Countess Stéphanie's Wedding Dresses (Civil and Church)


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I like concept behind the dress, but it struck me as busy and I don't think ES took into account the lighting. The dress looks more off white then white in the cathedral. Although In the official photos it looks white. It also should have been a little more flattering to Stephanie's figure. In two of the three official photos, I thought it looked like she had extra weight on her, but in the photo with the other royals she looks pretty slender.

I'm happy it had sleeves, especially in light of what I saw my cousin get married in. (Think Madeline of Sweden at Crown Princess Victoria's wedding, only in white, lower neckline and no cover up.)
 
peanutbutterfly said:
Okay. I think Stephanie looked stunning. I also love Elie.Saab. However, i am not pleased that elie saab has a 'look' and it was worn by so many. Its the fabric for crying out loud. Why why. Marie chantal, Stephanie and Maria Teresa were all wearing that distinctive fabric elie saab patterness(you know what I mean). So today as gorgerous as Stephanie looked its like I saw the dress already. Furthermore her dress was on the runway in a very similar form for Elie Saab's wedding collection.

Im just upset. At elie saab not Stephanie of course. Uurrggghh. Why dress sooo many and in such a similar way?

Actually, if you look at the fabric and the beading work, the dress is completely different.
 
genegirl99 said:
I like concept behind the dress, but it struck me as busy and I don't think ES took into account the lighting. The dress looks more off white then white in the cathedral. Although In the official photos it looks white. It also should have been a little more flattering to Stephanie's figure. In two of the three official photos, I thought it looked like she had extra weight on her, but in the photo with the other royals she looks pretty slender.

I'm happy it had sleeves, especially in light of what I saw my cousin get married in. (Think Madeline of Sweden at Crown Princess Victoria's wedding, only in white, lower neckline and no cover up.)

I could not disagree more. The fit was fabulous.
 
The wedding dress did make Stephanie look heavier, but she is so slender it did not matter. I do not like that type of fabric too well. I would never choose it for myself. But of course she is so beautiful that the dress could not squelch that. Having such a heavy train, heavy material, and tiara that falls over (as this one did, falling backwards) must make a bride nervous. She seemed to be controlling nervousness. I felt the ceremony was tense. However, she and her new husband are so charming and delightful that they overcame with their presence the stiffness. She is so beautiful when properly dressed, as for the reception for young people on Friday morning.
 
I have to say that I love Stéphanie's wedding gown, it suits her style and the lace is perfect for a bride that comes from a country known for its lace-making (even if the lace in the gown is French, Chantilly and Calais). I like how the train is attached to the waist and flows behind her. I like the fact that the designer had used silver thread in the embroideries on the dress, as silver and gold were the colours of royal wedding dresses before white took over as "the must-be colour" for a wedding dress. (I'd love to see a royal bride dare to wear a non-white/whitish wedding dress.)

The veil is new but the embroidery on the veil looks lovely and perhaps it will become a heirloom veil. Many have complained about how the veil is attached to the back of Stéphanie's har, but I like the style, it's unusual and I like her hairdo. There is so much lace in the wedding gown and the veil is embroidered too, so if the veil had been attached higher up on the head I think there would have been too much of lace and embroidery around her face, now we could see her face clearly, and as the Lannoy tiara small it would have been overwhelmed by a veil attached to it.
 
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I loved both the civil wedding dress and the church wedding dress. They both suited her with her pale skin tone and light hair and she looked radiant. I liked the lace and the length of the sleeves.
 
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The veil is new but the embroidery on the veil looks lovely and perhaps it will become a heirloom veil. Many have complained about how the veil is attached to the back of Stéphanie's har, but I like the style, it's unusual and I like her hairdo. There is so much lace in the wedding gown and the veil is embroidered too, so if the veil had been attached higher up on the head I think there would have been too much of lace and embroidery around her face, now we could see her face clearly, and as the Lannoy tiara small it would have been overwhelmed by a veil attached to it.


I agree completely. I thought that the way her hair and veil were arranged was both beautiful and cleverly done.
 
I posted my views on the dress in another thread. I really liked it apart From the fact it didn't help Stephanie walk well with all the weight of the train.

My question comes concerning the weather. Obviously in october it is cold in western Europe. The weather they had for their wedding seems most unusual to me so they were lucky. What would have happened if weather wasn't good enough ? Do you think Stephanie had a jacket to go with it? I always think that for this kind of event brides have one additional gown :) in case something goes wrong with the one, so maybe in her case it was a more "autumnal" gown :)

Concening the veil I'm surprised she didn't chose a traditional veil- maybe MT's or one of her family.
 
The wedding dress was very beautiful, but way too big and heavy, when the train was at the church floor it was too much. And it would have needed a woman with much more personality than Stephanie so that it would have looked good. Now the dress was wearing Stephanie. And I dislike the idea of how expensive the dress was. Also the fact that she wore a very similar dress on the previous evening is a minus.
 
