Prince Harry & Meghan's Wedding: Your Guest Fashion Predictions

First, a little housekeeping:

Yes, we will have an open post tomorrow for wedding watchers. The wedding is at noon (that's 7 am Eastern), members of the royal family arrive from 11:20, and other guests start to arrive at 9:30.

Yes, the post will include links to livestream the wedding. Many regular broadcast stations are also showing it; here's a guide for viewers in the U.S.

Second, a little troubleshooting: I've heard from a few readers who can't see the comments section, which can happen when Disqus does updates. Clearing the cache/cookies on your browser usually fixes it; if not, try a different browser.

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With that out of the way, let's move our fashion predictions on from the bride to the some of the guests!  

What will the royal guests be wearing?

A few designer predictions from me for the main ladies of the royal family...

The Queen: While QEII doesn't exclusively wear Angela Kelly's designs, she's usually up for the big occasions and I don't expect this to be any different. Maybe she'll even go ~*wild*~ like she did at William and Kate's wedding and abandon her traditional black accessories for beige! There's a post open for brooch speculation over at the Jewel Vault, by the way.

The Duchess of Cornwall: I'm hoping for Anna Valentine but Bruce Oldfield also does a lot of work for Camilla. Surely a Philip Treacy hat will top it off.

The Duchess of Cambridge: Packham or McQueen are the safest bets, do you agree? McQueen would be a little nod to her own wedding day.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie: I have no idea what we'll see from Beatrice, except to say that she'll cause disappointment no matter what she does with her hat - from those hoping for something wild or those hoping she learned from last time! For Eugenie, I'm wishing for a reunion with Vivienne Westwood, if only for the promise that they might be working together on Eugenie's own wedding gown. Tatler reports that it will be a blue dress from Gainsbourg, a bespoke tailoring/couture label, with a hat from Fiona Graham of Fi Graham Millinery.

The Countess of Wessex: I already put my predictions up earlier this week, either Suzannah or Emilia Wickstead. Certainly a Jane Taylor hat, and probably another Jane Taylor creation for Lady Louise.

The Princess Royal: William and Kate's wedding warranted something new, and I expect something new here too from the royal family's most dedicated repeater.

Autumn Phillips and Zara Tindall: They've both used a lot of different designers, so this is a wide open field.

Lady Sarah Chatto and the Countess of Snowdon: Sarah will wear Jasper Conran (her own wedding gown designer) and a Stephen Jones hat, which is not a surprise as this team crafts most (if not all) of her special occasion looks. For Serena, I'd guess a Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat and maybe something by Dior.

Your turn! What are you hoping and predicting for the guests?

May 18, 2018

Prince Harry & Meghan's Wedding: Your Tiara Poll Results, and Dress Prediction Time!

I asked, you answered: Which tiara will Meghan Markle wear on her wedding day? Your poll results, coming right up...

Something New or New-to-Us

Almost 30% of you put your money on something we haven't seen before, and the ideas for what that could be were plentiful: a discreet new purchase, something we haven't seen before from the Queen's vaults, something created from existing pieces in the Queen's vaults, or even the creation of something new from Diana's personal jewels.

The Strathmore Rose Tiara

Coming in second, 25% of you guessed that the Strathmore Rose Tiara, a wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother from her father, will make a grand reappearance after decades in the vault.

The Queen Mother's Cartier Bracelet Bandeau, or No Tiara on the Wedding Day

Tied at about 10% of the votes apiece, many of you were led to the small Cartier Bracelet Bandeau or to a no tiara conclusion based on your interpretations of Meghan's personal style so far. She did, after all, once cite Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's sleek wedding look as a favorite, and it's hard to get further from the fuss of a tiara than that. There were also plenty of wishes for the use of some brooches in the hair, because a) that would be interesting and different, and b) we've seen that approach yield stunning results in the past (hi, Princess Charlene). 

