{The Real Fairy Tale}

My article, "The Real Fairy Tale," is in the latest issue of Season Magazine... ...reprinted below! (It is also part of my Why Royal Weddings Matter series for Confluence Daily, online magazine for women.)

THE REAL FAIRY TALE

With splendid pageantry and elegant costumes, royal weddings bring up “fairy-tale” dreams of love and romance. “Fairy,” an English word, comes from the French fée, which came from the Latin fatare, “to enchant.” No wonder royal weddings and “enchantment” go hand-in-hand—especially when there is an engaging tug-of-the-heart story with the charms of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Following in his brother Prince William’s footsteps, Harry not only married the woman he loves, but his spiritual partner as well. Only a generation before—in the arranged marriage code-of-conduct royal world—such a “love first, duty second, woman with a past” arrangement for any heir to the British throne would have been, if not impossible, certainly one with consequences.

William and Harry’s parents’ wedding in 1981 stirred the hope of “fairy tale” and yet, as Diana and Charles’ marriage played out, any notion of “happily ever after” soon vanished. Theirs was an arranged marriage that pretended it was not. Although times were changing when they married, the social culture had not shifted enough to allow Prince Charles to follow his true feelings. Perhaps even more consequential, the Windsor family was shadowed by kinsman King Edward VIII who in 1936, with some political pressures, gave up the throne “for the woman he loved.” The scandal was a little too close in historical proximity for Charles to make a similar decision about marrying someone for love who didn’t fit the “queenly model.”

Nonetheless, almost seven decades after King Edward’s abdication, cultural changes were on Prince Charles’ side—thanks in great part, ironically, to his late wife insisting on bringing more heart into the royal family. In 2005, 24 years after his marriage of “dynastic duty” to Diana, Charles did not have to give up the throne nor start a palace revolt, yet, with his queen’s blessing, he indeed married the woman who had been his longtime friend and confidante—the woman he had long loved.

In this more modern and egalitarian grand gesture, Charles and Camilla’s marriage put the seal on “love over duty,” supporting Edward’s heartful claim that “he could be a better king with the woman he loved at his side.” With such a legacy, when it was time for Charles’ sons to marry, they fell in love with women who matched their vision and compassion—beautiful “commoners” with “backgrounds” no less!

So call royal weddings “fairy tales” if you must, but the conscious connection that Princes William and Harry made in their marriages is simply what I call the way life is meant to be when heads are clear and hearts are strong. Whether king or prince or commoner, “what your heart thinks is great, is great,” poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote. “The soul’s emphasis is always right.” ~ 

{Amazing Women On the Titanic} 'Lucile' Costume Exhibition

Original Lucile designs on display at the Titanic Museums

Step into a captivating world filled with grace and glamour as well as hardship and tragedy during the current presentations at the Titanic Museums in both Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. “The Amazing Women of 1912 on Titanic” highlights unique stories of 19 groundbreaking women on board the legendary ship—like British barrister Elsie Bowerman, American missionary Sylvia Caldwell, best-selling author Helen Candee, and silent-film star Dorothy Gibson.

However, the elegant centerpiece of this event showcases a singularly “amazing” woman: Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, the celebrated British couturiere who, under the name of Lucile, “was known for her innovative and provocative designs plus savvy self-promotion, attracting royalty, socialites and entertainment figures to her coveted brand—women whose influence set the fashions of the day,” explains her biographer Randy Bryan Bigham. “She helped usher in sexy lingerie, looser corsets, and the modern runway show,” he shares in Lucile – Her Life by Design.

Presented through November 2018, the “two-years-in-the-making” exhibits display a rare collection of original Lucile designs: beautiful evening gowns, wedding dresses (worn by the rich and famous), lingerie, accessories (including two fabulous hats), and charming ephemera—most items from Bigham’s own collection. Other garments and accessories from FIDM Museum in Los Angeles; Canada’s Fashion History Museum in Ontario; and private collectors Inger Sheil and Lisa Kominek.

To get a sense of the unprecedented scope of Lucy Duff Gordon’s achievements, Bigham remarked: “Lucile was one of the first important female haute couture designers, the first major London-based couturiere, and the first leading designer to open full scale branches in America. She also was the first top name in fashion to do lower-priced lines and to launch perfumes and cosmetics.”

