Category Archives: Weddings

Imperial Royal Wedding

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The religious marriage of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and his longtime Italian partner Rebecca Bettarini took place today at St Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the first Romanov wedding to take place in this cathedral in over 300 years.

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Rebecca’s gown is a collaborative creation made by Reem Acra and Elina Samarina for Sergio Marcone Moscow.

 “Reem Acra has exquisite taste and her gowns are designed holistically as if they were a masterwork of architecture, I had only two requirements: a refined and modern dress made of Italian Silk Mikado, in the classic Italian wedding gowns of the 1960s.” – Rebecca Bettarini

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“The dress is a classic that is made to give a nod to the purity of the symbolism of marriage. Made of European fabric and designed in New York, and worn in Russia it’s a combination of 3 worlds and a tribute to our common roots.” –  Reem Acra

The gown, in ivory Italian Silk Mikado, features a high neckline, fitted bodice, long sleeves, natural waist and a full ballgown skirt.

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A 6-meter long train, created by Russian born designer Elina Samarina, attached from the shoulders.

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Rebecca arrived for the ceremony in a silk tulle veil over her face that extended the full length of the train.

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Elina Samarina drew from Russia’s long, rich tradition of embroidery, using the traditional Torzhok style to embroider the Romanoff family crest onto the silk tulle veil in gold thread.

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 “It pays a joint tribute to the Italian and Russian culture. It showcases a blend of Russian craftsmanship and Italian elegance. It connects with symbols and motifs every Russian can identify with. It expresses continuity between the present and the past, and it’s issued of a high skilled collaboration between our countries.”  – Elina Samarina

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Rebecca topped the veil with Chaumet’s “Lactis” tiara, a modern retake on the traditional Russian Kokoshnik shape.

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Following the ceremony, Rebecca removed the cape train and veil to lay her white orchid bouquet on the graves of Grand Duke George’s grandparents, Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Leonida, in the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul. The resulting photographs give great view of the silhouette of her gown and tiara.

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Rebecca’s attendants wore gold and dark green velvet Tudor style pearl trimmed dresses with matching Kokoshnik headpieces made by Russian brand Russkaya Korona

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For tonight’s gala dinner, Rebecca, who will now be known as HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff, wore a hand embroidered silk tulle gown also by Reem Acra. Elina Samarina added another Russian-designed element to the ensemble with a white silk Mikado cape inspired by traditional designs and embroidered in a Torzhok style. It looks like her bridal tiara was placed further back on her head, a look I much prefer.

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What do you think of this Imperial bridal look?

Jump over to these posts for additional coverage of this event:

Imperial Royal Wedding: Family and Guests
Civil Wedding Ceremony

Images from Getty as indicated  

Norwegian Royal Wedding 20 Years On: European Royals

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We conclude our look back at Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s wedding today with the remaining royal guests and what a glittering group it was!

Queen Paola wore the elegant Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Bandeau. She and King Albert attended with Prince Phillippe, the men both in uniform with caps (Princess Mathilde was in the last trimester of her pregnancy with Princess Elisabeth and remained at home).

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Princess Kristine Bernadotte (3rd wife of Prince Carl Bernadotte who was born a Swedish prince/Duke of Östergötland but ended up a Belgian prince thanks to his mother’s lineage after relinquishing Swedish succession) wore a tiara of unknown origin which, following her death in 2014, remains a mystery.

Grand Duchess Josephine wore the Belgian Scroll Tiara.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore the Luxembourg Chaumet Choker Tiara with diamond lattice base and pearls

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Princess Sibylla of Luxembourg wore her diamond Art Deco Tiara.

Queen Sofia wore the exquisite Spanish Floral Tiara.

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The Countess of Wessex wore her wedding tiara, a piece rumored to be made from four alternative sections from Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet.

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Princess Laurentien wore the Dutch Ears Of Wheat Tiara.

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Prince Willem-Alexander attended with fiancé Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (they married a few months later on February 2, 2002) who wore the base of the Dutch royal collection’s Antique Pearl Tiara. While we’re used to seeing this tiara with the pearls, this was Máxima’s first tiara outing and the smaller scaled version made a great inaugural piece for her.

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And finally- a pair of bachelor prince heirs, both in military uniform with caps.

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One poignant comment yesterday wondered if we’d ever see such a glittering array of jewels at a single event. After all of the social distance and pared-down scale of events we’ve all experienced over the past year and a half, it seems impossible, doesn’t it? I have, however, hopeful that as the next generation of crown princesses enters adulthood, the weddings of these future queens will enthrall and delight just as those of their parents did.

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Images from Getty as indicated; Scanpix and Corbis

Norwegian Royal Wedding 20 Years On: Scandinavian Royals

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Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit;s late afternoon wedding on August 25, 2001 carried a formal dress code. We don’t often cover tiaras here but any daytime diamonds are fair game here at Royal Hats so we’re going to sparkle up the rest of this week and look at the jewels and gowns worn by royal guests to this event (I’ll leave discussion about the jewels to expert Lauren Kiehna and link to her comprehensive history of each diadem).

Queen Sonja topped her jade gown with the very grand diamond and emerald tiara from the Norwegian Emerald Parure

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Princess Märtha Louise wore the modern tiara her grandfather King Olav gifted her in 1989 with diamond ears of wheat and pearls.

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Princess Astrid wore Queen Maud’s Turquoise Circlet tiara, beautifully paired with her pale blue gown.