My question comes concerning the weather. Obviously in october it is cold in western Europe. The weather they had for their wedding seems most unusual to me so they were lucky. What would have happened if weather wasn't good enough ? Do you think Stephanie had a jacket to go with it? I always think that for this kind of event brides have one additional gown :) in case something goes wrong with the one, so maybe in her case it was a more "autumnal" gown :)

Concening the veil I'm surprised she didn't chose a traditional veil- maybe MT's or one of her family.
I don't think it gets that cold in Luxembourg in October, the average daily mean temperature is about 48 F and the daily high is about 55 F (about the same temperatures as in London in April), and I would think the main weather worry was whether it should rain or not. As Stéphanie wasn't going to spend much time outdoors I don't think there were any need for a jacket, and the temperature inside the cathedral would be the same regardless of the weather outdoors.

If I understood it correctly the wedding veil of Stéphanie's mother was placed on the statue of the virgin Mary in the church, and of what I have seen there doesn't seem to be a traditional wedding veil in the Luxembourg family, which is a bit surprising as it's not far to well-known lace-making areas in both Belgium and France.
 
Has anyone else noticed that in the official and the balcony pictures Stephanie's tiara is placed on her head differently? I noticed on the pics of the couple leaving the church that her tiara almost fell, so perhaps when she arrived at the palace someone arranged her tiara better on her head as it should've been in the first place.
 
I think this is a nice dress. It's not out of this world, but it did the job fairly well. I agree with others who felt that the fabric looked very heavy and the colour was a bit on the drab side (it reminded me of the colour of porridge). I agree with those who felt Stephanie's gait seemed to be rather lumbering at times, not sure if that was the dress or it's just the way she walks.

There are no particularly interesting or 'note-worthy' aspects to it; it looks like a lot of other Saab dresses, just with a long train.

Having said that, it suited Stephanie well, she looked comfortable in it and it won't age badly. I'd reckon that in 20 years' time it'll still look pretty good. All in all, good but not brilliant.
 
Has anyone else noticed that in the official and the balcony pictures Stephanie's tiara is placed on her head differently? I noticed on the pics of the couple leaving the church that her tiara almost fell, so perhaps when she arrived at the palace someone arranged her tiara better on her head as it should've been in the first place.

It was repositioned after she got back to the palace as it had started to move around on her head when she left the church if you look closely.

See it's clearly coming up off her hair as she's approaching the car.


http://i50.tinypic.com/2qa4rki.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/2a7efxx.jpg


http://i45.tinypic.com/2iiiv51.jpg
 
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I have just looked at several pictures of Stéphanie and noticed that there appears to be a ring on Stéphanie's white-gold necklace. Could it be her mother's wedding ring ? We know she wore the engagement ring of her mother on her left (?) hand but there is another ring on the necklace under her dress.
 
Kit said:
I have just looked at several pictures of Stéphanie and noticed that there appears to be a ring on Stéphanie's white-gold necklace. Could it be her mother's wedding ring ? We know she wore the engagement ring of her mother on her left (?) hand but there is another ring on the necklace under her dress.

There is a post in the Jewellery thread which has pictures and describes exactly what Stephanie wore. The close up picture they have shows no ring on the necklace.

This is the photo;
 

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Has anyone else noticed that in the official and the balcony pictures Stephanie's tiara is placed on her head differently? I noticed on the pics of the couple leaving the church that her tiara almost fell, so perhaps when she arrived at the palace someone arranged her tiara better on her head as it should've been in the first place.
YES! Thank you for pointing that out. I had thought she looked so much better on the balcony and now I know why, the way the tiara was positioned so far back was the only thing I thought was wrong.
 
I posted my views on the dress in another thread. I really liked it apart From the fact it didn't help Stephanie walk well with all the weight of the train.

My question comes concerning the weather. Obviously in october it is cold in western Europe. The weather they had for their wedding seems most unusual to me so they were lucky. What would have happened if weather wasn't good enough ? Do you think Stephanie had a jacket to go with it? I always think that for this kind of event brides have one additional gown :) in case something goes wrong with the one, so maybe in her case it was a more "autumnal" gown :)

Concening the veil I'm surprised she didn't chose a traditional veil- maybe MT's or one of her family.

