It is a weekend of Royal weddings...

Friday saw two long awaited for Royal weddings. The Queen of the modelling world, Kate Moss, married her Rock star. Dressed in a beautiful vintage style dress by John Galliano and wearing Manolo Blahnik customised with something blue inside. Kate was accompanied by 15 bridesmaids all dressed in very sweet cream summer dresses, as she was married in the Cotswolds yesterday afternoon. 

 Kate looked beautiful on her wedding day,  her dress is beautiful. However while my eyes lit up over her dress it was her simple bouquet that made me smile. For more photos  of Kate Moss's wedding dress please click here. 

Meanwhile in Montecarlo HRH Prince Albert married Charlene Wittstock now Princess Charlene of Monaco in a civil ceremony ahead of their Catholic nuptials tomorrow. 

The bride wore an ice blue suit, her blonde hair swept from her face in a chignon and with a quiet 'Oui" she married her Prince in the throne room at the Palace of Monaco. 

The wedding is expected to be the biggest event in Monaco since 1956 when Prince Albert's mother, American film star Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier. 

Tomorrow the couple will marry for a second time, in a religious ceremony in the palace's main courtyard, which will be also be shown on screens in the Palace Square. They will then take part in a procession, followed by an official dinner and a gala ball at the Opera Garnier and on the Terraces of the Monte-Carlo Casino.

Wishing both blushing brides and proud grooms many congratulations! 

Princess Beatrice Royal Wedding Hat by Philip Treacy

While the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge settle in to married life, their cousin Princess Beatrice has decided to put the hat she wore to the Royal wedding to very good use.

While the world seems to be divided on the Philip Treacy hat Princess Beatrice wore to Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton last month, Princess Beatrice has decided to put all the attention this hat has received to good use by selling it on e-bay for charity.

With all the funds from this sale going to UNICEF and Children in crisis this very special e-bay sale is being watched closely. The current bid is £50,400.05 with 83 bids so far and another 2 days and 12 hours left, I am waiting to see how much someone will pay for this much talked about hat... Who knows maybe I shall see it adorning one of the guests at a wedding in Italy this year....

A Groom With A View... 11 weeks to go!

Mike, our groom with a view with his beautiful bride to be.  

As the days and weeks tick by bringing us rapidly closer to our main event, it appears that weddings are all around us. While the analysts and commentators devoured every royal detail of a very royal wedding, Amber and I found ourselves in the beautiful village of Sneem in Southern Ireland, attending the last family wedding before our own.

And so our plans are being finalised amidst a backdrop of wedding fever. I have enjoyed watching Amber get excited by the events of the last few weeks, she loves everything about it from the fashion to the fairy-tale and the regal tradition to the romantic love stories.  Our coffee table is burdened more than usual with Hello! and OK magazines, Sunday supplements, bridal pull-outs… There is certainly no shortage of inspiration to spur her on as she immerses herself in wedding research. Her attention to detail is second to none and I love the pride and sense of perfection she displays as she realises a real desire to make our day everything that it deserves to be.

Whilst Amber has given her wedding day a lifetime of thought, I have allowed myself just the 14 months since popping the question to prepare. The bitter reality is that young boys do not devote much thought to their wedding day (in the fear that it may get in the way of climbing trees, kicking footballs against brick walls, or falling out of trees). So here I am, less than 3 months to go, with an overriding feeling of being about 30 years late to the wedding planning party. With the logistical stuff taken care of, I find myself stepping things up a gear in an attempt to be all I can be on our wedding day. There is a realisation that all eyes will be on us, we will never have been photographed so much, and from so many angles as we will be that day. So, with a nervous excitement, I embrace my pre-wedding regime in an attempt to do justice to my beautiful bride. Note to self: Nails clean, shoes polished, stomach in, chest out, stand tall, relax, smile…..

Both the weddings in Westminster and Sneem received universal acclaim, the bar has indeed been set very high. But, with Amber thriving on the challenge, and with more than a little help from our friends, I’m convinced our happy day will surpass all expectations. We may not be televised live across the globe but, in our minds and in our memories, it will be Treviso and not Westminster that hosts the wedding of the century.

Mike

 To read our July Grooms other posts please click HERE

Finally I am getting around to writing about the Royal wedding! If you read yesterdays post you will know I watched the Royal wedding ceremony sitting in a bar in Tuscany surrounded by Italian men who all claimed they had left home to get away from the Royal wedding, only to find it on in their local at my instance!

I have until this moment only watched the highlights and the ceremony, but now I finally have a moment and am sitting here watching the full wedding enjoying every minuet, especially seeing the extended Royal family arrive in minibuses! Gasping at some shocking outfits and hats and smiling at the ones who got it right. I know it is mean but what was Nick Cleggs wife thinking? I cannot find a photo of the front as all the photos on the Internet seem to focus on her big knicker lines...

H.R.H Princess Beatrice of York I thought looked great in a Valentino haute couture coat, dress, and shoes from the spring/summer 2011 collection. Milliner Philip Treacy was the creator of her fun, eye-catching headgear. Her shoes are from  Jimmy Choo. Although I am unsure if she looks so good as she is standing next to her sister who stuck to her very own sense of style in Vivian Westwood...

 There were many members of the Royal family and honored guests who looked very beautiful and elegant attending the Royal wedding of William and Kate.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, looked lovely in a heavily embellished skirt suit in an delicious shade of champagne by Bruce Oldfield. Her hat is by Jane Taylor.

