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

[Denville]

It wasn't a good marriage but it was an amazing wedding.Beautiful bride, for that time the dress was prefect , huge train ,very solemn but little smiles between the couple.
A beautiful wedding


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Agree. I just did not bother with watching the Kate and Will wedding at all. I watched for a bit and got so bored, becase it was "blah". But Diana's dress IMO was beautiful, the whole cermony was wonderfully well done, music, clothes etc etc.

 

[fandesacs2003]

The Charles and Diana wedding was exactly how it had to be for the heir to the British Empire marrying an aristocratic English rose. At this moment it was the fairy tale of the century, years after we realised that the dream turned to nightmare but at this moment it had to be a perfect tale and it was

 

[Skippy]

I agree. Diana looked exactly as one would (could?) expect for the bride of the heir to the British throne.
Imagine her walking up the aisle in St Paul's Cathedral in a simple gown, no way.

For me, she still is and will always remain my most beautiful royal bride ever. Regal, extremely romantic and with all the pomp and pageantry necessary and possible. When I see a bride I want to see a bride and Lady Diana gave me that.
I've given up hope of her being eclipsed (because 1981 is so long ago and the marriage wasn't one of the happiest), it won't happen.
Lady Diana the bride is still my dream to look at. And The Prince of Wales didn't look too bad either in his uniform.

 

[Denville]

I agree. Diana looked exactly as one would (could?) expect for the bride of the heir to the British throne.
Imagine her walking up the aisle in St Paul's Cathedral in a simple gown, no way.

F didn't look too bad either in his uniform.

I think she and Charles got the wedding side just right. it was big, it was grand, it was beautiful. Sadly the more important thing was teh marraige and they did nto get that right. but as a wedding, it was great and she wont IMO be eclipsed.

 

[Skippy]

I think she and Charles got the wedding side just right. it was big, it was grand, it was beautiful. Sadly the more important thing was teh marraige and they did nto get that right. but as a wedding, it was great and she wont IMO be eclipsed.

That is indeed the sad thing, that the marriage didn't work. I don't believe she will be eclipsed either and now that I have come to accept that, I don't want her to.
Simple or understated seems to be the norm these days. That's not what a wedding is for, IMO. What's wrong with splashing out? I am a big fan of great, opulent gowns.

I want a covered bride in a gown that consists of one piece (thus not strapless with a shawl/bolero/jacket/whatever - that's fake as in covering up) with sleeves and a veil on top of her head. And she has to look romantic, not business-like or simple or grabbed together.

Those are my requirements and guess who met them all? Yes, the woman (or perhaps girl is better word) who became H.R.H. The Princess of Wales on July 29, 1981

As for the groom - preferrably he has to be dressed in black and yes, H.R.H. The Prince of Wales álso met that requirement

 

[Denville]

I tought he wore one of his dress unifroms, not black

 

[Curryong]

Charles wore the full dress uniform of a naval commander. It's a very very dark blue not black, but to be fair it's hard to tell the difference!

 

[Denville]

you know I sort of thought he wore red!! memory plays tricks

 

[fandesacs2003]

you know I sort of thought he wore red!! memory plays tricks

William wore red, not his father. I'm always wondering which exact protocol is ruling the choice of the uniform to be worn by the groom in these cases. Free choice ? Political circumstances of the wedding moment ? Why William choose the Irish guards and not another one ?

 

[Osipi]

If I'm not mistaken, William wanted to wear his dress RAF uniform to be married in but here is where Granny won out on the Irish Guard dress uniform. At first I wasn't too sure how well it would go over but with watching the wedding, I think it definitely was the perfect choice.

 

[Curryong]

I believe that William had just become honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards and so it was protocol, as his grandmother pointed out, to wear their dress uniform at his wedding.

 

[Denville]

honestly that was one dull wedding. NO idea what he wore...Then again I know Diana's dress but not what Charles wore. the only thing I think that Diana got wrong as a bride was the little bridesmaids..I think adults are more dignified...