The remainder of the votes were pretty evenly split. In the comments, those of you that disagreed with my selections held out hopes for other options like the Spencer Tiara, the Lotus Flower Tiara, or the Teck tiaras. While the Spencer Tiara, owned by the Spencer family, would be a touching choice, I'd much rather see her in something loaned from the royal family. The Teck Circle Tiara was the Teck tiara most mentioned, but as it is in the collection of the Earl of Snowdon, I think that's out; the Teck Crescent Tiara is still around and has been loaned to the Duchess of Cornwall.

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With our tiara opinions out of the way, it's time to move on to the next burning question: Who will design Meghan's wedding gown and what will it look like? There will be an evening reception too, so double those questions.

Many predictions are veering towards Ralph & Russo at this point, with Stella McCartney and Erdem among those whose names are still in the game...along with Burberry, Jenny Packham, Roland Mouret, and more. Is there a designer at this point who hasn't had their name thrown into the hat as a potential designer of the royal wedding gown?

The bride at Ralph & Russo's Spring 2018 Couture show
Vogue

Ralph & Russo's designers are two Australians based in London, and they've got the couture skills to handle a royal wedding gown. I've been hoping a British royal would adopt them as a fave, so I'd love to see what they could do. Meghan already wore one of their gowns for the engagement portraits.

Even though it seems like a long shot at this point, I keep thinking back to 2016 and the gown Emilia Wickstead created for Lady Charlotte Wellesley. I said she leapt to the top of my royal wedding gown wish list at the time and I still want to see what she would do.

When it comes to everything else...I don't know. And so I turn it over to you and your guesses...

May 17, 2018

Tiara Thursday: Place Your Meghan Tiara Bets

It's been the most frequent post request of the past few months: Let's speculate on a wedding tiara for Meghan Markle! Or, if you don't think that she'll sport a tiara at the wedding itself, one for her future tiara needs. There's a poll awaiting your vote at the end...

Lots of people have asked me for my prediction, and my answer is that I don't really have one. I'm not really rooting for anything in particular; in this case - having seen soooooo much speculation already! - I'm perfectly content to wait and see what happens.

I have, however, compiled a few options and am more than happy to open up the speculation floor to you all. I picked six possibilities (and the question mark of a seventh) to lead us off and you can disagree and throw more into the mix in the comments. As always, click the tiara name for more information!

1. The Strathmore Rose Tiara: Resting in the vault, unworn for decades. Is this its moment?

2. The Queen Mother's Cartier Bracelet Bandeau: The bracelets are worn by the Queen today and the bandeau format hasn't been seen in decades. Will it make a big return?

3. Queen Mary's Lozenge Bandeau: We don't even know if this one is still lurking in the vault, but it'd be a lovely option if it was.

4. Queen Mary's Fringe Tiara: Some of you have ruled out anything for Meghan that's larger than what the Duchess of Cambridge wore. I'm not as fussed about that, so I can't resist throwing this one in. It's only rarely used by the Queen, making it one of the notable tiaras still looking for a regular wearer.

5. Marie Feodorovna's Sapphire Bandeau: Is it even an option? Question marks abound, but speculation makes it popular, so we'll toss it in the mix.

6. The Cambridge (Queen Mary's) Lover's Knot Tiara: A lot of people are hoping for the Spencer Tiara for a big Diana reference. That tiara is owned by the Spencer family. I personally don't see Meghan borrowing that on her wedding day, so I'm adding this option instead for those that want a big Diana reference. Obviously now worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.

7. Something New or New-to-Us: The seventh question mark option might be the one of the strongest. Sarah, Duchess of York got a purchased tiara; the Countess of Wessex was loaned a tiara we hadn't seen before her wedding day. Will something new be bought? Will something previously unknown be unearthed or newly assembled from the vault?

(By the way, if you're wondering why the Cartier Halo Tiara isn't on this list, it's because it's on exhibition in Australia at the moment.)

Place your vote below! The poll will be open through Tuesday at noon Eastern, and then we'll see what your collective guess is (if you can't see the poll, you may need to click through from a reader or email, or try a different browser).

May 10, 2018