By the time Lucy boarded the RMS Titanic in April of 1912 with her husband and secretary, she was acclaimed and wealthy—“a celebrity in her own right,” Bigham explained, with Lucile salons in London, Paris, New York and Chicago. She was traveling to New York incognito, away from the usual media spotlight that followed her, to be able to rest and relax on the grand luxury liner. Fate, however, would intervene!  ~

For more details about “The Amazing Women of 1912 on Titanic” and the Lucile design exhibitions: TitanicBranson.com and TitanicPigeonForge.com. 

Photo credit for all exhibit images above:

Titanic Museum Attractions

Article printed in the Summer/Fall 2018 issue of Season Magazine

{Trousseaux on the Titanic}

My article, “Trousseaux on the Titanic,” is included in the Spring issue of SEASON magazine (scroll to page 73.) I’ve reprinted it below with the featured costume image courtesy of fashion historian and collector, Randy Bryan Bigham.

TROUSSEAUX ON THE TITANIC

The Irish bride-to-be was nervous. Her boat train from Cork arrived late in Queenstown where she was to set sail for America and into the arms of her betrothed. Bertha Mulvihill, with a third-class ticket in hand, held on tight to the carpetbag filled with her precious belongings as she finally boarded the RMS Titanic.

During her stay in Ireland, “Bert”—as she was affectionately called—had gathered with family members for the intimate ritual of assembling her trousseau linens: a nightgown, tablecloths, napkins and doilies, probably trimmed with handmade Irish croquet or a delicate carrickmacross needle lace. Perhaps it’s hard for modern brides to imagine how dear a trousseau was to a bride and her family at one time. With origins from an Old French word meaning “bundle,” the trousseau consisted of personal items a woman brought to her marriage—which could include clothes, accessories and lingerie, along with household linens and wares.

Titanic passenger Mary Farquharson Marvin,
circa 1912. Photo courtesy Randy Bryan Bigham,
 author of Lucile – Her Life By Design.

Bert’s modest trousseau was no less precious to her than the fancy frills fashioned by couture designers for several newlyweds also on board the Titanic, sailing home from extended continental honeymoons in first-class parlors. Like Madeleine Astor, the teenage bride of the wealthiest man on the ship, whose trousseau included stylish silk-trimmed hats from Lucile, Ltd., designed by fellow Titanic passenger Lady Duff Gordon; and Mary Marvin, daughter of a couturiere, with steamer trunks packed with lavish dresses and lingerie, especially created for her trousseau. (Both Madeleine and Mary were saved from the sinking Titanic, but their trousseaux, along with the rest of their elegant wardrobes, were, of course, lost.)

Although fewer third-class passengers were rescued, Bertha Mulvihill later explained how, after being pushed down a staircase by a crew member, she fought her way to the deck—perhaps emboldened with thoughts of her fiancé Henry Noon waiting for her at home in Providence, Rhode Island. Once safely aboard Lifeboat 15, her lovingly hand-stitched trousseau lost, Bert was reassured to know that the gold pocket watch Henry had given her remained securely pinned to her undergarments.

Bertha shared later that her fiancé traveled to New York to be there when the rescue ship Carpathia docked days later: “He thought I was drowned. He came to see if anybody could say anything about my last words,” Bert recounted. “Then I saw Henry from the back, I sneaked up behind him and put my arms around him. We went back on the train. They wanted me to get checked at a hospital first, but I wanted to go to Providence with Henry.” ~

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Thanks to Richard Salit of the Providence Journal for introducing me to Bertha Mulvihill and her Titanic love story. 

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{Titanic Glamour On Board at Biltmore}

By the turn of the 20th century, when touring the European continent was fashionable for wealthy Americans, transatlantic travel became luxurious to suit those “gilded age” patrons. Ocean liners like Cunard’s RMS Aquitania, The French Line’s S.S. France, and White Star Line’s RMS Olympic were synonymous with extravagance and glamour.

For over a century, stories of one of those ships, the ill-fated RMS Titanic which tragically sank on its first voyage in 1912, has captivated the public—and dozens of books and films have kept the fascination alive! The most famous of those movies, James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning epic, recreated the grandeur of the time, including the elegant fashions. How appropriate that Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina hosts the first large-scale exhibition of its costumes: “Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie.”

Now through May 13, 2018, the exhibition at Biltmore House represents the extensive wardrobes preferred by intercontinental travelers like George and Edith Vanderbilt in the early 1900s. Visitors will learn more about the Vanderbilts’ worldwide travels while viewing 45 of the award-winning “Titanic” costumes, evoking the era’s gilded lifestyle.

