair in a fun way, she managed to keep it off her forehead, and thus is my default best dressed for the day.

Photos: via Kungahuset and Getty Images as indicated, and Filippa K