Just a couple of pictures of Kate Middleton in the stunning ivory and Satin Alexander McQueen dress, designed by Sarah Burton. The dress which consisted of a lace applique bodie with white satin gazar arches and pleats and a 2.7m train was made with individual flowers, which were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tull to create the beautiful design. The lace is said to incoporate the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock. She wore a a diamond Cartier Halo lent to her by the Queen and a veil made of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand embroidered flowers and simple pear-shaped diamond earrings and Alexander McQueen shoes.
The future Queen wore her hair in her signature style of loose, soft, tussled waves apparently because she wanted Prince William to recognise her when she came into the church. It was style by James Pryce of the Richard Ward Salon in London. She decided against a makeup artist and did her makeup herself after taking lessons with expert Arabella Preston, the makeup rumoured to be Bobbi Brown and went to a beautician for a pre wedding pamper session which included a luxury soak, exfoliation and deep tissue massage. The beautician who also did her nails used a custom blend of Bourjois number 28 Rose Lounge and Essie 423 Allure. She carried a simple bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth.
Prince William whispered "you look beautiful" when she arrived at altar after a 3 minute walk up the aisle
The design in detail:
The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock. Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.
The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.
The Fabrics
French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition. All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies. The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team.
Veil and Jewellery
The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by the Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.
The bride’s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family’s new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were made to echo the tiara and were a personal gift to the bride from her parents for her wedding day.
Wedding Shoes
The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.
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