Since first-class passengers strolled the promenade decks, had tea in richly-decorated lounges, and dined at elegant formal dinners (all dressed-to-the-nines in different outfits for each occasion), costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott and her team had hundreds of garments to recreate and authentically accessorize—down to the proper collar studs and cuff links for the men, and corsets and hatpins for the ladies. (Recreating the hats alone became a “titanic” task!) Scott’s design team scoured international antique markets to find as many original period garments as possible; other ensembles were custom made from original patterns of the era, embellished with vintage beadwork and appliques.

Entrance to “Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie” at Biltmore is included in the general admission ticket price. However, a limited number of special-ticket guided tours are available, taking you behind-the-scenes of the glamorous period! ~

[Reprinted from my article in the Spring issue of SEASON magazine. Images of the costume exhibition inside Biltmore House above courtesy of The Biltmore Company.]

Click here for other Titanic Fashion Happenings!

{Titanic Glamour}

My article, "Titanic Glamour," is featured in the winter issue of SEASON magazine (scroll to page 48.) I've reprinted it below, adding images shared by fashion historian Randy Bryan Bigham, author of Lucile - Her Life By Design.

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TITANIC GLAMOUR

Bridal sketch by Lucile
Courtesy: Randy Bryan Bigham 

Whenever you read about the RMS Titanic—the fabled “floating palace” that sank on its maiden voyage in April of 1912—gilded glamour and high fashion are always part of the intrigue. During its “dressing hour,” when first-class passengers dressed for dinner following white-tie protocol, many ‘Lucile’ gowns—gingerly unpacked by ladies’ maids from grand steamer trunks—were worn by patrons unaware the celebrated designer, sailing incognito, was aboard. British couturiere Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon, traveling to expand her business in America, was on the Titanic with her husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, and her assistant, “Franks.” (All three were saved when disaster struck, but there was a whiff of scandal surrounding the circumstances!)  

Lily Elsie in Lucile, Ltd. wedding gown, circa 1911
Courtesy: Randy Bryan Bigham

Lucile was internationally famous for her femme-femme evening clothes and bridalwear made of gossamer layers of silk with delicate beadwork (some say she was the first to design a “corsetless” gown); she was also known for her elegant ‘naughty but nice’ lingerie—a bridal trousseau darling of the rich and royal. Indeed, the innovative designer was favored by fashionable brides around the world: stars of stage and screen, fiancées of business tycoons, daughters of the nobility (too many to name here!) One of Lucile’s beautiful young brides was a fellow Titanic passenger—recently married to the older and very wealthy John Jacob Astor IV; Madeleine and her unborn child made it to safety, he did not.

Lucile’s élan even spilled over into the popular Downton Abbey television series 100 years later! There’s a scene in season three—soon before Lady Edith Crawley’s ill-fated wedding—when Cora, Lady Grantham (quite the fashionista), informs Violet, the Dowager Countess, that the bride would, of course, be wearing ‘Lucile.’

Mary Marvin in Farquharson & Wheelock design
Courtesy: Randy Bryan Bigham

Mary Farquharson Marvin—the daughter of another high-society couturiere—and her husband were also first-class passengers on the Titanic, returning to New York from their European honeymoon. Mary’s mother was half of the Farquharson & Wheelock design team—two Scottish sisters with fashion ateliers in Washington, DC and New York City. Naturally, they designed Mary’s stylish wedding gown and, because of their fame, she appeared in Vogue wearing the bridal confection. (A decade later, Farquharson & Wheelock created the lace and silk tabard-style gown for Biltmore heiress Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding in Asheville, NC.)

The family of Mary’s husband, Daniel Warner Marvin, were pioneers in the motion picture production business and, although their wedding in early 1912 was not filmed, the ceremony was restaged for the camera a few months later, making international news. The London Daily Mirror reported it as the very first wedding to be “cinematographed.” Sadly, like many men on the sinking Titanic, Mary’s husband saw his young wife safely aboard a lifeboat, then stayed behind and went down with the magnificent ship. ~

{Designing Glow}

My article, "Designing Glow," features some of our favorite television dramas with brides and their wedding gowns designed to glow! Just published in the fall issue of SEASON magazine (page 54 online), I share it below with images added from Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones and Outlander. Enjoy!

Designing Glow

As a fashion historian, I enjoy reading about the creative process used by costume designers for period films and television dramas. And as a wedding folklorist, writing about the bride’s rite-of-passage, I’ve come to see how a woman’s deep desire to be beautiful on her wedding day reflects a universal expression of the feminine spirit, tapping into her true goddess nature, her radiance.

