Zara's Royal Wedding dress

She is the royal known for her unconventional dress sense, with leopard print hats, a pierced tongue and plenty of cleavage her trademark.

Today though, the Queen's granddaughter put aside her more outlandish image and transformed into a quintessential English bride.

A bouffant fine tulle veil, a full-skirted gown in silk faille and duchess satin, with a chevron pleated corseted bodice, as modest and appropriate as you would expect from such a safe pair of hands as the royal couturier Stewart Parvin.

Her dress, by the Queen's own couturier Stewart Parvin, was a picture of elegant sophistication.

The designer, who christens his dresses with such romantic names as Easy To Love and I've Got a Crush On You, seemed to have hit the mark today, as Zara appeared relaxed and happy - surely the goal of any bride on her big day.

The Queen also in Stewart Parvin

The three young bridesmaids wore ivory and the full-skirted, box pleated dresses cinched with pale china blue ribbon featured columns of covered buttons running down the back, reminiscent of the detailing on the back of Pippa Middleton's now iconic bridesmaid dress.

And the bidesmaid looked good too: Maid of Honour Dolly Maude looked pristine with her elegant up-do and neat dress.

Mother-of-the-bride Princess Anne performed impeccably from a style point of view, wearing a swishy coral pleated skirt with a vintage-inspired cropped jacket (knowing thrifty Anne, it could well really be vintage), its floral print adding the right amount of levity to the neat tailoring.

The happy couple.

The excitement before a wedding

Every bride has people asking how nervious, excited,and organised they are. The day before a wedding  hopefully you have nearly everything done and are starting to  give yourself some me time. Time to pamper yourself with some beauty treatments.

It has been 30 years today since Charles and Dianna's wedding!! I heard David Emmanual reliving every second of it in a TV interview. You will carry the memory of your wedding day for ever.
How must Zara Phillips be feeling today the day before her wedding. They are having a pre wedding do tonight, I hope they all have clear heads for the morning. She must be pleased to think that she has been able to do the wedding her way. I like to think all brides can achieve this.
A bride of mine got married at Gretna Green this week and Zara Phillips has also picked Scotland to take her vows. It is thought that Zara has picked Stuart Parvin to design  her wedding dress. This is the queens couturier, which is surprising as he tends to do very classic, tradition dresses. Zara's personality is so strong  and she is full of fun, I had expected her to go more for someone like Sarah Burton as she designs more edgey different ensembles.
Celebraty weddings this year such as Lily Allen and Kate Moss have very much had a lace theme. Veils have had a big come back. Femine and romantic seem to be the mood.
I look forward to getting a glasp of Zara's wedding dress tomorrow, may the sun shine and the day be perfect.

This weeks update

I seemed to lose a week. I was going to do a blog on Rose week but it has been and gone.

Photo of Rose embroidery on one of my wedding dressses

This week we were told about the exhibition of The Duchess of Cambridge’s Wedding Dress which was designed by Sarah Burton, Creative Director at Alexander McQueen. My husband  says I will have to go and see it close up as he knows that it would mean alot to me to see it. The design shows the influence of Victorian dress in details such as the cinched in waist, the padded hips and the bustle at the top of the train. They say Kate had a big input into the design of her dress. I really want to see the detail but I am not sure how close you would be allowed.

The display is part of the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace which includes the nineteen magnificent State Rooms (with complimentary audio tour), the special exhibition Royal Fabergé, and ends with a walk along the south side of the Palace garden. From £17.50 - £31 to £65 per person for a personal guide, I hope it would be worth the effort. It might be the gardens that will impress me the most, I don't know what I expect. I wish that the Queens wedding dress and a few other dressses, such as Princess Anne's wedding dress, were in the exhibition too.

Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall marry this week.
The couple will exchange their vows in an Edinburgh church surrounded by their families and friends.
But their nuptials are being billed as a low-key affair - in stark contrast to the recent wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The doors of the Scottish capital's Canongate Kirk, where Tindall will first catch sight of his bride in her wedding gown, are to be closed to the press and public next Saturday afternoon.
However, large crowds are still expected in Edinburgh's Old Town to watch the arrival of the Royal Family who are all expected to attend. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will join Zara's parents the Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips at the Kirk.
Also believed to be attending are the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, William and Kate, Prince Harry, the Duke of York and his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Tindall is likely to have invited some of England's best-known rugby players who are colleagues and friends. Will he wear a kilt?
Zara says "My wedding preparations are going really well. It's actually quite scary, but I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to becoming Mrs Tindall."
I am looking forward to seeing her dress and everybody else's. More news on the Royal Wedding next week.

ABC

A was for Ali

B is for Bag, this is a photo of a bag and Midi and beaded dress that I was working on recently.

C is for Champagne. Yes we all celebrated with champagne at the final fitting of one on my brides.
What a way to celebrate, many more days of happiness.