As the world celebrated the International Women’s Day on 8th March, the Love:Knots team would like to pay a little tribute to that one woman whom we think had made a difference in this world – the late Princess Diana.
There’s no doubt why the world would fall in love with this woman. Not just a pretty face with pretty clothes, Princess Diana, alone championed close to 110 causes in her lifetime, most of which atypical and taboos at that time, such as HIV/AIDS, drugs addiction, domestic abuse and the ban of landmines.
A princess of true substance. We honour the bravery and the extraordinary depth of compassion Princess Diana displayed in her lifetime. She has redefined the limits of what a woman can do and the strengths & virtues a woman can possess. Most of all, her wedding with Prince Charles was the perfect epitome of what most girls dream about – the classic fairytale wedding.
While the marriage did not last, the Prince and Princess did have the grandest and most watched-on (750 million people globally!) ‘fairytale’ wedding in the entire 20th century.
Check with 10 brides, and you possibly could find 7 wanting to don on all of the grandiose and play-pretend the royal highness (complete with the white horses, carriages, cathedral, fanfare and all). It’s astonishing how common fairytale weddings are at the top of mind for brides, proving how much we all wish to be a princess some day. What’s stranger, we realized there seem to be some unjust stereotypes of girls who want a little Disney magic in their lives. What? Is that too childish, too bimbotic, too pinkish, too girlish?
We say, remove those labels and perhaps all of us can bask in a little majestic arrangement. However, there ought to be some ropes we can learn from our favourite lady. First of all, what’s a fairytale wedding without a princess who is truly endeared by all? Despite all the royal descent, Princess Diana was one blue blood who erased those lines drawn to separate the rulers from the commoners. So we think, tip #1 – don’t ruin the aura by being bossy or nasty especially throughout your wedding prep. Start from developing that elegance and gracefulness from within and let it be felt by all those around you.
If you haven’t known the story about Princess D.’s engagement ring, here’s one we felt once again, marked her unique character.
Under all the scrutiny towards her choice of rings, the lady picked this 18carat sapphire surrounded by 14 smaller diamonds at the side from the Garrard Jewellers. The Princess’s choice of ring provoked a stir among the royal family and the general public as this ring, albeit its hefty price of 28,000 British pounds, was a regular item in the Garrard’s catalog and was not deemed any where near unique for a Princess of Wales.
This is where she gets our admiration again. She remained true to her humble self despite all that pressure from the royal family and media attention. We had often hear about how difficult it is for brides to make decisions with too many cooks commenting on what should be added into the broth. Tip #2 says, what marks a true princess of substance, is one who has the finest taste defined not by its sky-high prices or its sole exclusivity to the royale, but someone who sets a fashion attitude, only further enhancing her unique personality. Don’t try to imitate or be someone else you are not. Identify your style and you will look best when you feel comfortable in your own skin.
*FYI, this precious ring is now worn by Kate Middleton, wife-to-be of Prince William.
Other interesting facts we found about Princess D’s wedding:
Lo and behold: All that puff!
Iconic as the wedding already is, the dress is yet another feature that remains classic and fresh in people’s minds. Valued at 9000 British pounds then, sources stated that the dress was a “puff ball meringue dress, with huge puffed sleeves and a frilly neckline”. Interestingly, Diana sought out two young designers then, Elizabeth and David Emanuel to design her dress which was “made of silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins and 10,000 pearls”.
And there’s no way one would miss that long train – yes, we are talking about a 25-feet (8 whopping metres) of train, made of ivory taffeta and antique lace, trailing behind her as she marched down St Paul’s Cathedral. Her entourage were dressed in gowns with a yellow sash similar to her designs.
We adore the little flower girls toddling behind with those oversized puffy gowns!
Not 27 dresses, but 27 wedding cakes!
We were just as shocked with the numbers. Were there that many mouths to feed?
And this is just one of them created by the “cakemaker to the kings” S.G. Sender, a Belgium pastry chef.
The Pumpkin Ride: Bring me back at midnight!
Every princess arrives in a carriage. Just like Cinderella, Princess Diana arrived in a glass coach with her father, John Spencer. However, sources mentioned that the coach seemed to have been too small for the bride, her humongous train and puffy gown that when she eventually made her way out of the coach, the dress was terribly crumpled!
Any other interesting facts about Princess Diana’s wedding that you would like to share with us? Drop us a comment!
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