The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer: 29 July 1981


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While I think PD's wedding gown had too much going on, I think she pulled it off spectacularly. It could have overwhelmed her but she didn't let it.

Oddly, although it's not one of my favorite royal wedding dresses, I do enjoy looking at pictures of it: it's such a frou-frou gown that's fun trying to pick out just how many fussy details are on it.

Also, a tidbit I don't think has been posted here: Mariah Carey's Vera Wang wedding gown--the one she wore to her first marriage to Tommy Motola--was inspired by PD's wedding dress. (Mariah's holds up much better than PD's does)
 
This is something I always wondered...when Diana walked up the aisle she had the tiara over her veil which covered her face, did she say her vows with the veil over her face or was it lifted?

Also on the way out with Charles the veil was obviously away from her face but not going over the top of the tiara, when or how did she manage that?
 
This is something I always wondered...when Diana walked up the aisle she had the tiara over her veil which covered her face, did she say her vows with the veil over her face or was it lifted?

Also on the way out with Charles the veil was obviously away from her face but not going over the top of the tiara, when or how did she manage that?

Yes she had her Veuil covering her face, It was removed when the signed the Wedding register at the End of the Service.
 
I agree that Diana's dress was the worst of all.Those puffy sleeves and long train were terrible. IMO But the tiara looked lovely and regal.

The train had to be long because the wedding was in St Paul's Cathedral, a massive building, and a shorter train would have looked lost in such a huge building. I think slimmer sleeves might have looked better though.
 
I liked both wedding dresses of Princess Diana and Ferge. What I didn't like was the train (much too long). If my memories is correct about 3 or 4 girls and women in the bridal party had to make sure that this train wasn't step on or messed up.

Had Diana had a much shorter train, it would have looked lost in the massive St Paul's Cathedral, wouldn't it?
 
This is awesome photographic of Prince Charles and lady Diana weddings. Thank you for sharing with us.
 
Your welcome:flowers: I can never get enough photos from this wedding!
 
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Thank you for those videos! Another user on flick called Waxbitch has quite a big collection of Diana photos which obviously inlcudes lots of Wedding and Pre-Wedding photos though you have to search through the album in order to find them which is why I didn't post any links but for anyone interested the photos are excellent quality.
 
Thank you for those videos! Another user on flick called Waxbitch has quite a big collection of Diana photos which obviously inlcudes lots of Wedding and Pre-Wedding photos though you have to search through the album in order to find them which is why I didn't post any links but for anyone interested the photos are excellent quality.

Thank you Ghost_night554, it is a great collection.
 
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I imagine it most likely doesn't taste very good..I wonder how it even looks now after so many years.
 
I didn't actually buy it; but I iimagine it was quite dry after 30 years too.
 
Thank you for that.I always love looking at B&W photos from the wedding. Shame some of the links in this thread are dead but overall the main photos are still able to be found on the net.
 
I made a short time line of the day and some details from the wedding breakfast
10:50 am
The Bridegroom arrives At St.Paul's Cathedral and is greeted by the Dean, The Chapter, the bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, then moves into Dean's Aisle

10:55am
The Bride's arrival is greeted by trumpet fanfare. With her father at her side she walks down the aisle

11:00am
The Marriage Service

12:10pm
The Royal Couple emerge from St.Paul's Cathedral

12:20pm
The Carriage Procession of the Royal Couple leaves for Buckingham Palace

12:25pm
The Queen's Carriage Procession leaves for Buckingham Palace

1:15pm
The Queen, the Bride and Bridegroom and the families of the Royal Couple appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace

1:40pm
The Royal Family, the Bride's family and close friends retire for the Wedding Breakfast

4:00pm
The Prince and Princess of Wales leave Buckingham Palace by carriage for their honeymoon
Charles and Diana’s wedding breakfast was held in tradition, a menu of fresh strawberries and cream, brill in lobster sauce, and supreme de voilaille Princess de Galles which is chicken breast stuffed with a fine lamb mousse.While there was naturally a beautiful and edible wedding cake on the wedding breakfast menu there were also a multitude of wedding cakes that were lining the walls that were sent as tokens of good fortune from bakers around the globe.
There were about 20 wedding cakes adorning a side room, presents from bakers across the country. Those were just for show.
More Here: Affairs to Remember : People.com

