Advice to Royal Brides

[HRH Mims]

If you were a princess-bride's advisor for a wedding, dress, shoes, bouquet etc. what you will advice to them? What would you change on another royal bride (for example, to princess Mary on her wedding day)?

 

[ksenia]

I would advise CP Letizia to wear a dress that framed her face more openly and a higher hairstyle with the tiara and veil. I liked the overall dress and since the veil was a present from her husband she had to wear it. very lovely but a little at odds (competing) with the dress.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Well, my Grandmother gives this piece of advice to all the women in our family when get married, "Keep your head up and your dress down".

 

[Smilla]

In general: get a fashion advisor and don't put bows on your wedding dress.

 

[Ritka]

The "no bows on the wedding dress" rule is a good one. I've only seen one or two women that look good in dresses like that.

 

[Alexandria]

I think royal brides should be given the same advice that "regular" brides are given:

1) Whether you are a princess by birth or will become one by marriage, although your dress should be fitting of a princess (i.e. not too revealing or bare, etc.), make sure that you are comfortable in your dress. You will be in it for an entire day with much expected of you from taking endless photos to greeting guests. You don't want a dress that makes you feel uncomfortable or awkward.

2) Related, make sure you can move freely and easily in your dress since it will be such an acitivity laden day. You don't want to feel like you need to be sewn into your dress or that if you had a sip of champagne you might burst in it. When a friend got married last year, during one of our fittings for bridesmaids dresses, the seamstress told us to jump around and do various stretches to ensure that when moving about on that day we wouldn't "pop out" or feel like we couldn't dance properly, enjoy ourselves or do our bridesmaid duties.

3) The most important one: Even though an entire country or even the world may be watching, the day is about you and your beloved and the committment you're making to each other before God. Everything else is icing on the cake!

 

[har]

I totally agree. You should be comfortable in what you wear.

 

[HRH Mims]

I agree too. You can see it on wedding photos and videos of late princess Diana- she had big uncomfortable dress and she looked on her wedding day so in stress...

 

[princess olga]

Well, my Grandmother gives this piece of advice to all the women in our family when get married, "Keep your head up and your dress down".

LOL Amen to that!

I think royal brides should be given the same advice that "regular" brides are given:

1) Whether you are a princess by birth or will become one by marriage, although your dress should be fitting of a princess (i.e. not too revealing or bare, etc.), make sure that you are comfortable in your dress. You will be in it for an entire day with much expected of you from taking endless photos to greeting guests. You don't want a dress that makes you feel uncomfortable or awkward.

2) Related, make sure you can move freely and easily in your dress since it will be such an acitivity laden day. You don't want to feel like you need to be sewn into your dress or that if you had a sip of champagne you might burst in it. When a friend got married last year, during one of our fittings for bridesmaids dresses, the seamstress told us to jump around and do various stretches to ensure that when moving about on that day we wouldn't "pop out" or feel like we couldn't dance properly, enjoy ourselves or do our bridesmaid duties.

I totally agree and I think this ties in with these royal brides typically commissioning a designer to come up with a sketch of a dress which typically I get the sense, is a mix of their own ideas with that of the designer. And the result, as many posters have pointed out on the thread "brides not looking good on their day" is decidedly debatable, often enough..
Because the bride ends up with a dress that might be her idea of a princess bride but doesn't necessarily be a great choice for her body type, or sometimes the design doesn't take into consideration that the bride needs to walk down an often lengthy isle for example.

I.e. Letizia's dress was nice enough in concept. But on the bride, I think it wasn't that great. She drowned in the collar for example, and I kept on thinking, "where is the bride in this cloud of white??!"
Same with the "apron" that Mary's dress had. On the sketch, it didn't look apronly at all, but quite beautiful and sophisticated. IRL it looked milkmaid-ish, a huge dud I think, designer-wise.
So to make a long story short, these royal brides should, if I'd be them, first go and try out all kinds of bridal gowns to see what works and what doesn't and <then> commission a sketch.

 

[Princess BellyFlop]

My advice to a royal bride: keep your man happy!

 

[Lady Jennifer]

What I would say:
Wear a dress & shoes that are comfortable (I have a friend who wore sneakers under her dress! No one saw them until she showed us).
I would also tell them to do what they want in the wedding (ie the music, the guest list- as much as they can get away with, what their bridesmaids wear, flowers, etc).

I would also tell them to wear a dress that they can look back at in 20yrs when styles have changed, yet again, & they won't cringe because they wore that on their wedding day.

 

[kimebear]

Go for a style that is timeless, not "of the times".

 

[*SofiaM*]

My advice:
1) Always choose a dress that you will be comfortable in AND, in my opinion, a simple dress that is beautiful but not necessarily the latest fashion. This way you won't look back at your wedding photos in 10 years time and cringe!!
2) Wear comfortable shoes, if your dress is long and it looks ok, you could even get away with flats! (Well that's what I'll do when I marry because I just cannot walk in heels)
3) Finally, choose a dres that YOU want, not what somebody else wants. Afterall, it's your day!

Edit: Wow Lady Jennifer, I just read your post again after I'd written mine and they're virtually the same! Well as they say, great minds think alike!

 

[RhapsodyBrat]

wow...cool topic!

what i would say to a royal bride is:

1. in choosing your dress, better go for the classic lines/style and one that accentuates your best features. better that than wear something that's in vogue but highlights your flaws instead. and (just like the rest have advised) make sure that it will allow you to move freely and comfortably.

2. be mindful of protocol and tradition, yet make sure that you have your say in the ceremony and reception. after all, it's your and your spouse's day and your happiness is above all that matters.

3. practice smiling all day in front of the mirror several times before the big day. with all those cameras flashing, those facial muscles really need some serious warm-up.

4. be gracious to your guests and to the multitude of people wishing your happiness. they want to celebrate with you too so make a point to honor their wishes and efforts.

5. take your vows seriously, stay true to them, and be your partner's best friend for all your lives.