Concerning the weather,in automn the temperatures vary a lot.Yesterday,we needed a jacket to go out but today a t-shirt was enough.
When it's very cold some brides here have a kind of fur jacket or wrap.
But,you could imagine that royals are not like all of us:D:D
If it was cold,she could have easily go out without any jacket.I am always shocked when I see royals posing for photographs with no jackets and no scarves while the temperatures are very low

I think Stephanie was very beautiful.I don't know if it's because she is blonde but I think she looked like an angel.
From the interview she seems to have lot of confidence and a strong personality.From her pics and given her age,I expected her to be more girly.
I have seen only a few extracts of videos so I can't give my opinion on her way of walking actually.
I have noticed at Princess Estelle christening that she doesn't walk graciously but I thought it was because of her platform shoes or may be she isn't accustomed to walking with high heels.
Her wedding dress was DIVINE.I really hoped for Elie Saab as a designer since Maria-Teresa seems to be found of him.I hope she will continue on this step even if some will criticize her for her expensive choices:D
Elie Saab is one of my favourite designers,his dresses are fairy tale ones.
Her make-up was nice and discreet,no silly heavy eye-liner in sight
Her pre_wedding gown was beautiful too.If only her mother in law did'nt wear nearly the same colour.
The Chanel suit for the civil wedding was a safe choice.It's a timeless suit that she could easily recycle.The handbag was unecessary.A nice bouquet was largely enough.
The burgundy dress was elegant without the hideous platforms
I liked her different hairdo.Royal ladies or commoners who like to wear loose hair take note.This is a nice compromise when you want to wear loose hair and not having you hair hanging and hidding your face.
It's nice that they honoured lot of european royals by inviting them.I am fond of those nice gatherings
 
And you see the necklace under the dress and then there appears to be something pear-shaped. Maybe it is just a trick of the light and the lace on the dress or I am getting blind :)
The necklace seems to be something she's been wearing for a long time, it looks the same as on this engagement photo: http://tinyurl.com/8e6ew92 and the necklace can be seen on many other photos. Maybe it's a Catholic patron saint medal or a similar object. You can see it on this photo of Stéphanie: http://tinyurl.com/9fs6ljj
 
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What Stephanie is wearing around her neck is a religious medallion. It is apparently very significant and important to her because she never removes it. Not even on her wedding day.

All of the Grand Ducal children wear them including Louis' wife, but I think I have seen photos of them without it.

My expectations for Stephanie as a bride were not high admittedly. But she surpassed my wildest fantasies in that Elie Saab gown and veil. Hair, makeup, veil, heavily embroidered oyster colored lace gown and 13 foot train..I am still speechless in fact. The view seen from above while she was proceeding down the aisle took my breath away. :ohmy:

I even loved the delicate diamond heirloom de Lannoy tiara...exquisite.

She looked every inch a Royal princess and then some. My only sadness is that the dress cannot be worn again-something that magnificent should get a lot of wear out of it!

Stephanie now joins Grace Kelly, Princess Maxima, Queen Fabiola, and Princess Charlene on my list of the Five Most Beautiful Royal Brides.:whistling:
 
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i would like to know more about HGD Guillaume's second witness, Nicholas Frankopan, who is said to be a close friend of Guillaume. His sister married Lord Nicholas Windsor and has two children, and Lord Nicholas renounced rights to the British throne when he, along with much of his family, became Catholic. There is another Frankopan whom I found by googling, Peter, who is a teacher of Byzantine studies at Oxford and married a very rich British girl; he wrote a very interesting article on the problems of Greece today compared to the ravages of Constantinople by Crusaders (appeared in New York Times). Peter Frankopan claims to be a Croatian Prince and has a Polish part of his name which indicates his descent from Polish nobility as well. I would have started a thread on this but I don't know how to do start one. I looked around and found no instructions. I think Guillaume's choice of Nicholas Frankopan is an interesting one.
If this is posted in the wrong place, please move it, Moderator. Thank you.
 
It was a most beautiful wedding and the flowers were especially gorgeous. Stephanie's rich antique lace was indeed a timeless and classic and creation. However, a gown and train of that magnitude did require a proper full length sleeve. The 3/4 length sleeves made it look somewhat unfinished and detracted from the overall elegance. I was rather surprised at the choice of Elie Saab over a traditional European designer. Royal brides should be supporting designers from their own countries.
 
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Thanks to all for the information on Stéphanie's necklace! Very interesting.
 
It was a most beautiful wedding and the flowers were especially gorgeous. Stephanie's rich antique lace was indeed a timeless and classic and creation. However, a gown and train of that magnitude did require a proper full length sleeve. The 3/4 length sleeves made it look somewhat unfinished and detracted from the overall elegance. I was rather surprised at the choice of Elie Saab over a traditional European designer. Royal brides should be supporting designers from their own countries.
I don't see the point of that. Let them choose a designer they really want. That said, Belgium has some kick-ass fashion designers. Dries van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela, Olivier Theyskens (was a designer at Nina Ricci and also designed Caroline Trentini and Lauren Santo Domingo wedding dresses) and the current designer at Dior, Raf Simons, is Belgian aswell. So she would have really fantastic options but when you have the choice to go with Elie, most would take Elie.
 
