The British Royal family are sticklers for tradition. The many Royal brides who have walked down the aisle over the decades are all connected in a number of ways. From the wedding rings made from the same nugget of welsh gold to brides incorporating orange blossom into their dress design, these royal brides are bonded together forever.
Another thing British Royal brides have in common are their wedding bouquets. While they look different, each royal bride since 1858 has had a spring of myrtle in her bouquet. What’s even more interesting is that the sprigs all come from Queen Victoria‘s 170-year-old garden.
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Myrtle is said to represent love, fertility and innocence. The flower has been growing at Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s holiday home in the Isle of Wight, for about 170 years and its descendants still bloom today. The plant was gifted to Queen Victoria in 1845 by Prince Albert’s grandmother. Queen Victoria planted the myrtle at her home, and her daughter carried a spring from that myrtle bush when she married in 1858.
Since then, myrtle has appeared in the bouquets of iconic royal brides like Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton and Megan Markle.
In 1923, Queen Elizabeth built on this tradition when she placed her bouquet in the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey in a gesture of remembrance for her late brother, who died at the Battle of Loos in 1915. She also did this to honour the millions of others killed and injured in World War I. She then continued to walk down the aisle sans bouquet.
Since this day, many other royal brides have followed in her footsteps. The only difference is that they lay their bouquets down after the ceremony, not before. Most recently, Duchess of Sussex Meghan laid her flowers on the tomb as she left the church.
Feature image: Instagram / The Royal Family
Western wedding ceremonies come with a number of traditions, from the presence of a ring bearer to the garter toss and even saving the top tier of the…
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West somehow always manage to be the talk of the town. Recently, they’ve been in the news for something as simple as a birthday wish between a wife and husband.
Now, details of their wedding, specifically the enormous prices of vendors, the wedding dress, and more are of interest to the public. According to Hello Magazine, the pair who are now in their 6th year of marriage spent a whopping R103 402 500 ($6million) on their wedding weekend.
No doubt it was an extravagant affair, with details to die for. The famed coupled spared no expense.
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Taking place at a venue in Florence, Italy, they were accompanied at their wedding by 200 guests. The venue reportedly charged R5 181 854 (or £240,000). That price excluded any and all extras, such as flowers and decorations. The cake, which had 7 tiers, and took 3 people to deliver, cost R51 871 (£2,400).
The Wests also, of course, provided private jets for their guests, to transport them from Paris to Florence. Per jet, they dished out R972 416 (or £45,000).
Kim’s bespoke couture dress, designed by Riccardo Tisci (the former creative director at Givenchy) cost her R3 846 615 (£178,000). The total of her all other outfits she wore, including dresses for her hen party and for the rehearsal dinner, came to R1 231 718 ( £57,000).
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This was not even everything. There were a number of other costs attached to the wedding which have not been detailed here, including the wedding menu, the menu at their rehearsal dinner at the Palace of Versaille, and more.
Six years after their massive, lavish wedding, the pair seem happier than ever. They share 4 children – North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm – and are always seen supporting each other wholeheartedly.
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In a recent post for Kanye’s birthday, Kim said “Life wouldn’t be the same without you”.
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Image: Instagram / Kim Kardashian
On your wedding day, you’ve got to be dressed to the nines from head to toe. Your bridal hairstyle helps complete your look and adds to the overall…
Wedding dresses are very rarely short. However, a handful of celebrities opted for a modern twist for their big day by sporting short gowns to say “I do” in. From Cindy Crawford to Kiera Knightley, take a look at five celebs who kicked traditionalism to the curb.
Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford married Rande Gerber in an off-the-rack Galliano slip. Their wedding was a secret and so Crawford lied to her stylist, saying she was attending a black tie event and needed a dress that was either black or white.
Kiera Knightley
Kiera Knightley stunned in a classic pale pink tulle Chanel dress when she married James Righton in 2014. She re-wore the dress on a number of occasions afterwards – the controversy!
Sharon Tate
Actress Sharon Tate married director Roman Polanski in a short silk wedding gown. She sported puffy shoulders and the dress was a yellowy-orange colour. In 2018, the dress sold for $56 250 in Julien’s Auctions in LA.
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow married Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas in 1966 and wore a gorgeous short dress for the occasion.
Nancy Shevell
Nancy Shevell sported an above-the-knee white dress for her wedding to Paul McCartney.
Feature image: Unsplash
Wedding favours are the perfect way for newlyweds to thank their guests for attending their special day. They’re often tailored to the couple, and range from edible treats…
Jordanian royals Queen Rania and King Abdullah II celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, June 10. The Queen paid tribute to her husband in a touching post on Instagram.
A candid photo of the couple holding hands and walking side-by-side showed the comfort and love between the two. The image was accompanied by a sweet caption declaring her love and appreciation for the King.
“How could you not fall in love with the smile over and over again for 27 years! So lucky and grateful to have you by my side, happy anniversary,” said the Queen.
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Queen Rania and Kind Abdullah II (or Prince of Jordon, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein as he was then known) met in August 1992, at a dinner party.
In his book, Our Last Chance, Kind Abdullah II detailed the night they met. “When my eyes fell on her, I said to myself: What a beautiful lady!”
At first the Queen was weary of the man pursuing her. However, she finally accepted his invite to have dinner in November, 1992, after he tirelessly made an effort to woe her by finding out her interests and her indulgences. He found out from a friend that she loves chocolate, and sent her a box of Belgian chocolate, which was the move that lead her to accept his first date request.
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“Things evolved and we began to talk more and go out together. On January 30, I invited Rania to dinner for my birthday, where my father sat next to her, and was amazed by her beauty and intelligence,” said Kind Abdullah in his book.
“I took Rania to one of the best places; a mountain at the outskirts of Amman: Tal Al-Rumman, When we got off the car, I told her ‘I see our relationship taking a serious turn, and our marriage is a good idea.’ I smiled, and she stayed silent. I took this silence as a yes. We visited her parents after two weeks.”
After his family met hers, their marriage was approved and they tied the knot on June 10, 1993.
They now share 4 children together, and 27 years later are still as happy as ever!
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Source: Special Madame
Image: Instagram / Queen Rania