Carol Middleton looked very beautiful in Catherine Walker, a favoured designer of Williams mother Diana.

 The queen looked  very jolly in  Angela Kelly-designed crepe wool primrose dress, coat, and hat. Her coat was bedecked with Queen Mary's True Lovers Knot diamond brooch.

The Duchess of Cornwall, wore a dress by Anne Valentine, the same designer who made the wedding dress she wore to marry Prince Charles.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Charlotte Wittstock looked very elegant in soft grey and gets my vote.

Tara looked stunning in this fun electric blue dress and accessories. It is wonderful to see Tara looking so happy and confident!

Pippa Middleton takes the best dressed prize as she looked absolutely glowing and ethereal in her Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton gown.

Kate looked stunning, carrying a bridal bouquet that included sweet William's in tribute to her prince. Her dress I am delighted to write was designed by Sarah Burton and her Cartier tiara was made in 1936 and was given to her by Queen Elizabeth, who received it from her mother on her 18th birthday. Her diamond earrings by Robinson Pelham were given by her parents Carole and Michael.

As Kate and William greet each other for the first time at Westminster Abbey, he is seen whispering, "You look beautiful, I love you."

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge first kiss.

I think I would have to write another page just on all the elements I thought were beautiful and touching!  From the music to the going away car, the evening dress and party....

Someone like you...

I can not believe a week has passed since  the wedding of Cassandra and Sean in Tuscany. It was a fun filled wedding full of laughter, so much food and lovely wine. But what made it more special is how lovely Cass and Sean are!

We have spent the past year planning their wedding, with guests flying in from all over the world a lot of logistical planning was required. It is a testimony to how amazing this couple are that their friends and family made the journey with them to Italy.

I arrived on site on the Thursday and the round of final meetings took place while waiting for Cassandra and Sean to arrive after a long drive from London. Along with some of Sean's family arriving in from Singapore, there was a sense of WOW it is really happening this weekend!

On the Friday morning we delivered both Cassandras dresses along with Sean's shirts to be ironed after the long drive, then Cassie and I went to have a look at the church and do a few final errands. Before we knew it it was 12:00 and we needed to get to a television!

After a mad dash back to my taxi, Cassie and I found a working mans bar and we were allowed to turn on the TV to watch the Royal Wedding of William and Kate, much to the horror of the men on their lunch breaks. Although they were very engaged in watching the wedding and voicing their opinions on Kate Middleton's wedding dress!

 Tearing ourselves away from the TV we went back to the venue to welcome guests and for me to wait the arrival of Neil walker the photographer from the UK.

Once Neil arrived, I swept him away to see the church, the town and maybe a little more than he was expecting.... a car wash!

The celebrations officially got underway with a informal get together at the venue where some of the guests where staying and an early night as some of us had a very start the next day.

At the crack of dawn I bumped in to the father of the bride who could not sleep and was walking the grounds. Today his little girl was marrying the man she loves...

The bridesmaids arrived at 0630 to start getting ready and the day was underway....

Who knows where the time went with the caterers arriving at 0700 and my team on site at the same time, we started preparing the reception area. Before I knew it the bus had arrived at 10:00 to take the guests to the church. The groom, his best man and Neil the photographer were also off to the bustling market town of San Giovanni. With the bride and her father remaining at the venue it was time for a glass of prosecco, a few photos on my phone and a quick look at the reception area before I had the honor of driving Cassandra and her father to the church in my London Taxi.

The ceremony was beautiful and Don Luca was lovely and the music brought tears to many peoples eyes...

As I waited outside the church a little girl came to me with her grandmother and asked if they could see the wedding.  Together we peeked in through the door and the little girls face was one of pure delight as she turned to her grandmother and said 'Nona it is not a bride it is a princess and she is beautiful!'

With the newly married couple, friends and family Neil Walker the photographer, took some group shots and guests enjoyed a glass of prosecco in the town square before heading back to the bus.

Neil then had a moment alone with the bride and groom to take a few photos some which were a surprise for everyone involved!

It was time to rejoin their guests back at the venue...

Marmite, who traveled  from London with Cassandra and Sean on his pet passport,  found all the attention a little tiring, especially when all he wanted to do was hit the buffet!

As guests began to relax, Cassandra went to change in to her second wedding dress for the reception.

 

The father of the bride, who was wearing a traditional Filipino wedding shirt in honour of Cassandras mother, who unfortunately could not be at the wedding, gave one of the best speeches I have ever heard and on more than one occasion made me well up as he spoke about how proud he was to have such a wonderful daughter.

Time for final checks on the table and a moment of pride as Cassandra told me everything was exactly how she envisioned her wedding day to be. I am delighted I was able to make her dream wedding come true.

After one more group photo taken from the top of the castle, guests made their way to the table, the feast began, the wine flowed like water and the band played!

After the meal guests came out in to the garden for wish balloons, sweet buffet and the cutting of THE CAKE!

 The dance floor opened and everyone partied until the early hours the next day.

Congratulations Cassandra and Sean!

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make their day so perfect, a special thank you to:

Neil Walker, who not only made everyone feel relaxed in front of his lens but also was an amazing help on the day, I can not express how much fun it was to work with Neil! Can not wait to see his photographs of the day!

Nadia from stiatti fiori and her team for all the beautiful flowers.

Preludio for the feast.

The Tuscan Swingers, for the wonderful music.

Tenuta Lupinari, ladies you were fantastic!

Poggio Cennina, for a wonderful welcome buffet.

.