Royal Bridesmaids

[mgrant]

Originally Posted by Mevrouw

Hello - does anyone know how many times Princess Ann of Great Britain has been a bridesmaid?
Mevrouw

Twice I think - at Queen Anne- Marie of Greece and her aunt, Princess Margaret of Great Britian.

[Moonmaiden23]

I think small children add an air of innocence and charm to a wedding party but it CAN be tricky...as someone pointed out the younger they are, the less likely that they will be able to attend the bride properly.

I went to one wedding where one little pageboy freaked out in the vestibule of the church just before the bridal procession began...he started sobbing hysterically for his mommy and refused to walk down the aisle!

However, I would much rather have young children as my attendants than adults...I have been a bridesmaid countless times and it was NEVER fun...all the hassles over getting everyone fitted, about hairstyles, shoes etc. Waay too much stress.

For the record I think EVERYTHING about Victoria's wedding was perfect..including her little bridesmaids. I was enchanted by their simple white dresses that seemed to emphasize youth and purity.

LOVED it!!

[Catherine Helvin]

I think very small children as wedding attendants is never a good idea, however cute they may look in the photos, because they only have very short concentration spans so will get bored and fractious during long services. Look at the impish behaviour of Prince William at Prince Andrew's wedding in 1986.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by Catherine Helvin

I think very small children as wedding attendants is never a good idea, however cute they may look in the photos, because they only have very short concentration spans so will get bored and fractious during long services. Look at the impish behaviour of Prince William at Prince Andrew's wedding in 1986.

Infanta Elena and Jaime Marchialar's son comes to mind when he was a page at his Uncle Felipe's wedding.

[Moonmaiden23]

The above examples are true, but in the case of CP Victoria the children behaved flawlessly. They were picture perfect, like the entire wedding. Victoria was so pleased with them that when the wedding cake was cut, she insisted that her little attendants be served before all the other guests.

As for little William, his antics at the York wedding didn't bother me a bit...they gave that very grand event a more personal "family" feel.

I loved it, and it probably amused Andrew and Sarah too!

[Katrianna]

Originally Posted by mgrant

Twice I think - at Queen Anne- Marie of Greece and her aunt, Princess Margaret of Great Britian.

Princess Anne was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent.

[KittyAtlanta]

I had no adult bridesmaids at my own wedding. I had a matron of honor and three under 10s. I was married in England and it seems (seemed) to be a tradition there. That was some 38 years ago and I'm sure the weddings there are now the sort of "anything goes" weddings that we now have here in the states.

[RubyPrincess168]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

The above examples are true, but in the case of CP Victoria the children behaved flawlessly. They were picture perfect, like the entire wedding. Victoria was so pleased with them that when the wedding cake was cut, she insisted that her little attendants be served before all the other guests.

Bravo Victoria!

[Catherine Helvin]

Originally Posted by Katrianna

Princess Anne was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent.

She was also a chief bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 8 June 1961.

[Florencia]

India Hicks: A royal bridesmaid
Habitually Chic®: A Royal Bridesmaid

[Scotslass]

Originally Posted by Catherine Helvin

She was also a chief bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 8 June 1961.

She was also a bridesmaid at the wedding of Lady Elizabeth Anson.

[Carminha Stalker]

I don´t like adult bridesmaids. I think it´s a question of what one is used to.
But I LOVE page boys and flower girls. In this fashion, the best for me were at Prince Felipe and Letizia´s wedding (from a Goya painting), William and Kate´s, and also the little ones at Nicholas and Tatiana´s wedding in Spetsos.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Is this a British thing? Because I have never heard or seen little girls being called "bridesmaids" before until I looked at English weddings. Only little girls normally in a wedding is the flower girl. And the youngest boy is the ring bearer.

[IloveCP]

My favorites are Kates and Victorias.

My least are Autumn,Letizia,Tatiana,Diana,Mary and Mathilde.Number one being Tatiana.

[Cinquefoil]

My favs are:
CP Letizia= the color(s) & the "theme"
P Kate= richness of fabric, simplicity of details
CP Victoria=fabric, simplicity, although I DO think that a bit of color accent would have been even better
P Martha Louise= I thought they were adorable.
Infanta Cristina of Spain= even though I'm not fond of red & white for weddings, I thought the symbolism & overall looks were very good
...same goes for CP Maxima & CP Mathilde

Lady Sarah Chatto= different, fresh, lovely, BUT I imagine there aren't too many adult women who could pull off white & in that fabric

I must give honorable mention to Marie-Chantal b/c I thought the color was lovely & summery, just seemed to be "missing something" and I also thought that Queen Elizabeth had lovely BM dresses and CP Mary of Denmark= until recently, I absolutely cringed @ those dresses, but after seeing the color in HD pics AND seeing the dresses w/out the jackets, they truly were lovely!

[cath]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

Is this a British thing? Because I have never heard or seen little girls being called "bridesmaids" before until I looked at English weddings. Only little girls normally in a wedding is the flower girl. And the youngest boy is the ring bearer.

I'm British, and I'd never heard of flowergirls until relatively recently - anyone attending the bride was a bridesmaid, unless it was a small boy, in which case he was a pageboy. If the bridesmaid was married, she was a Matron of Honour (horrid title!) I may be wrong (ducks below the parapet!) but I think the 'flowergirl' thing has come from across the pond in recent(ish) years.

[KittyAtlanta]

Hi Cath, I used to live up the river from you in Burton. Loved my time in the area. I was married there and had 3 under 10s as my attendants. It was a lovely time. Nothing horrid about "matron." It just means ruler of the household.

[cath]

Originally Posted by KittyAtlanta

Hi Cath, I used to live up the river from you in Burton. Loved my time in the area. I was married there and had 3 under 10s as my attendants. It was a lovely time. Nothing horrid about "matron." It just means ruler of the household.

Ah, Burton - lovely beer!
But were your under 10s called bridesmaids or flowergirls? And if they were flowergirls, when were you married (if you don't mind my asking!)? My point was that calling young bridesmaids flowergirls seems to me to be quite a recent thing, and possibly an American one?
I know there's nothing actually horrid about 'matron' - it just conjures up unfortunate associations ('matronly', etc).

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I will say that Grace and Eliza did very good with their jobs. They behaved well walking down the aisle while at the same time looking cute. And I think Grace was just fine on the balcony.

[IloveCP]

Here are two cute articles about little bridesmaids

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Wedding Wednesday: Little Bridesmaids in White

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Wedding Wednesday: More Little Bridesmaids