In the last few years, brides have found fashion inspiration from the work of those costume designers in touch with such an aspiration—a woman’s wish to glow! Remember the first family wedding on Downton Abbey? Set in 1920, costume designer Caroline McCall had more than designing something with a romantic vintage vibe in mind. For Lady Mary’s marriage to Matthew Crawley, she etched the slender gown’s lace overlay with a delicate silver thread, adding tiny Swarovski crystals and rice pearls so Mary would “twinkle in the morning light.”  

Then there’s the shimmery sensuality of Game of Thrones! In the exotic imagination of Michele Clapton, its award-winning costume designer, the ornately intricate Westeros wedding gowns—with their golden palettes; metallic embroidered dragons, lion heads and Diawolfs; primitive lacework and flowing trains—turned the show’s brides into gleaming, other-worldly creatures. 

Modern brides adapted this Medieval-like fantasy with crystal diadems and mystical glamour, ancient armor-inspired motifs (seeking their inner Wonder Woman?), even replicating Margaery’s elaborate “hair sausages” and her queenly wedding crown crafted from Baratheon antlers wrapped in thorny briar roses. (Everything candlelit for epic “glow effect”!)

For the long-awaited reenacting of Outlander’s 18th century wedding set in the Scottish Highlands, the costume designer wanted Claire—the bride and time-traveling heroine—to literally glow. “I wanted a dress that would be incredible in candlelight,” Terry Dresbach shared. This wedding—and forthcoming marriage and relationship of Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser—were the foundation of the immensely popular Outlander books and subsequent television series, therefore the direction from the show’s creator: “This moment needed to be a fairy tale.”

“In the 18th century, metallic textiles were made with actual metal woven into the fabrics,” explained Terry. “When you put them in a room filled with candles, they just glow. They’re quite remarkable.” By incorporating delicate shavings of iridescent mica rock—plus an old, time-consuming embroidery technique using metal strands—Terry could be true to the spirit of the era while also creating something stunning and shimmering for Claire’s wedding gown.

With all this focus on “glowing,” I thought of Regena Thomashauer, best-selling author and founder of the School of Womanly Arts in New York City. The heart of Regena’s work encourages women to find and express their true desires, their self-love, their inner and outer goddess, their glow. “Glow creates beauty in women of all ages, all body types, all backgrounds,” Regena observes. And when you glow, you not only want to dress to show it off, but you just naturally attract and inspire what’s beautiful in others. ~

{Magick Bridal Slippers}

My article, "Magick Bridal Slippers" about the lineage of shoes in wedding folklore, is published in the Summer issue of SEASON magazine...(page 64)...and I've reprinted it for you below. Enjoy!

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MAGICK BRIDAL SLIPPERS

After the vows, hymns and presentations, the princess bride—in handcrafted silk duchess satin slippers with 542 hand-knotted mother-of-pearl sequins, low fluted heels, decoratively hand-carved suede soles, and a lace- and pearl-trimmed heart at the toe—stepped out into a sun-lit, adoring world.

   

Lady Diana Spencer’s bridal gown designers, Elizabeth and David Emanuel, chose London shoe designer Clive Shilton to create her fairy-tale wedding slippers—completely handmade in the English tradition of royal brides with silks custom dyed to match the dress.

Indeed, shoes and feet have an ancient and mystical lineage in the history of weddings. Shoe historian Cameron Kippen writes: “Mythology and folklore of many cultures link the foot and sex together.” Consequently, since numerous wedding rituals are based on symbols of fertility, shoes appear often! “Throwing shoes after someone setting out on a journey was long thought to bring good fortune, so throwing a shoe at the bridal couple—with procreation such an important part of that union—was taken to wish them a fulfilling life together,” the historian continued.  The later custom of tying old shoes to the bridal carriage or car may be a variation on this onetime good-luck practice.

“In accounts of wedding customs throughout ancient times,” Kippen declares, “it was widely considered lucky to wear something borrowed. A common belief was that the bride would enjoy the same luck as the previous owner if the shoes of another happy bride were worn.” (And the good-luck superstitions extended to the groom by wearing old boots loaned to him for his wedding.)

There’s a heritage of shoe rituals found in cultures around the world: “The ancient Inca Indians of Peru were not considered married until they exchanged sandals. In Northern Italy, the old custom was to have everyone try on the bride’s shoe, just like Cinderella. In Hungary, the groom drank to his bride out of her wedding slipper. In Finland, the married couple was accompanied to the bridal suite by the whole family; the mother would not let the groom go to his bride until he had given her a pair of shoes. In China, the bride tossed her red shoes from the rooftop to ensure happiness for the couple.”