 

[MARG]

I have to admit, for the marriage of William, as a direct heir to the throne, the wedding was boring and the attire totally unremarkable. Now Charles and Diana's "looked" royal and were very grand, even though I cringed when the meringue exploded out of the glass coach, after a thorough push, pull, yank and shove, it looked absolutely perfect in scale as she walked up the aisle. Very majestic indeed.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Oh, I loved the Cambridge wedding and thought the ceremony very moving. In fact I find this couple very uninspiring in general, but their wedding is one of my favorites. The liturgy was beautiful.

Diana and Charles's ceremony was more grand and more "Royal" than the the Cambridges but all I remember feeling that day was a vague sense of unease, that someone was just "off" about the whole thing and that all the theater that was on display somehow lacked heart.

 

[Mermaid1962]

it was a British wedding. Children aren't unusual as wedding attendants there. Lady Sarah Armstrong was there to help manage them.

honestly that was one dull wedding. NO idea what he wore...Then again I know Diana's dress but not what Charles wore. the only thing I think that Diana got wrong as a bride was the little bridesmaids..I think adults are more dignified...

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I much prefer children attendants. They add charm and a fairy tale feeling to a wedding imo, unlike adults bridesmaids where you have the "Pippa effect" of having them take attention(intentional or not) away from the bride.

 

[Denville]

it was a British wedding. Children aren't unusual as wedding attendants there. Lady Sarah Armstrong was there to help manage them.

Yes I know it was a British wedding. I still feel that children are not sutiable attendants. Look at the ghastly spectacle of William at Sarah F's wedding. IMO children should be seen and not heard...

 

[Denville]

I much prefer children attendants. They add charm and a fairy tale feeling to a wedding imo, unlike adults bridesmaids where you have the "Pippa effect" of having them take attention(intentional or not) away from the bride.

If Pippa took attention away from Kate it was only becuase she looked so awful..in that too tight dress. .

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Tight?? Pippa's gown was low cut but it was certainly not anything close to tight imo. It fit her quite perfectly. All the fuss was made by the silly media fawning over her mythical perfect rear-end.

In any case, any blame for the hoopla over her little sister's dress must ultimately fall upon the bride herself. It would not or could not have made an appearance in the wedding without Kate's approval in the first place.

 

[Rudolph]

If Pippa took attention away from Kate it was only becuase she looked so awful..in that too tight dress. .

Diana's wedding gown was one big 80s cliche and that's putting it nicely.

Plus it was wrinkled to death. It looked like she slept in it for a week.

 

[Denville]

Tight?? Pippa's gown was low cut but it was certainly not anything close to tight imo. It fit her quite perfectly. All the fuss was made by the silly media fawning over her mythical perfect rear-end.

In any case, any blame for the hoopla over her little sister's dress must ultimately fall upon the bride herself. It would not or could not have made an appearance in the wedding without Kate's approval in the first place.

I dont think that her backside is perfect at all, and ti was quite inappropriate for a church wedding to have that dress stretched over it. it was horrible. I dont remember its being low cut as well but if so again inappropriate,. But then i dont think they have much taste, either Kate and Will or the Middletons.

 

[royal rob]

I have never understood the fuss about Pippa's dress it wasn't tight it wasn't low cut the press just made a fuss about nothing.


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[Pranter]

Oh, I loved the Cambridge wedding and thought the ceremony very moving. In fact I find this couple very uninspiring in general, but their wedding is one of my favorites. The liturgy was beautiful.

Diana and Charles's ceremony was more grand and more "Royal" than the the Cambridges but all I remember feeling that day was a vague sense of unease, that someone was just "off" about the whole thing and that all the theater that was on display somehow lacked heart.

Me too! I found it to be very elegant and stately...Traditional. I liked the smaller (size/numbers) ..more intimate. I like it that they were able to have that smaller service (William talked about his conversation with the Queen about it).

Having watched both C&D and W&K...I much prefer W&K's wedding...to include the dresses.


