{20th Anniversary - Excerpt No. 4}

During this 20th anniversary summer of Princess Diana's death, we continue to honor her contribution to the world of wedding celebrations, but this time with a deeper philosophic twist...by sharing an excerpt from my future book, From Princess to Goddess & the Rebirth of Love (the second book in The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride series.)

{excerpt from}

Chapter One: Princess Mission

Lady Diana Spencer’s glorious emergence from the glass, horse-drawn carriage on her wedding morning in the summer of 1981 set in motion mythological musings: “a fairy-tale bride,” “a heavenly vision,” “the return of the goddess.” Dressed in voluminous yards of custom-dyed ivory silk taffeta, lace and tulle; standing in hand-crafted satin slippers and crowned with old family diamonds, this was beyond any superficial longing of “princess dreams”—although dreams of being a princess certainly fueled our imaginations. 

Diana’s appeal went deeper than our fascination with feminine beauty or brides and weddings, or with royalty and pageantry or mysterious ancient rituals. For many watching the brilliant wedding pomp that day, the experience stirred something deep within. Historically, the vision of a bride often brings a sense of hope and renewal, but for a culture in turmoil, here was a spark that relit what once thought lost. There seemed a light about this young bride. Even if we were unaware of being affected, legends were brewing.

Or did the anti-monarchists and second-wave feminists and other skeptics—not taken in by romance or grandeur or even possible divine intervention—have it right? That this was simply another wan young woman, “shrouded” beyond recognition. From feminist writer Beatrix Campbell: “Her ivory silk wedding dress was a shroud…a crinoline, a meringue…a symbol of sexuality and grandiosity….” She was being led to an altar “propping up the aged patriarch who had got her into all of this” to stand with a man much beyond her years and experience who represented an outdated institution where young women disappeared into desperate disappointment. “Neither her father nor her mother had taken care of her, enlightened her or warned her. They married her off to someone else’s prince….” ~

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[Scroll down for earlier {20th Anniversary} posts excerpted from The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride]

{Something Most Royal}

My article, "Something Most Royal," is in the new spring issue of Season magazine! Plus I've reprinted it below with lovely images.... 
Enjoy!

Something Most Royal

Those of us who love royal weddings and queenly costume dramas have had a most regal “film feast” of late! “The Crown”—a rich, lavish Netflix production chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II—begins with her wedding in 1947; and “Victoria,” the British series on PBS, portrays the young queen’s journey beginning when she succeeded to the throne in 1837, soon followed by her legendary wedding.

I have written about both Queens, sharing stories of their wedding ceremonies, gowns and the lasting impact of their bridal legacy. But here I tell about a reluctant royal bride of the 1920s—someone who played an important role in connecting the lives of Victoria and Elizabeth, as well as influencing fashion for both real and fictional brides we know and love!

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the 14^th Earl of Strathmore, didn’t want a life in the royal spotlight, yet after long being wooed by the Duke of York, love won out. They married in 1923, neither presuming “Bertie” would become king; nevertheless, history changed course, and royal duty called. 

This beloved future queen chose something very fashion forward for her wedding: a slim, drop-waist silhouette with ornate pearl-beaded, medieval-inspired metallic trim. However, it was the sleek, column shape that influenced Cornelia Vanderbilt’s couture designers’ for her 1924 wedding (she married the Honorable John F. Amherst Cecil from England) and also inspired Downton Abbey costumier Caroline McCall’s design for Lady Mary—for that highly anticipated wedding with Matthew Crawley set in the spring of 1920!

Lady Elizabeth’s long, heirloom lace veil was also an inspiration for future brides. Queen Mary loaned her daughter-in-law-to-be a family veil of “old point de Flandres which had aged to a soft ivory colour,” according to British historian Ann Monsarrat, “and the silk crêpe moiré for the wedding dress was dyed to tone with it.” Lady Elizabeth was “the last major royal bride to wear flowers rather than diamonds” (a trend established by Queen Victoria when she wore a crown of creamy orange blossoms), yet Monsarrat called Elizabeth’s headdress a “typically hideous 1920s arrangement” and even “monstrously unbecoming”! The veil, although of exquisite handmade lace, was “clamped down over her head to the eyebrows and firmly held there by a garotte—in this case, a narrow band of myrtle leaves with two white roses and sprigs of orange blossom above each ear.”

Our other two 1920s brides fared much better however! Cornelia Vanderbilt wore her maternal grandmother’s lace veil and orange blossom headpiece in a similar fashion as the petite Lady Elizabeth, but with her statuesque figure, Cornelia carried it off with aplomb. And Downton’s designer went with more glam for Lady Mary, foregoing orange blossoms altogether, she selected a graceful diamond tiara fit for a real princess! ~

{Botanical Princess Gowns}

My article, "Botanical Princess Gowns," appears in the winter issue of SEASON magazine...on page 77—and reprinted below. (Plus, it's an excerpt from my book, The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride.) Enjoy!
                               
                             
                         Botanical Princess Gowns                                                   

Flowers, naturally, have always been favored at weddings. And for many British royal brides, even for the bridal gown itself. According to Christopher Warwick in Two Centuries of Royal Weddings, Queen Victoria’s grandmother, Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wed King George III in 1761 wearing “silver brocade woven with patterns of flowers—some say carnations—in three types of gold thread.”

“Flowers, both real and artificial, made a comeback at mid-19^th century weddings,” explained Marriage à la Mode, and the bouffant crinoline gowns of the time were “positively awash” with trails of either wax orange blossom and myrtle—like Princess Alexandra’s silver tissue gown when she married the Prince of Wales in 1863; or artificial roses and white heather—like the fluffy white silk gown Victoria, the Princess Royal, wore in 1858. Tufts of tulle and lace were often added to the botanical fancy, making these over-the-top dresses pure confections. “Many of these gowns,” Warwick commented, “were so heavily festooned and garlanded with leaves and orange blossom that the wearers tended to resemble a variety of exotic horticultural exhibits rather than wide-eyed brides.”