Many of today’s stylish brides put as much attention on the selection of their shoes as they do on finding the perfect gown. Perhaps it’s not simply to satisfy their fashionable palate, but also to follow some divination of ancient rituals promising good fortune—including dreams of being a princess! ~  

[This summer marks the 20^th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. My book, The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: For Betteror Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding, is quoted in various worldwide commemorative publications honoring the princess.]

Princess Diana's wedding slippers preserved at Kensington Palace

{Musings on Beauty, Kindness & Stardust}

In November, I was delighted to be the guest speaker for "Women, Chocolate and the Arts"—the annual fundraiser for Mary and Martha's Place in Atlanta, a women's spiritual organization. Over 100 guests had a marvelous time at this festive event! (It was covered in the winter issue of Season magazine; click the link and see page 55.) 

My presentation, "From Downton Abbey to Royal Weddings: Our Search for Beauty and Order in a Chaotic World," was a collection of personal stories and musings on beauty, ritual, femininity, kindness, and a bit of stardust! Here are a few quotes I shared with the audience during my presentation....enjoy!

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

It is the source of all true art and science.

~Albert Einstein

Beauty will save the world.

~Fyodor Dostoevsky

To see beauty is to see light.

~Victor Hugo

Kindness is my religion.

~His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama

Violence flourishes unchecked, when the feminine withdraws.

This world needs the feminine now, more than ever.

~Regena Thomashauer

Nothing changes the environment like one person deciding to love another, no matter what.

~Neale Donald Walsch

Be humble for you are made of earth.

Be noble for you are made of stars.

~ancient Serbian proverb

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{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.]

{Victoria's Choice Redux}

Hello! I thought you’d enjoy a reprint of my article, “Victoria’s Choice”....it’s been published in Season Magazine and on Huffington Post. (Plus it’s an excerpt from my latest book The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: For Better or Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding.)

VICTORIA'S CHOICE

If you know one thing about wedding gown history, I would wager that it has something to do with Queen Victoria beginning the fashion for brides wearing white. (And now, thanks to her, it has been a tradition of sorts for 175 years.) But I would also wager that most people don’t know the real reason the 20-year-old monarch broke the precedent set by earlier royal brides—“dressed in their usual cloths of silver or gold”—and chose the color white for her wedding gown. Victoria even chose a crown of fanciful, yet wax orange blossoms instead of one of her dazzling diamond diadems!

Her choices have been regarded as representing simplicity, modesty and purity—and indeed the young queen was sentimental with an “uncluttered fashion preference,” according to costume historian Kay Staniland. However, Victoria was deeply in love, and this became her guiding inspiration for her wedding attire. Therefore, with much consideration—taking into account her duty, her position and her subjects—“the queen decided to make her marriage vows to her ‘precious Angel’ as his future wife rather than as the monarch,” wrote V & A museum curator Edwina Ehrman. So Victoria not only opted against wearing the ornate silver and gold of royalty, but also her regal “crimson velvet robe of state” feeling “it would only emphasize her seniority, and overshadow the role of her future husband,” Staniland added.

Victoria’s all-white bridal costume may have been without the usual glittering royal accoutrements, but it “was actually exquisite and of great value,” explained Maria McBride-Mellinger, author of The Wedding Dress. Underscoring “patriotic spending,” the queen commissioned her country’s renowned textile artisans. The rich silk satin for the gown and its 18-foot court train was woven in Spitalfields and the beautiful, lyrically-patterned lace for her veil and gown embellishments was hand made by two hundred women in a Devon village employed for eight months. The only color Victoria wore was near her heart: a large, brilliant blue sapphire brooch which had been Prince Albert’s wedding gift to her.

On the day of the wedding, Victoria’s adoring subjects happily received their queen’s choices, cheering her carriage on its way to the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace. Dressed in these creamy shades of white and tufts of orange blossom, I doubt that Victoria had a sense of the remarkably romantic lineage she was about to inaugurate. Nor could she ever know that her queenly exemplar: “Keep your relationship top priority,” would make fine advice for today’s busy wedding-planning brides. 

It seems for this young bride (who just happened to be ruler of an empire), that it came down to choosing the feelings of her future husband over her own ego. Victoria’s heart-centered choice changed bridal history and, in turn, illuminated the supreme sovereignty of a woman in love. ~

[Enjoy your own copy of The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: For Better or Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding....easy to order from Amazon with a speedy delivery!]