LaRae

 

[RoyalHighness 2002]

IMO Kate's dress wasn't long enough for a British royal wedding. I think at the least it should have been 12 feet. The two marriages in the family before hers and William's were not the most conventional so they are nothing to go by. All the modern big British royal wedding gowns were at least 15 feet or longer except for Princess Margaret's(and she was petite so it would have downsized her frame).

 

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The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has its own thread in the forums. Please, stay in the topic of the thread: the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
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[Katrianna]

Diana's wedding gown was one big 80s cliche and that's putting it nicely.

Plus it was wrinkled to death. It looked like she slept in it for a week.

I have to admit that at the time I loved Diana's dress, but so many years later, I'm not fond of it. I know what it is, the 80's big puffed balloon sleeves. Princess Astrid of Belgium's wedding dress had the same thing and now it looks terrible to me. I felt rather disloyal to Diana when Fergie married as I actually preferred her dress to Diana's although the huge A and S initials on her train was too much for me and rather tacky to my taste.
I read about an interview Diana gave in the 90's and supposedly she stated if she had to choose her wedding dress again, it wouldn't have been that dress. Before anyone jumps on me, I state again the "supposedly" and no, I didn't read the actual "interview".

 

[Denville]

I duout if she would say that. It was of its time but so are most dresses. I liked it at the time and I still like it.

 

[Curryong]

Every wedding dress was and is a product of its time. Some decades produce quite timeless gowns. I've seen for instance a wedding dress of the later 1920's in a museum that the Gen Y's with me absolutely loved. The 1980's wasn't one of those decades. Some things in it were reasonably pretty, pie crust collar blouses for example, but not many.

Perhaps quite a few brides would want to change their looks as the years go on. I know a couple of them, married in the 1990s, in the Dynasty era, that would want to for sure. Perhaps Kate will look back years into the future and say 'Why oh why did I go for cone boobs on my gown?' Who knows.

However, Diana's dress wasn't as crinkled and creased as Rudolph says. The Emmanuels managed to smooth out much of it. Her radiance, her youthful beauty, outshone everything on that day, including what she wore. And the width of the skirt of the dress, the lovely bouquet, and the long long veil were perfect in my view for the huge spaces of the interior of St Pauls.

 

[Denville]

However, Diana's dress wasn't as crinkled and creased as Rudolf says. The Emmanuels managed to smooth out much of it. Her radiance, her youthful beauty, outshone everything on that day, including what she wore. And the width of the skirt of the dress, the overly bouquet, and the long long veil were perfect in my view for the huge spaces of the interior of St Pauls.

I quite like some 80s clothes myself, perhaps because I was a bright young thing then. I wore Laura Ashley stuff a la Diana, and I had a LA dress for my wedding.
I agree, people go on about Di's dress like it was awful but the reason it was creased BRIEFLY was that it was a natural material, and it soon shook out... SOme dresses are so artifical they couldn't wrinkle! It was a bit crumpled in the coach but it was fine within a minute. It looked right for St Pauls, and had the appropriate grandeur.
I think myself that 20s wedding dresses esp the ones with the short skirt and long train or veil look AWFUL...

 

[Osipi]

Ditto on the thoughts that wedding dresses were of the era one married in. I married in 1970 and actually my dress, if I had to compare it with anyone's, was more like Anne's with the high neck and the flowing sleeves. It was also the era of the mini, Carnaby Street, go-go boots and Yardley of London makeup from the 60s that fit into the world I lived in at the time.

Sometimes I do get quite a bit of a flashback to the Diana influence of her time. Watching old reruns of "Night Court" on TV here, one character played by Markie Post had a "thing" with Charles and Diana and her apartment in the show was cluttered with memorabilia and she wore her hair like Diana and dressed like Diana. In this respect, Diana's wedding dress was iconic as it defined what a royal bride and princess to be should look like. I, personally, wouldn't be caught dead in it but that's just my taste.