Royal brides who didn't look good on their special day!

[tamar]

IMO the bride that had the worst and strange dress on her wedding day wes queen Silviya of Sweeden. She is a very beautiful woman but on the wedding she looked like a Nun with her ver starnge and ugly dress.

[grevinnan]

Were you old enough to appreciate elegance when Silvia were a bride? Silvia's wedding dress was very elegant and very appropriate for her age (she would have looked very silly in a Diana style dress) and for the very special occassion of her becoming a Queen at the moment of marriage. Silvia has a wonderful eye for elegance and she certainly was a very elegant bride.

[magnik]

http://worldroots.com/brigitte/royal...viasweden6.jpg

Agree grevinnan. Silvia looked beautiful on her wedding day.

Btw. She was a bride in 70. when the wedding fashion was little different than now. And don't forget about bride's taste.
http://worldroots.com/brigitte/gifs3/bertilsweden14.jpg

But they're tastes anad tastes.

[cupcakes]

I have to agree with Tamar, and it is not because I can't appreciate the elegance of the era. Silvia's dress was too big, it was extremely unflattering, and it made her look bulky and dowdy. It did look a bit like a nun's robe because the cut was so unfeminine. Queen Margrethe and Queen Sonja both had similar A-line dresses that were very simple, but there was enough structure to them that you could still tell there was a woman inside them.

I did like what Silvia did with her veil - I think the flap at the back is unique and cute. But unfortunately, the cameo tiara is flat out hideous, and it certainly doesn't go with a wedding dress.

However, I still thought Silvia looked pretty despite the terrible gown and tiara. Her face looked pretty and she looked happy.

[jcbcode99]

OH, Cupcakes, I have to disagree with you. I agree that the dress is not one of my favorites, but I love that cameo tiara and I think it was perfect for the Swedish Royal Wedding.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

The tiara looked slightly too big for Silivia's head, otherwise I think she was perfect. Very beautiful woman back then!

[Jia]

I've just found this thread, and it's sooo long
When I read the title, the first one that came into my head was Princess Masako.
Frankly, when I saw the picture, I thought it's ugly.
I look at it again now, I don't see that special beauty of bridal gowns at all.
And her two main jewelleries look too heavy like they're pushing her down.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Originally Posted by Jia

I've just found this thread, and it's sooo long
When I read the title, the first one that came into my head was Princess Masako.
Frankly, when I saw the picture, I thought it's ugly.
I look at it again now, I don't see that special beauty of bridal gowns at all.
And her two main jewelleries look too heavy like they're pushing her down.

Hi Jia...do you mean the ceremonial kimono the Princess wore on her wedding day, or the traditional Western wedding gown she donned later in the day for her presentation to the Emperor and Empress?

I loved her traditional Western gown, I thought it was traditional and elegant. The kimono looked dreadfully uncomfortable.

[ashelen]

Originally Posted by Marengo

but the veil matches the dress! There are some creme coloured accents in the dress as well. Fransesca's wedding & dress is actually one of my favourites, the antique veil, the hungarian costumes, the snow etc... And I liked that she did not wear flowers but just a beautiful bible (a bit ironic though, if you know her past, but of course, people can change).

sorry i do not know the past whatis in her past?

[Jia]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDreamin

Hi Jia...do you mean the ceremonial kimono the Princess wore on her wedding day, or the traditional Western wedding gown she donned later in the day for her presentation to the Emperor and Empress?

I loved her traditional Western gown, I thought it was traditional and elegant. The kimono looked dreadfully uncomfortable.

I meant the western bridal gown
For the kimono, I'm not an expert, so I can't say much about it, but it looked uncomfortable to me too.

[Menarue]

Originally Posted by iowabelle

Heresy I know but... I don't think Queen Mother Elizabeth's wedding dress was a winner. It just hung on her like a sack-- too bad because she was a very attractive young woman (I know it was medieval style and it was the 1920s but ugly is timeless!).

I quite agree I have always thought it hideous. It may have been the fashion but it was not at all flattering. She had such a beautiful face but with the veil pushed down over he forehead she didn´t look pretty at all.

