Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Royal Wedding ~ What’s all the Hype Really About?

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding is a little less than 2 weeks away – and as a wedding planner I couldn’t be more excited.  My husband, on the other hand (as well as a lot of other people I know) could care less.  “Why is this wedding such a big deal?” he asked me.  Well, from an economic point of view – this wedding is bound to bring an increase in sales of all things wedding.  It will also play at least a small influence in weddings for at least the next twenty years.  Don’t believe me?  Take these two examples: 

1)  The Dress – Princess Diana’s wedding gown sparked wedding gown inspiration for about ten years following her July 29, 1981 wedding to Prince Charles.  As soon as Diana’s gown came into view, designers struggled to keep up with the demand for replicas of her gown, or wedding gowns inspired by her taffeta and lace creation with large sleeves, hand-stitched embroidery, sequins, pearls, and 25 foot train.

All images courtesy of The Internet and Getty Images.



Whatever Kate Middleton decides to wear – trust and believe the fashion world will be watching and waiting to turn out replicas of her gown as fast as they can.  Her wedding gown will definitely turn the heads of many new brides.


2)  The Ring – Princess Diana’s choice of an engagement ring is still popular to this day – even before Prince William offered it to Kate Middleton in November of 2010.  The ring – an 18 carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds and set in white gold is a gorgeous piece of jewelry that was truly unique to Princess Diana.  She single-handedly started the trend to look toward other stones for an engagement ring instead of a diamond – but none more so than the sapphire.  If it was good enough for a Princess – then it definitely deserved a second look, right?!  Even I fell victim to that!  I always loved Princess Diana, and as a little girl I remember watching her wedding and just like every little girl wanting to be a princess.  So of course, I wanted a sapphire engagement ring just like Princess Diana’s.  Now, 18 carats was a little over the top for me, but I love that my engagement ring is close to it in shape and that when everyone saw it last year, Princess Diana was the first memory verbalized back to me, seconded by how unique my engagement ring is.

All images courtesy of The Internet and Getty Images.



Some people may question why this ring was given to Kate, but regardless of how you feel about the ring – no one can question its popularity.  After Prince William and Kate’s November 2010 engagement announcement – the production and selection of sapphire engagement rings increased dramatically after renewed attention and significance was given to this particular iconic ring.

Now, that was just two quick examples of the effects of the upcoming Royal Wedding on wedding trends.  We haven’t even started the discussion on its potential effect on wedding etiquette, fashion, décor, travel….. the list can go on.  But let’s be real ~ we have a lot going on in our world right now.  With that being the case, a Royal Wedding could be looked at as a guilty pleasure or at least an escape from all of the seriousness going on around us.  And if it inspires a wedding trend or two as a result ~ so much the better!

La Toya Michelle

~You are only limited by your own imagination!

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