"The bridal group then lined up in the Throne room for photographs. Lord Lichfield had put a chart on the wall. We had to find our numbers then stand on the spot marked on the floor. I looked and looked but my name wasn't there. Everyone was in position but I was on the sidelines, on the verge of tears, until someone found a place for me. That's why I'm no smiling much."
But Sarah-Jane relished the once-in-a-lifetime chance to gaze down from the Palace Balcony at the thousands of cheering well-wishers below and listening to their chants of "We want Charlie" We want Di."
Afterwards, in the Ball Supper Room, we children weren't interested in the Supreme de Volaille Princesse de Galles, but were thrilled that it came with chips. Strawberries and cream followed, which we liked even more.
More Here: sarahjanegaselee
At last — the wedding breakfast. God knows why it’s referred to as such, because, in fact, it is a lunch. We had brill in lobster sauce, chicken stuffed with lamb mousse and *strawberries and cream.
Being royal, Charles had not one, but two best men. Princes Andrew and Edward made speeches, light and witty, just as you would imagine brothers to be on a wedding day.
As soon as the cake had been cut, Diana, her sisters, Sarah, the smaller bridesmaids and I disappeared upstairs to help the princess change into her going-away outfit.
[FONT=&quot]More Here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1345229/Princess-Margaret-nightie-sweets-Queen-Tonga-Diana-singing-Just-One-Cornetto-A-royal-bridesmaids-VERY-surprising-big-day.html#ixzz1AQITMgG0[/FONT]

I had the great honor of serving at the prince and princess's table. Like the rest of the household staff, I wore the full state ceremonial dress, a scarlet jacket embossed with gold. It weighs five to six pounds, so maneuvering in it is difficult. Even though the princess had unhooked her train, I was fearful that I would tread on her dress when I served her, or spill something. But neither happened. She hardly ate a thing. The nerves of the occasion were too much. - Paul Burrell
More Here: Affairs to Remember : People.com

The wedding breakfast lasted from noon till 4pm but Diana, Charles and the rest of the immediate family didn't join the guests till sometime after 1:40pm possibly around 1:53pm if I've done my math correctly. I timed it with my DVD and the balcony appearance was about 13 minutes long. In the official broadcast on BBC Lord Litchfield said he was only given about half an hour to take the photos after they had left the balcony. Again they first appeared on the balcony at around 1:10pm Apparently the carriage arrived at BP at about 12:37pm


Here you will find the official wedding program, wedding breakfast booklet and ceremonial booklet

ROYAL WEDDING 1981 | Princess Diana Book Boutique
 
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Thank ghost_night554. You made a good work.
 
wedding dress question

I recently saw a video of Princess Diana's wedding dress being uncrated. the train was seperate and showed 2 ties. the gentleman explaining the dress said the train attaches here, at the same time they show pictures of the wedding. he also said she would have detached the train so she could have moved more freely after the wedding. I have a picture of the wedding party standing on the balcony and it is from behind showing the train is still attached to the dress. My questions are...how does the train attach to her dress? i have looked at hundreds of pictures and i can see the straps or ties. also does anyone know if she did detach the train after the wedding?

TIA for stopping by.

Ann
 
Thank ghost_night554 for sharing it.
 
I found another interesting tidbit in the book. In William and Kate's thread I had asked if the royal couple have their own private photo album of photos not published to the public- I guess if you read on, they do!

From:
Royal pursuit: the palace, the press ... - Google Books(link to quote since I don't have the actual book)
"Lord Litchfield was given the prestigious job- though he fell down slightly by inadvertently including for public distribution a wedding day picture that Prince Charles had wished to retain for his own private album-it is the one where he bends low to kiss the outstretched hand of his bride"
Is this the one they're referring to? If so, he's bending down not to kiss Diana's hand but to kiss Diana herself. Or atleast that's what I think cause I don't see Diana holding out her hand like the description says.

Link to picture:http://images1.fanpop.com/images/ph...ss-Diana-kings-and-queens-2594836-550-387.jpg
 
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thank you ghost, i think i am going to have to get this book and read it. i also dont remember a picture of her out stretched hand being kissed, maybe they were able to get the picture back before it was published?
 
Another tidbit in Diana: The portrait Lord Litchfield speaks about how he did not attend the wedding breakfast(aka lunch) so obviously he never took any professional photos from that part of the wedding which is why none were ever released. He actually speaks about how he had to run down and develop the wedding portraits and that's why he missed the lunch the Queen hosted. He also mentions how he took some of the more candid photos throughout the day and also mentions a photo he took of Charles with his best man of which we obviously have never seen. As for the mystery photo it could be possible that they managed to pull the photo Charles wanted for his private album before it was distributed worldwide or it could also be an error on the author's part. It also mentions her dad took many photos of the crowds on the day of the wedding.

To bethaliz6894 if you do get the book will you let us know if anymore info about this mystery photo is given or any other info relative to the wedding. Thank you in advance!
See post below this one for scans from the book, Diana: The Portrait.
 
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