[queenofcelts]

princess Kalina of Bulgaria

[pamk]

Originally Posted by ladybelline

You are right Nefertiti, I also remember reading this story! In fact, the material was a VERY expensive one, so it's understable, the seamstress was worried about wasting it!

It must be two different dresses. I think that Masako is quite a bit taller and bigger than Kiko.
At least Sayako had a different dress - the fabric in her dress was so heavy looking --- beautiful and looked very expensive. Simple, clean style. Perfect for her.

[pamk]

This is a fun thread ---
My thoughts - love them or hate them!
Marie Chantal --- Waaaaay overdone - dress looked too hot and heavy- it was a hot July day - I'm surprised that she didn't faint in the heat

Kalina - Suited her style - she marches to a different drummer, for sure

Serena Linley - she looked like a porceline doll - too much going on

Sarah Armstrong-Jones--- she has a very unique, simple style - the dress was magnificent and was perfect for her

Diana-She looked amazing - the sequins on the veil picked up the diamonds in the tiara - top of the dress looked very 1700s - she was perfect

Matilde - a bit too simple for my taste - dress fabric was too light for a December wedding

Laurentien - Awful - she is not a feminine woman and the dress ... well ...

Astrid --- She has never been a fashion pacemaker - awful dress

Mabel --- fit of the dress was perfect - if the whole ensemble had been a hit, then Viktor and Rolf would have been falling all over themselves in
claiming credit for the design

Mary - I only noticed her gown from the waist up --- I thought that she looked fabulous - the veil, the earrings, the tiara - her dark hair and pale
skin --- she radiated happiness

Alexandra --- Dress was too much - the hair: She has straight hair and she had permed it - Big Mistake. She also had it cut short at one time - again, Big Mistake. She now looks good - no more perms!

Letizia- Big Shock! After all of the pre-wedding fashion triumphs then the wedding day! Dress was a disaster - overwhelmed her. Her hair looked messy and uncombed and dirty. The tiara on top of the ugly hair weighed her down. Looked like she jumped out of bed, pinned her hair up quickly, plopped on the tiara and dress and off to the Cathedral. I think that the dress designer was this old man who Queen Sophia liked a lot - he came out of retirement to design the gown. Hope he's back in retirement now!

Marie Terese - Hated the gown, the hairdo, the whole thing!

Tessy - No one has mentioned her. Strapless gown --- please. Too much make-up. Looked like she was going to a high school prom.

Francesca Habsbourg --- Loved, loved loved the whole ensemble. The coat was necessary because it was COLD. The small church where they were married was, I am sure, not heated. The dress under the coat looked beautiful --- lovely color and bead-work.

Mette Marit --- Simple elegance - a magnificent gown.

Martha Louise --- Unremarkable dress. she looks better with her lighter hair color now.

Sophie --- Dress was unremarkable --- fabric was too light and floaty --- hate the tiara -- looks like the lace edge of an apron

Silvia - I think that her dress was designed by Dior. It looked fine but I would have like to have seen a prettier neckline. The cameo tiara was perfect. A diamond tiara would have been too over the top, I think. Plus I think that it is a tradition for Swedish brides to wear this tiara.

Most beautiful royal bride that I have seen: Carmen (Franco's grandaughter) who married the Duke of Cadiz in the early 70's. Simple and magnificent Balenciaga dress, fabulous tiara, simple hair and perfect make-up --- the best!

Well, now we will have to more brides to hash over --- Autumn Kelly and Marie Cavallier --- can't wait!

[CaliforniaDreamin]

For me the biggest disappointments are the ones where you EXPECT so much from them...the brides that you anticipate to knock everyone's socks off and they don't.

I didn't expect Kalina of Bulgaria to look anything other than the way she looked...bizarre. So she didn't surprise me at all.

But socialite Marie-Chantal Miller?? It just goes to show...never try to copy another woman's style. I could barely find her face under all that frou-frou. The gown made her look flat chested. I have read that she tried to imitate Grace Kelly and if so she failed miserably. Grace was a tall woman with a better figure than MC, and her whole appearance on her wedding day was too perfect to ever duplicate so MC shouldn't have bothered trying.