i would like to know more about HGD Guillaume's second witness, Nicholas Frankopan, who is said to be a close friend of Guillaume. His sister married Lord Nicholas Windsor and has two children, and Lord Nicholas renounced rights to the British throne when he, along with much of his family, became Catholic. There is another Frankopan whom I found by googling, Peter, who is a teacher of Byzantine studies at Oxford and married a very rich British girl; he wrote a very interesting article on the problems of Greece today compared to the ravages of Constantinople by Crusaders (appeared in New York Times). Peter Frankopan claims to be a Croatian Prince and has a Polish part of his name which indicates his descent from Polish nobility as well. I would have started a thread on this but I don't know how to do start one. I looked around and found no instructions. I think Guillaume's choice of Nicholas Frankopan is an interesting one.
If this is posted in the wrong place, please move it, Moderator. Thank you.

See post 56 in this thread: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...d-st-phanies-wedding-32972-3.html#post1473090
 
It's very interesting to contrast Stephanie's gown to Catherine Middleton's as both recent brides are similar in age, and marrying future monarchs named William/Guillaume V who were born less than a year apart. Both gowns are showcasing what each label for. With Elie Saab, it's all about fabric: sparkling, beading and embroidery over a relatively simple silhouette. Alexander McQueen was all about the construction, pleating the skirt perfect to give it that blooming effect without the need to yards of petticoats. Though Catherine's gown did feature exquisite lace, Sarah Burton outsourced the lace-making to the Royal School of Needlework while the press release indicated Stephanie's embroidery was done in house at Elie Saab. I think I'm not the only who noticed that the cut of Stephanie's gown's neckline and sleeves made her arms look heavy even though she's quite slim. Perhaps this could have been avoided had Saab used a more McQueen/Burton approach to the construction?
Overall, I would have to give the edge to Stephanie because she had the more glamorous and regal look. Stephanie's hair, veil and accessories were pitch perfect while I wish Catherine would have left her make up to the experts.
 
Thank you for the information concerning the Frankopans, Marengo. I googled them and found a high powered family based in England, consisting of Louis and wife Inger and five children. All in finance except for Peter, who is a don at Oxford specializing in Byzantine affairs. They all have multiple advanced degrees from the top Universities in the world.
Peter puts it this way, concerning their claim to the name: He says they do not claim any position, they only claim a long line going back to the early middle ages. The family history is sufficiently complex that it would be pretty hard to say which way the lineage went. Much of it died out. Some survived. They are as much Polish and Italian as Croatian. The most interesting connection is that of Lord Nicholas Windsor, who married Paola and lives part time near Rome on a farm, and part time in Britain. They claim allegiance to the throne of England. They had permission to marry from the Queen. Nicholas Frankopan who was Guillaume's witness is married with one child.
 
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It's very interesting to contrast Stephanie's gown to Catherine Middleton's as both recent brides are similar in age, and marrying future monarchs named William/Guillaume V who were born less than a year apart. Both gowns are showcasing what each label for. With Elie Saab, it's all about fabric: sparkling, beading and embroidery over a relatively simple silhouette. Alexander McQueen was all about the construction, pleating the skirt perfect to give it that blooming effect without the need to yards of petticoats. Though Catherine's gown did feature exquisite lace, Sarah Burton outsourced the lace-making to the Royal School of Needlework while the press release indicated Stephanie's embroidery was done in house at Elie Saab. I think I'm not the only who noticed that the cut of Stephanie's gown's neckline and sleeves made her arms look heavy even though she's quite slim. Perhaps this could have been avoided had Saab used a more McQueen/Burton approach to the construction?
Overall, I would have to give the edge to Stephanie because she had the more glamorous and regal look. Stephanie's hair, veil and accessories were pitch perfect while I wish Catherine would have left her make up to the experts.

Sorry, Stephanie looked perfect. Her gown far more interesting than Kate's and, I love, Kate. Stephanie looked like a "real" bride. With all the joy, beauty and cheer. Kate, looked stiff, as is the case of the BRF. Stephanie's arms did not look heavy.
 
Sorry, Stephanie looked perfect. Her gown far more interesting than Kate's and, I love, Kate. Stephanie looked like a "real" bride. With all the joy, beauty and cheer. Kate, looked stiff, as is the case of the BRF. Stephanie's arms did not look heavy.

Stephanie's arms did not look heavy at all IMO.
 
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The gown made all parts of Stephanie look fuller, but this was not a detriment, as she is so slender. She looked wonderful. I would look further back in history for gowns I really liked best, but I'm new to the Royal Forums so I don't know much. I would guess that I would most like the gown of Princess Alice of Gloucester. I would like gowns that cost less in the way of money and work, not that I'm opposed to spending money on the wedding. The figure I heard about Lux expenditures was FAR below England's expense for the royal wedding. It was a wonderful event and I'm glad I attended.
 
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