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Princess Ragnhild wore what is known as Princess Ingebog’s Boucheron Circle Tiara

Queen Margrethe topped her purple ensemble with the romantic heart-shaped Baden Palmette Tiara

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Princess Benedikte wore her Star and Pearl Tiara. Her eldest daughter, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, wore her mother’s wonderful floral tiara; her younger daughter, Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, is shown below in coral, in an open design tiara I’ve not been able to identify.

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Queen Anne-Marie of Greece wore the beautiful scrolled diamond Khedive of Egypt Tiara

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Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark wore her diamond tiara with lovely halo shape.

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Queen Silvia wore one of her larger tiaras, Queen Sofia’s Tiara with central starburst and diamond swags.

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Crown Princess Victoria wore her graphic diamond Baden Fringe Tiara

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Princess Madeleine wore the Modern Fringe Tiara, a gift from her parents which she would later wear at her own wedding.

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We don’t chat tiaras much here but like hats, a tiara’s shape or scale can suit (or not suit!) their wearers and the ensembles with which they are paired. Which ones here stand out to you most?

Images from Getty as indicated  

Norwegian Royal Wedding 20 Years On

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Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit celebrate their 20th anniversary today and as such, we are taking time this week to look back over their 2001 wedding.

Prince Haakon was the second in a line of European crown princes to marry in the early 2000s which, understandably, attracted much attention, as did his choice of fiancé. Thankfully, the intervening twenty years have brought acceptance for Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, whose past involvement in Oslo’s house-party drug culture and four-year old son made her marriage to the crown prince somewhat controversial. In the end, love prevailed and the couple married on  August 25, 2001 at Oslo Cathedral.

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Norwegian Designer Ove Harder Finseth collaborated with Mette-Marit on her bridal gown, its silhouette inspired by the coronation gown Queen Maud wore in 1906.

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The result was a thoroughly modern gown made from custom-dyed ecru silk crepe and 125 meters of silk tulle. The gown’s gently curved open neckline and horizontally draped bodice beautifully softened the minimalist design.

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Full length sleeves and an exquisitely draped skirt that extended to a two meter long train emphasized the gown’s elegant and sweeping line.

King Harald and Queen Sonja gifted an antique bandeau diamond tiara to their their new daughter-in-law. The Edwardian piece, which dates to about 1910 and features a delicate scrolled daisy motif, has since become her signature tiara.

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Mette-Marit’s bridal look was completed with a 6-meter long silk veil tucked into the chignon on the back of her head which, unusually, extended well beyond the train of her gown.  The exquisite combination of train and veil, as one commentator wrote, “creates the effect of a bride floating down the aisle on her own personal cloud.”  The overall bridal look was one of lightness and restraint that suited her, perfectly.

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Crown Prince Haakon, and his best man Crown Prince Frederik, both wore military uniform.

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Adult bridesmaid  Linda Tånevik wore a silver-lilac silk halter necked gown and wrap with silver hair ornaments studded throughout her updo. The young flower girls, Mette-Marit’s nieces and children of Haakon’s maternal cousin, wore delicate woven floral wreaths in the same purple blooms as in the bride’s trailing bouquet.

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What do you think of this bridal look, 20 years on? For tiaras (and uniform caps!) worn by Norwegian royal family members and other royal guests, jump over to these posts:

Norwegian Royal Wedding 20 Years On: Scandinavian Royals

Norwegian Royal Wedding 20 Years On: European Royals

 

Images from Getty and social media as indicated  

Dutch Royal Wedding 20 Years On: Religious Ceremony

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Last week, we looked back 20 years at the hats worn to Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien’s civil wedding on May 17, 2001. Today, we continue with their religious ceremony, held May 19, 2001 at St Jacobs Church in The Hague.

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Laurentien’s gown, made of radzimir silk, was designed by Edouard Vermeulen of the House of Natan (she and Constantijn resided in Brussels at the time so a Belgian designer wasn’t surprising or controversial). The bodice followed a straight boat neckline, modernized with a cowl-like fold.

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Three quarter length fitted sleeves opened to a dramatic pointed calla lily shape.

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The gown’s unique silhouette continued with a fitted empire waist, below which the skirt opened, as a coat, to reveal a column skirt beneath.

The coat’s train flowed to a length of 3.5 meters (12 feet) over which Laurentien wore a full length, layered silk tulle veil. Unfortunately, the veil obscured the deep V at the back of the dress, a design feature that beautifully balanced the gown’s high neck at the front. At the time, I thought it was beautifully modern and sleek gown, elegantly regal in scale and design.

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Laurentien anchored the veil with the diamond Laurel Wreath Tiara from the Dutch royal jewel collection. With her pearl and diamond drop earrings and voluminous veil, the tiara has just the right amount of sparkle, gravitas and height to complete this bridal look.

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Queen Beatrix topped a blush silk floral collared dress and variegated pastel woven coat with a wide brimmed rose straw hat. The hat featured a wide, round crown with straight sides and flat top and an upturned kettle brim, trimmed with a layered pink silk hatband and swath of tulle wrapped around the crown.

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Laurentien’s mother, Jantien Brinkhorst, wore a red straw hat with wide, sidesweeping brim. Notice the gentle brim pleats on the lower side.

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Máxima Zorreguita, who would marry Prince Willem-Alexander the following February wore a brimmed taupe straw hat. The brim’s binding and triple layered hatband looked to be in the same silver silk as her suit, linking the pieces together.

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We’ll look at hats worn by other members of the Dutch royal family and royal guests in tomorrow’s post. For now- what do you think of Laurentien’s bridal look, 20 years on?

Hats worn by royal guests and extended members of the Dutch royal family
Hats worn to the civil ceremony

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Images from Getty as indicated