Toward the end of the 19^th century, when crinolines were gone and hourglass silhouettes were the fashion, the fitted, low-cut gown of Princess May of Teck—the future Queen Mary—seemed, perhaps because of her well-endowed figure, “engineered rather than sewn,” according to historian Ann Monsarrat. However, the gown was notable for its woven fabric loaded with symbolic floral sentiment. The white satin brocade had a silver design interwoven of roses, shamrocks, thistles, orange flowers, heather and true-love knots—as romantic as it was patriotic.

  

Princess Elizabeth’s wedding in 1947, even on a wet and dreary November day, was a shining break from the austerity of the grim post-war years. Her ivory silk satin gown—overflowing with floral motifs—was glamorous, opulent and symbolic. The silkworms used to make the silks both in Scotland and England were brought from Nationalist China instead of “enemy silkworms” from Japan or Italy. Designer Norman Hartnell, inspired by Botticelli’s 15^th century painting Primavera, had the gown and long silk tulle court train intricately hand embroidered with thousands of tiny crystals and seed pearls in garland designs of jasmine, smilax, lilac, and York rose blossoms. (However, even the future queen needed ration coupons for her wedding gown’s fabric, so women from all over the country sent their coupons to their beloved princess. They were politely, and with messages of deep gratitude, returned by the Palace.)

In the spring of 2011, it was the bride of the queen’s grandson, Prince William, who carried on Britain’s floral tradition. Kate Middleton looked regal in a white silk gazar couture gown with lace—handcrafted by artisans at the Royal School of Needlework—in delicate patterns of roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks, inspiring a bit of “O! to Be in England” sentiment in all of us! ~

 [This article is an excerpt from my book The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: For Better or Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding.]

{The Wish-Fulfilling Tree & the Princess Bride}

Dear Bride-To-Be:
Did you ever read the book or see the film, The Princess Bride? I thought you'd enjoy a post on my "End of the Fairy-Tale Bride" blog that shares the deeper meanings that this fairy tale presents. Sharing the ancient story of the magical "wish-fulfilling tree," it's a reminder that when we trust the messages of our inner spirit -- our intuitive wisdom -- then our heart's desire comes true. (And it may be different from what your mind imagined!)

When you're a bride, your woman's intuition is highly enhanced -- so use it! It's like having your very own "wish- fulfilling tree. (Take some deep breaths, look within and listen.) Trust your heart's intuitive lead and you'll be able to see beyond any limitations....

Click here to read the charming mythology of The Princess Bride. (Enjoy its reminder to look a little deeper at things, people, situations...there is always more than what meets the eye! And be ready to be enchanted.)

Love. Listen. Let go.
...with love from Cornelia

ps: The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride is also the name of my upcoming book...due for release next spring. Stay tuned for more news!

{The Princess Bride & Her Tiara}

Dear Bride-to-Be:
Tiaras have been associated with brides since ancient Rome with their classical, elegant style. And “by the early 1300s a jeweled crown for a bride was a symbol of the marital state” of aristocratic women, according to Carol McD. Wallace in her book, All Dressed in White. Following Princess Elizabeth’s wedding in 1947—the future queen of England—being a “princess bride” became the fashion and tiaras, of course, were the headpiece of choice even for “everyday” brides.

Although Diana Spencer wore an exquisite family heirloom tiara for her royal wedding in 1981, the bridal fashion for tiaras didn’t catch on again until the late 90s. By the time Princess Diana’s daughter-in-law, the lovely Kate Middleton, became a bride in the spring of this year— wearing a borrowed diadem from the queen’s family collection—tiaras had been back in vogue for years. Something about that “princess bride” sensibility had captured the fancy of the times and went deep into the hearts of many brides. 

Whether you wear a diamond, paste or glass tiara; or a wreath of fresh flowers or just one fragrant rose tucked behind your ear; whether you wear a jeweled ornament, or a crown of vintage wax orange blossoms, or no headpiece at all when you are a bride; you wear a regal legacy!

Love. Listen. Let go.

....with love from Cornelia

ps: If you’d like to read more about princess brides and tiaras, click here to read a reprint of my article Tiaras and the Real Princesses.

{Celebrities, Wedding Gowns & You}

Dear Bride-to-Be:
There was a lot of attention on celebrity weddings this past weekend and the custom-made couture gowns the brides wore.

The marriage of super model Kate Moss -- wearing a shimmering, slim, sleeveless, rhinestone-covered gown -- brought friends, family and lots of famous folks to Southrop, England for the ceremony. Her John Galliano created, floor-length (and rather sheer) dress was accessorized by a vintage-style lace veil worn over her long, loose wavy hair.

Then there was the beautiful former Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock, who became a princess when she married Prince Albert II in fabled Monaco wearing a stunning off-the-shoulder Armani gown "cut from 130 metres of duchesse silk and studded with 40,000 crystals." The bride wore her blonde hair pulled back, sleek and held in place with dazzling diamonds.

You may be wearing something less grand for your wedding, but no less special. Your gown may be borrowed from a friend, it may be re-designed from your mother's gown or something designed just for you, or it may be your brand-new, off-the-rack dream dress! And it may not even be a dress. You may be wearing silky pants, a suit, a vintage kimono, or blue jeans!

Whatever you wear, wear it with a big celebrity smile! Wear it and feel like a princess! Wear it and open your heart and put your attention on how beautiful everyone else looks looking at you!

Love. Listen. Let go.
....with love from Cornelia