Lady Diana Spencer...I was so excited the night before the wedding that I made myself sick. I got up at 3am to watch. And when I saw her get out of that carriage I was almost in tears...what a mess. What I especially hated was her hair...it had fallen flat and was plastered to her forehead. If Diana had not lost so much weight between the time of her final fitting and the wedding she might have pulled it off...but it looked very poorly fitted. And then there were those damn wrinkles...and I totally blame the Emmanuels for that because they should have realized. In all fairness though...seen from the distance of twenty five years I think I like the gown more...it's strangely more lovely to me now than it was then. Diana was just so, so gorgeous and young and innocent then...I sort of "understand" the gown better now than I did in 1981.

Caroline of Monaco...her first wedding gown was so awful I was in denial when I first saw her. I took this disaster personally because Caroline was my style icon when I was a teenager and when she came out looking half milkmaid, half Princess Leia from Star Wars I was very disappointed, even annoyed with her.

Letizia of Spain...what a soggy disaster. I hated everything about her appearance that day except her face, which looked like an angel. Her stringy
dirty looking hair. And that gown reminded me of the Wicked Queen from Snow White...I hated, hated, hated it.

Paola of Belgium was one of the great beauties of her time. So when I eagerly searched the archives looking for photos of her as a bride I was in for a let down of huge proportions. Just like Letizia her face looked great...like Botticelli's Venus in fact. But her gown was one of the worst EVER...I read that she designed it herself and I totally believe it...it was fitted poorly and every time I see it even today I scratch my head. Her veil was lovely but the effect was ruined by that mess of a gown. Fortunately she was such a beauty then that people didn't even notice.

Then there are the women I expected to absolutely belly flop on their wedding day who came out and surprised me...Sarah Ferguson looked better than I had ever seen her(except the hair, yuck!) Mette-Marit was elegant and stunning, and Marie Cavallier was a vision, and Sarah Armstrong Jones looked great and I totally didn't expect it!

[R_Bee]

In no particular order...

Astrid of Belgium: Her dress would have been so pretty if not for those big hot air ballon-like sleeves. Maybe she was trying to save money by wearing a dress that could also double as a form of transportation-every time I see a pic of her and her hubby on the balcony I keep expecting them to lift off at any moment.

Annette: One of my least favorites ever. Too rumpled, too dowdy, too overwhelming on her. This goes for the veil as well as the dress.

Letizia: Another petite bride in an overwhelming dress. Unlike Annette's, though, I did think this dress was rather pretty-just not on her.

Mary of Denmark: The top part was decent, although I thought it fit a little funny around the shoulders. The skirt, however, I didn't like at all. The lace panels idea looked nice on paper, but didn't translate well to the finished product. Honestly, to me it looked like a bunch of leftover fabric scraps sewn together.

Marie-Chantal: Too stiff and overdone. Taking inspiration from another woman's wedding style is one thing, totally copying it is another.

Mabel: I can't deny that the craftsmanship and the basic design of this dress were excellent. If only Viktor and Rolf would have stopped there. Another dress that was totally ruined by one big flaw-or, in this case, a lot of little ones in the form of bows. Everywhere. With a tiara that looked like an antenna signaling the mother ship to boot.

[Menarue]

Originally Posted by iowabelle

Juan Carlos' sisters Pilar and Margarita, most especially Margarita. The dress looked like a nun's habit.

I was at the wedding as a guest and I thought the dress was perhaps plain but as the Infanta is very discreet it suited her perfectly. At that time the fashion was for very short skirts and I cringe when I see the dress that I wore......platform kind of shoes too......... cringe again.

[Menarue]

I don´t think anyone has mentioned the horrible dress that the Duchess of Windsor wore for her wedding. It was particularly ugly which is surprising as she usually had wonderful taste. She was always stick thin but this dress even managed to give her a protruding "tummy".
I thought that both dresses Camilla wore were stunning and I never thought she could look as attractive as she did. Those feather "fascinators" suit her beautifully.

[TheTruth]

I agree Menarue